Lanka-India travel base strengthens

Shirajiv SIRIMANE

NEW SERVICE: Travel between India and Sri Lanka is on the rise and this was the reason for Air India Express to launch daily flights to Colombo effective from March 25.

The Sri Lankan economic growth is very high and due to this more and more peoples are traveling.

Chief Operating Officer, Air India Express, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India, Capt. P. P. Singh who was in Colombo with the inaugural flight said that Colombo is an exciting market and already they are operating over 80 percent seat factors.

“Due to this success we hope to launch more flights from Colombo linking Bombay and New Delhi soon,” he said.

The airline has a fleet of state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800 aircraft which is one of the most technology advanced single-aisle jet aircraft and passengers have the ability to book through the internet and just go to the airport with the print out of the booking.

The airline was formed primarily to cater to the price sensitive market, which required point-to-point service at lower fares, and the airline is offering the lowest fair to India, which is 25% lower than the other airlines.

Unlike other low cost carriers, Air India Express serves passengers snacks and a soft drink in pre-packed boxes along with tea and coffee.

He said that in India there are nearly 50 domestic airlines and they are all doing well since the industry is booming. Air India Express international destinations include Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Sharjah, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Doha.

Chairman Heylays, the general Sales agent for air express, T. Wickramaratne said that they were very happy that Air Express is operating to Colombo.

“This was a much expected service,” he said.