Armed with a net profit for the third consecutive year, Air India Express (AIE), the low-cost arm of the national carrier, is gearing up to capitalise on the opening of the Kannur international airport.
AIE, which had created history by landing the first test flight at the fourth international airport of the State using a Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft, has been given the privilege to operate the first commercial flight from Kannur to Abu Dhabi on December 9 soon after the formal commissioning of the airport.
“The maiden flight from Kannur was sold out within one hour after the bookings commenced. It is nothing short of a miracle,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AIE, headquartered in Kochi, K. Shyam Sundar told The Hindu .
The airline has been granted slots to operate to and from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Doha in Oman to the Kannur airport. “The record response from the flyers was a surprise to us. It shows there is a clear pocket of people to fly out from Kannur. We will be stationing one aircraft in Kannur,” he said.
Initial operations
Initially, the AIE will operate three flights from Kannur to Riyadh, four to Doha, three to Abu Dhabi and four to Sharjah.
Once the aircraft that has gone for overhauling returns, AIE will commence daily flights to Dubai and Sharjah. Muscat is also in the radar of AIE.
The Kochi-Bengalaru-Singapore flights were doing well and preferred by groups proceeding on holidays, he said.
The airline has been closely watching the domestic aviation scene and the crisis faced by private Indian carriers, the CEO said. AIE has been ‘‘exceedingly doing well” and had made a net profit of ₹ 262 crore in 2017-18.
