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Vimala Vasan

ABU DHABI, Jan. 3

INDIAN AIRLINES (IA) is expanding its presence in the Gulf-Kerala sector. It will operate direct flights between Sharjah, UAE, and Thiruvananthapuram from January 12.

IA will launch a twice-weekly non-stop service from Sharjah to Thiruvananthapuram with effect from January 12, with A320 type of aircraft. "This is the first time we will operate to the Kerala State capital and the new service fills an important gap in our operations out of the UAE," Mr K. Shyam Sunder, IA's Manager in the UAE, told Business Line.

With the introduction of its services to Thiruvananthapuram, IA will be directly operating from Sharjah to all the three airports in Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. IA currently operates daily flights to Kozhikode and Kochi, he said. "We hope to increase the frequencies on the Thiruvananthapuram route later to three or four flights a week. The new twice-weekly frequency is not reflective of the demand on the route," he said.

IA has a special introductory economy class fare of Dh 800 for one-way and Dh 1,500 for the return journey on the new route, Mr Shyam Sunder said. The special fare is for travels commencing on or before January 31. After this date, the fares will be common rated with the fares to Kochi and Kozhikode from Sharjah and priced at Dh 900 for one-way and Dh 1,700 for return, he said.The flight from Sharjah to Thiruvananthapuram is expected to facilitate the movement of passengers from UAE to the southern parts of Kerala besides the adjoining districts of south Tamil Nadu, he said.

IA is also increasing its frequencies from Sharjah to Tiruchi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bangalore, Mr Shyam Sunder said in a press statement. The airline's operations from Sharjah to Tiruchi will br increased from the current three services per week to five services per week. Sharjah is already linked to Tiruchi via Kochi on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The frequency of operation on the Sharjah-Ahmedabad-Hyderabad route will be increased from two to four flights a week effective from January 10. The Sharjah-Bangalore -Hyderabad route will be increased from two to three flights per week.

IA would also be increasing its frequency of operation from Dubai to Hyderabad from the existing three flights a week to five flights a week, with effect from January 10. With this, the airline's operations from the UAE to Hyderabad will increase from the existing seven flights a week to 14 flights (five from Dubai and nine from Sharjah).

Besides, the introduction of direct flights from Sharjah to Thiruvananthapuram and the increase in the frequency of operation to Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Tiruchi that is expected to provide greater choice of flights and convenience to the passengers travelling between India and the UAE, the airline also plans to shortly announce a wide range of promotional fares and incentives that would provide its passengers greater value for their money, the statement added.

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