AirAsia India gets off to a flying start on booking front

Mumbai: Low-cost carrier AirAsia India, all set to launch operations from next week with a Bangalore-Goa flight, on Tuesday said tickets for its inaugural service were sold out within 10 minutes. [caption id=“attachment_1555627” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] Tickets for the maiden flight (Bangalore-Goa) were sold out within 10 minutes of opening of bookings. Also, AirAsia India sold out 25,000 promo seats within 48 hours of opening for bookings, the airline said in a release. The Indian subsidiary of Malaysian carrier AirAsia, the latest player in the domestic aviation sector, on Friday last had announced opening of bookings for its inaugural flight with a ticket price of Rs 999, including taxes. “We are very excited by the feedback we received from the market. Our motto has always been to make everyone fly and we have already begun to show that we are true to our promise,” AirAsia India Chief Executive Mittu Chandilya said. The first AirAsia flight - an Airbus A320 aircraft -is scheduled to leave Bangalore in the afternoon of 12 June. The airline, a joint venture between AirAsia, Tata Sons and Arun Bhatia’s Telestra Tradeplace, was granted flying licence by aviation regulator DGCA early last month after a nine-month-long wait and various legal hurdles. All inclusive fares from as low as Rs 990 are available for booking on flights on Bangalore-Chennai and Bangalore-Goa sectors, the release said. Customers can book flights through the airline’s website from today till 9 June, for the travel period from 12 June to October, it said. Commenting on the overwhelming response to AirAsia’s low-fare offer, travel portal Yatra.com said it signals exciting times ahead for the beleaguered domestic aviation industry, where most of the players are saddled with debt. “The aviation industry is going through a period of fairly rapid metamorphosis. With global players like Air Asia, Etihad Airways and Singapore Airlines, all either in or slated for launch in the next few months, and now, Qatar Airways evincing an interest in entering the domestic flights space, we see this as an exciting phase that should lead to expansion of the Indian air market,” Yatra.com President Sharat Dhall said in a statement. The entry of new players will lead to newer routes with more cities getting connected, increased flight options to choose from, and better prices for travellers, he said. PTI