Air India introduces daily Bengaluru to Kathmandu flights
Air India Express will launch daily direct flights between Bengaluru and Kathmandu on June 1.
"The new route builds on our recent expansion into short-haul international leisure destinations such as Bangkok and Phuket," Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express, said in a press release.
Bookings are now open on the airline's website, airindiaexpress.com, and other major booking channels, with inaugural fares starting at ₹8,000 for Xpress Lite and ₹8,500 for Xpress Value.
From Bengaluru, the flight will depart at 5.05 am daily and it will depart Kathmandu at 9.05 am.
The new route also enables convenient one-stop connections to Kathmandu via Bengaluru from 20 cities across India, including Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Delhi, Goa, Gwalior, Hindon, Hyderabad, Indore, Jammu, Jaipur, Kozhikode, Kochi, Mangaluru, Pune, Srinagar, Surat, Tiruchirappalli, Thiruvananthapuram, and Visakhapatnam, and Vijayawada.
One stop connections through Bengaluru also available from two international cities: Abu Dhabi and Dammam, according to the press release.
From Bengaluru Air India Express operates over 450 weekly flights connecting directly to 31 destinations.
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Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Air India Express to launch direct Bengaluru-Kathmandu flights from June 1; tickets starting Rs 8,000
PUNE: Extending its footprint in the subcontinent, Air India Express has launched direct flights between Bengaluru and Kathmandu, bringing Nepal into its expanding network. Operations on this route commenced on June 1, airline officials said. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Bookings are now open on the airline's award-winning website, , and other major booking channels, with attractive inaugural fares starting at Rs. 8,000 for Xpress Lite and Rs. 8,500 for Xpress Value. Commenting on the launch of services to Kathmandu, Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express, said, 'We are delighted to expand our footprint to Nepal, our neighbouring country in the subcontinent, further strengthening the deep-rooted cultural and economic ties we share. This new route brings people, tales, and traditions closer, while reinforcing our vision of making travel more accessible and meaningful. It also builds on our recent expansion into short-haul international leisure destinations such as Bangkok and Phuket.' The new route also enables convenient one-stop connections to Kathmandu via Bengaluru from 20 cities across India, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Delhi, Goa, Gwalior, Hindon, Hyderabad, Indore, Jammu, Jaipur, Kozhikode, Kochi, Mangaluru, Pune, Srinagar, Surat, Tiruchirappalli, Thiruvananthapuram, and Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada as well as from two international cities: Abu Dhabi and Dammam.
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Time of India
Three years post-privatisation, Air India charts profitable flight path amid turbulence
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Three years after its privatisation, Air India remains on course to achieve its twin goals of becoming profitable and transforming into a world-class airline-even as external challenges persist. The carrier has significantly narrowed its losses and reduced its reliance on equity infusions from new owner Tata Sons, CEO Campbell Wilson told ET in an interview. However, he declined to provide a specific timeline for reaching profitability."I think the trajectory is very positive," he merger of four airlines into two, upgrading archaic software systems to modern ones, a strong order book for new aircraft while retrofitting the older ones, and a better trained workforce have all helped reduce the cost of operations and improve efficiency, Wilson to an internal presentation reviewed by ET, Air India had late last year set a target to become profitable by FY27. But closure of Pakistani airspace for Indian carriers is likely to delay that, experts said. "It will still take a little bit more time to achieve what we want to achieve, but it was a five-year project in the beginning," Wilson said, referring to the five-year transformation plan 'Vihaan' announced in September pointed out that the airline has significantly narrowed its losses - to ₹4,444 crore in FY24, from ₹11,387 crore in FY23, the first full year after privatisation. Air India has yet to declare its FY25 numbers."While Air India has got new aircraft and improved standards, the low-cost unit Air India Express has gone from 25 to 100 aircraft in a very short period of time and, hence, there is some consolidation that needs to be performed," Wilson said. "So, if you take the two units, both have slightly different trajectories but in totality, (we) are in the right place."External factors are coming in the way, closure of Pakistani airspace, which started on April 24, has forced Air India's flights to North America to take detours and stop in Vienna or Copenhagen to refuel, leading to increased expenses."It's not insignificant, long as it covers the cost of operation, we will continue to operate," Wilson said. "We don't know the extent to which the bottom line is going to be affected. We will try to minimise the effect."To mitigate the impact, the airline has limited the number of seats sold on some long-haul flights to reduce aircraft weight - allowing them to operate non-stop. Only four Air India flights to North America still require a challenge it faces is a significant delay in its cabin upgrade programme, due to supply chain problems. Passengers flying to Europe and North America regularly complain about the worn-out cabin and non-functional seat-back strategy of operating a low-cost airline along with the full-service product is helping improve the balance sheet, the top executive said. Air India Express will be able to have cost parity with rival IndiGo in domestic sectors while Air India is earning a premium due to better product and service standards, he he said, brand reputation did not matter much because product and service weren't as developed. "But, as we attain parity or even leadership on those things, those plus non-stop connections are clearly a competitive advantage," Wilson airline's passenger revenue has more than doubled with a 49% market share on the top five metro routes. Also, its revenue from cargo has tripled since passengers for the airline has increased four times since acquisition, and is 10% of total traffic as the airline has revamped its flight schedules from neighbouring and Southeast Asian countries and flights are timed such that passengers connect to destinations in Europe, East Asia and Australia with minimum waiting is heating up as rival IndiGo, which has over 60% share of the domestic market, is readying to launch flights to though, feels that the service standard and product of Air India will be attractive to the high-paying customers while IndiGo attracts the price-conscious travellers."There's a premium market that is going via somewhere else because the non-stop proposition isn't of sufficient quality. We are catering to a different market segment and just need to be focused on our product quality, loyalty programme, catering, perception and connectivity," he said.
News18
a day ago
- News18
Air India Express Starts Direct Flight Operations From Bengaluru to Kathmandu, Check Timing
Last Updated: The inaugural fares start at Rs 8,000 for Xpress Lite and Rs 8,500 for Xpress Value. Air India Express launches daily direct flights between Bengaluru and Kathmandu on June 1. Interested passengers can now book the flight tickets for the route by visiting the airline's official website or any other major booking channels. The inaugural fares start at Rs 8,000 for Xpress Lite and Rs 8,500 for Xpress Value. As per the details shared by the news agency PTI, quoting the Managing Director of Air India Express, who said, 'The new route builds on our recent expansion into short-haul international leisure destinations such as Bangkok and Phuket." According to the details, the direct flight from Bengaluru will depart daily at 5.05 am, and it will depart from Kathmandu at 9.05 am daily. Amid this, the newly added route enables convenient one-stop connections to Kathmandu via Bengaluru from 20 cities across India. The list includes Bhubaneswar, Amritsar, Goa, Delhi, Hindon, Gwalior, Indore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kochi, Kozhikode, Pune, Mangaluru, Surat, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. Talking about the international one-stop connections through Bengaluru, it is available from two international cities: Abu Dhabi and Dammam, according to the press release. First Published: June 01, 2025, 11:46 IST
