Budget airlines SpiceJet today launched its services between Kochi and Maldivian capital of Male and will commence its Kochi-Dubai operations from December 10, a top company official said.
“This is the airline’s first international launch on any international route from Kerala. At present, SpiceJet operates international flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Madurai,” airline’s Chief Commercial Officer Harish Kutty said here.
The Kochi-Male and Kochi-Dubai inaugural ticket fares would be Rs 4,999 (one way inclusive of all taxes), the company said.
The inaugural flight was flagged from Kochi at 1250 p.m. today.
’Kochi is an important destination for SpiceJet. We are launching two international flights from Kochi connecting Male and Dubai. This is besides our strong presence on domestic routes from Kochi. With these launches, people can enjoy affordable flights on International routes, Kutty said.
The airline has deployed Bombardier Q400 aircraft on the Kochi-Male route which can accommodate 78 passengers and is widely accepted as the best short haul aircraft globally.
V Raja, Vice President-Commercial, said they had contemplated whether to connect Male with Thiruvananthapuram or Kochi. There was overwhelming demand for the Kochi-Male service, he said.
There is need to launch more services connecting Tier II and Tier III cities as the connectivity to Metro cities had reached ‘saturation’ points. With that in mind, Bombardier Q400 aircraft which can accommodate 78 passengers had been acquired. Presently, 12 are flying within the country and three more would be acquired by the end of the year, he said.
Recently, SpiceJet had launched operations to various cities including Belgaum, Vijayawada, Hubli and Indore.
On the Kochi-Dubai and Ahmedabad-Dubai route the airlines will be deploying Boeing 737-800 aircraft which has a capacity of 189, the company said.
The airline currently operates over 300 daily flights to 38 Indian cities and 4 International destinations.