Air India Express organizes many international flights; to have more than 110 flights on March 25
Expanding its network and connectivity, Air India Express will focus on connecting smaller cities and towns via metros and flying to new overseas destinations, according to senior officials.
The airline, which recently completed the AIX Connect merger with itself, has a fleet of around 90 aircraft and the number is expected to cross 110 by the end of this fiscal.
It also aims to fly to 55 destinations by the end of March 2025 and has scaled its network as part of Air India Group’s strategy. Apart from adding domestic routes, the Tata Group-owned airline will also start flights to more international destinations, including Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, officials said.
Air India Express Managing Director Aloke Singh said the airline will focus on Tier 2 and 3 cities and towns as they are the growth engines, and a large part of the market is metro to non-metro.
“In the international network of the region, it will be mainly from Tier 2, 3 cities to points in the Gulf, Middle East, South East Asia and further, South Asia. Maybe, in the Far East in a few years, “Singh said in a selected press conference on Friday.
He also emphasized that the airline’s network strategy is also closely linked to the group’s network strategy. As part of consolidating its airline business, Tata Group has merged AIX Connect with Air India Express and Vistara’s merger with Air India is scheduled to be completed next week.
Air India Express Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Ankur Garg said Bangkok and Phuket are being considered to start services. To Bangkok, flights may be from Tier 2 cities to Phuket, service may be from the metro, Garg said.
Among other destinations, the airline may also explore the possibility of flying to Malaysia, Hong Kong and CIS countries in the future.
“We don’t want to expand too much. We want to focus on the Tier 2, 3 markets from the metros. We want to provide connectivity between the full service, long-haul, broad business side and the domestic Tier 2, 3 Cities,” said Singh.
In response to a question, he said there are no plans to have premium seats on its planes. Currently, Air India Express offers economy class seats and business class seats on other airlines.
