The Hindu Business Line : Lufthansa all set to start services from Kolkata

Spreading out
The airline would operate an Airbus A340-300 on the sector
Repeat of the ModiLuft experience ruled out
Lufthansa open to the idea of expanding its footprint

RESUMED ROUTE: Mr Wemer Heesen, General Manager, Passenger Sales in India and Director, South Asia, Lufthansa German Airlines, addressing a press conference in Kolkata on Tuesday. — A. Roy Chowdhury

Kolkata , Aug. 8

Some 25 years after it stopped scheduled flight operations from Kolkata, Lufthansa is all set to commence a thrice-a-week flight on the Kolkata-Frankfurt-Kolkata sector with effect from December 1, 2006.

With this, the number of Lufthansa flights out of India from six destinations will go up to 45 per week, Mr Werner Heesen, General Manager (Passenger Sales India) and Director, South Asia, Lufthansa German Airlines, told a press conference here on Tuesday.

Well-connected

Mr Heesen said that with Kolkata emerging as a favoured business destination for many a corporate from the West, it was only appropriate that the hub of eastern India was connected to the hub of Europe through non-stop flights.

To begin with, the airline would operate an Airbus A340-300 on the sector with a seating configuration of eight First Class seats, 54 Business Class and 173 Economy Class seats. The flights from Frankfurt would arrive in Kolkata on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays even as the flights would leave Kolkata for Frankfurt on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. All flights would provide connections to other European destinations and to the US.

To begin with, promotional fares for all classes on board have been announced for passengers travelling from Kolkata to Frankfurt and to the US. Passengers travelling by First Class on the Kolkata-Frankfurt sector would have to pay Rs 2,61,800, while Business Class and Economy Class passengers will pay Rs 94,000 and Rs 19,000, respectively.

Expansion on cards

Those who fly further to New York would have to pay Rs 4,65,320 if they travel by First Class, Rs 1,95,500 by Business Class and Rs 35,000 by Economy. In addition, passengers travelling by First Class will have to pay Rs 17,000 as taxes, while those travelling by Business Class and Economy Class will need to pay Rs 8,500 as taxes.

Mr Heesen ruled out a repeat of the ModiLuft experience with any other domestic airline in the future. He said the ModiLuft initiative was a commercial decision that was taken at that point in time and firmly ruled out any plans to operate flights in the domestic skies in association with any local partner. However, the airline was maintaining its interline arrangements with airlines like Jet Airways.

According to him, Lufthansa was open to the idea of expanding its Indian footprint in western India, possibly with flights out of Ahmedabad and other cities in Maharashtra in the future.

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