The Hindu Business Line : AI to fly thrice-a-week on Kolkata-London route

At present, it operates two flights a week on the Kolkata-Mumbai sector with a through check-in facility to London as well. A third flight on the Kolkata-Mumbai sector will also be introduced. This flight would also offer connectivity to destinations such as London and New York, according to Mr V. Thulasidas, Chairman of Air India.

Speaking at a round table on `Focus West Bengal: Improving airline connectivity to enhance competitiveness' organised here on Monday by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Mr Thulasidas said Kolkata could emerge as a regional hub for connectivity to London and other western destinations.

On the Kolkata-London sector, Air India would deploy a Boeing 777 aircraft, he said, and ruled out plans to connect Kolkata with Hong Kong in the near future.

According to him, Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, would also operate short haul flights on the Kolkata-Bangkok and Kolkata-Singapore sectors. Air India, which has plans to induct more aircraft into its fleet by 2006, also hopes to operate services to cities located in the east coast of the US, such as San Francisco.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Nilotpal Basu, Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Transport & Tourism, presented a strong case for Air India to operate flights out of Kolkata to international destinations.

"Air India cannot remain a Mumbai-centric organisation," he said and reminded the gathering that the "Look East" policy of the Centre was part of the Common Minimum Programme of the United Progressive Alliance.

Mr Basu said that in the new bilaterals that provide for 19 new flights between India and the UK, there was not a single flight between the UK and Kolkata.

Floriculture in West Bengal was suffering since there were no flights between Kolkata and Amsterdam. "The nation cannot afford to lose the locational advantage of Kolkata and must reach out to China, South-East Asia, Far East and Japan," he said.

Mr Basu expressed the hope that Kolkata would be connected by air to China, South-East Asia and Tokyo within the next one year.

In his address, the West Bengal Minister for Information Technology, Mr Manabendra Mukherjee, said the economy of the region demands direct flights from Kolkata to the western world and the east coast of the US.

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