air india (AI) Express will focus on connecting smaller cities and towns with metros as well as flying to new overseas destinations. Senior officials of the company gave this information. AI Express said network expansion and synergy with the group will give it an edge. AIX Connect has recently merged with Air India Express. The airline has a fleet of around 90 aircraft and the number may cross 110 by the end of the current financial year. The company aims to fly to a total of 55 destinations by the end of March 2025 and has also rationalized its network as part of the Air India Group strategy.
There will be flights to Bangkok and Phuket
Apart from adding domestic routes, the Tata Group-owned airline will launch flights to more overseas destinations such as Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, officials said. Air India Express Managing Director Alok Singh said the airline will focus on tier-2 and tier-3 cities and towns. He said that the largest part of the market ranges from metro to non-metro. Singh said in a press conference on Friday that the company will mainly connect Tier-2, Tier-3 cities to Gulf, West-Asia, South-East Asia and then South-Asia.
Vistara's merger with Air India will be completed next week
He also stressed that the airline's network strategy is deeply linked with the group's network strategy. Tata Group has merged AIX Connect with Air India Express and Vistara's merger with Air India is set to be completed next week. Ankur Garg, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Air India Express, said that starting services to Bangkok and Phuket is being considered. He said that flights to Bangkok can start from Tier-2 cities and flights to Phuket can start from metro cities. Apart from this, the airline can also explore the possibility of flying to Malaysia, Hong Kong and 'CIS' countries in future.
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