Akasa Air has announced the addition of Bagdogra and Bhubaneswar to its network. These will be the airline’s 15th and 16th destination respectively.
Bagdogra gets a new airline
Starting 17th April 2023, Akasa Air will operate a daily flight between Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (Terminal 1) and Bagdogra Airport. The flights will run with the following schedule:
- Bengaluru-Bagdogra
- Departure time: 07:30
- Arrival time: 10:15
- Flight time: 2 hours and 45 minutes
- Flight number: QP1372
- Frequency: Daily
- Bagdogra-Bengaluru
- Departure time: 10:55
- Arrival time: 13:45
- Flight time: 2 hours and 50 minutes
- Flight number: QP1373
- Frequency: Daily
These flights will be operated by the only aircraft type in Akasa’s fleet, the Boeing B737MAX-8.
We are delighted to announce services from Bagdogra, our first destination in the state of West Bengal. Known for its serene landscapes and expansive tea estates, Bagdogra has been garnering growing interest among travellers from across the country. The hill station also serves as a getaway to the northeastern states of India and the improvement in air connectivity will further boost the economic activity in the city. We are confident that travellers on this route will appreciate our service and offerings.
said Praveen Iyer, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Akasa Air.
Related: Flying Akasa Air from Mumbai to Ahmedabad (again): How has it kept up?
It seems that the addition of Bagdogra to the network is a result of the Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) laid out by the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India. The RDG policy requires a airline to deploy 10% of its capacity it deploys on the Category I routes on Category II routes and 1 percent of Category I capacity on Category IIA routes.
In my opinion, the RDG policy is a waste. The Civil Aviation Industry in India has taken great strides in terms of growth and infrastructure, but the basic policies laid out many years prior are not being revised and getting rid off. It should be up to the airline to decide where it can operate and where it can not.
With air traffic increasing in almost all parts of India, the airlines naturally see an opportunity to serve the market and small markets are definitely getting their fair share of pie as and when the demand is there. If not on time, then some time for sure in most of the cases.
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Enters Odisha
With the addition of Bhubaneswar to its network, the carrier is entering off yet another state in India. The airline will launch flights to the capital of Odisha from Bengaluru and Pune.
Flights on Bengaluru-Bhubaneswar-Bengaluru route start on 17th April 2023 and will run daily with the following schedule:
- Bengaluru-Bhubaneswar
- Departure time: 05:40 (05:05 on Saturdays)
- Arrival time: 07:50 (07:10 on Saturdays)
- Flight time: 2 hours and 10 minutes (2 hours and 05 minutes on Saturdays)
- Flight number: QP1381
- Frequency: Daily
- Bhubaneswar-Bengaluru
- Departure time: 14:05
- Arrival time: 16:20
- Flight time: 2 hours and 15 minutes
- Flight number: QP1384
- Frequency: Daily
Flights on Bhubaneswar-Pune-Bhubaneswar route also start on 17th April 2023 and run daily with the following timings:
- Bengaluru-Bhubaneswar
- Departure time: 08:40 (07:40 on Saturdays)
- Arrival time: 10:50 (09:50 on Saturdays)
- Flight time: 2 hours and 10 minutes
- Flight number: QP1382
- Frequency: Daily
- Bhubaneswar-Bengaluru
- Departure time: 11:25 (10:35 on Saturdays)
- Arrival time: 13:30 (12:45 on Saturdays)
- Flight time: 2 hours and 05 minutes (2 hours and 10 minutes on Saturdays)
- Flight number: QP1383
- Frequency: Daily
These flights also operate with Boeing B737MAX-8 featuring standard Economy Class seats.
As the fastest growing airline in the country we are delighted to add Bhubaneshwar to our ever-expanding network, marking our arrival in Orissa. Bhubaneshwar is a scenic green and clean city with a strong cultural heritage rooted in ancient temples and rich architecture. Having seamless connectivity at affordable fares across major cities such as Bengaluru and Pune will boost travel and tourism for the historic city, and we look forward to adding more destinations to the flight map of the country.
said Praveen.
The carrier already connects Pune with Bengaluru.
Akasa has had the fastest induction of aircraft of any airline in India. The airline already has 19 aircraft in its fleet, with over 700-weekly flights operating to 14 destinations currently.
Featured image by Ishan Haria
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