Low-cost carriers fly away from Kolkata

Kolkata: It's time for middle-income Kolkatans to bid goodbye to flying. The merged airlines (Kingfisher-Deccan and Jet Airways-JetLite) have withdrawn flights in several sectors, leading to longer queues and the very worrying possibility of a fare hike.
Kolkata stands to lose out on 14 low-cost flights and seven major ones in a week. It has already lost no less than 60 flights in the last two years — and the nosedive is still gathering momentum. Industry sources say tickets may get costlier by at least Rs 700-Rs 1,200.
Deccan is withdrawing its operations to Delhi from next month. Air India's 8.35 am Kolkata-Delhi flight has already been axed. Bhubaneswar, Agartala and Imphal have already been hit. Only 21 flights each operate on the Kolkata-Bhubaneswar and Kolkata-Agartala routes every week — a plunge from 46 and 56 in 2006. Flights on the Kolkata-Imphal sector have dropped to 18 from 35. And if Jet Airways stops operations on this sector — a distinct possibility — the number will plunge to 11.
Flights between Delhi and Kolkata have declined to 93 a week from 116 last year. The merged airline JetLite is likely to reduce its daily flights to make room for Jet Airways' Delhi-Kolkata flights.
28/03/08 Arpit Basu/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Mar 2008, Low Cost General Mar 2008