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SpiceJet on Wednesday connected Visakhapatnam to Tirupati and Bangalore, with its Q-400 aircraft, and is also increasing its service on the Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam routewith the introduction of a third daily flight from September 28.
At a press meet held here on the occasion, Mr Neil Raymond Mills, Chief Executive Officer, said SpiceJet was the most favoured low-cost airline operator in the country and it had bagged several awards. He said the inaugural Bangalore-Vizag flight landed here at 10.40 a.m and the inaugural Vizag-Tirupati flight took off at 11.10 a.m.
With the maiden Hyderabad-Tirupati flight also taking off on Wednesday morning, SpiceJet kicked off its first phase of Q-400 operations under which the airline connects Hyderabad to 12 popular tier-two and tier-three destinations - Aurangabad, Bhopal, Goa, Indore, Madurai, Mangalore, Nagpur, Pune, Rajahmundry, Tirupati, Thiruvananthapuram, and Vijayawada. These flights would be inaugurated in a phased manner before the end of the month.
The Vijayawada-Hyderabad flights would be inaugurated on September 28 and Rajahmundry-Hyderabad flights on September 29.
He said SpiceJet would be the largest operator both at Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam with the introduction of these flights. “We have chosen Hyderabad as the first base for the new routes with the new Q-400 aircraft. We have at present 30 Boeing aircraft and have acquired four Q-400 aircraft. We will be acquiring 15 Q-400 aircraft in the firs phase and we have the option of getting 15 more,” he said.
The inaugural offer of Rs 999 on the new flights from here would be valid for 14 days with a limited number of seats and from then the normal fare would be Rs 1,999 to Bangalore and Rs 1,499 to Tirupati. He said the new aircraft - Q 400 - would be suitable for the short runways in many Indian airports and it was a superior product.
In response to a question about operating international flights from here, Mr Mills said it would take sometime. “We have sought permission to operate 10 international routes from various airports in the country and we have not received the nod yet,” he said.
Later, he said the weakening rupee was a matter of concern, pushing up air fares, and also the high cost of fuel.
Mr Samyuktha Sridharan, Chief Commercial Officer, said SpiceJet had emerged as the most favoured low-cost airline in Andhra Pradesh and the country.
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