Air India Express to operate non-stop flights to Kochi, Imphal from Kolkata in April

Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, is all set to begin non-stop flights to Imphal and Kochi from Kolkata this April, an airline official said.

"The flights to Imphal will operate daily, while those to Kochi will fly six days a week," he said.

The flight from Kolkata to Imphal will depart at 7 am and will reach in Manipur capital at 8.05 am. The return flight will depart at 8.35 am and arrive in Kolkata at 10.20 am, he said.

The Kolkata-Kochi flight will take off at 11.25am and reach the destination at 2.35pm, while the return flight will leave at 3.05pm and land here at 6.10pm.

The airline through route integration will be operating more flights on various domestic routes, sources said.

Meanwhile, the airline has recently announced introduction of four fare products - Xpress Lite (cabin baggage only fares), Xpress Value (15 kg check-in bag fares), Xpress Flex (unlimited changes with no change fees), and Xpress Biz (business class seating with complimentary Gourmair meals and priority services).

With the launch of this service, travellers now have the option to personalise their trip aligning with 'Fly As You Are' – "our promise to make travel more convenient for our guests", the airline said.

The statement said its Xpress Biz fares are available on all the new Air India Express Boeing 737-8 aircraft, as a business class equivalent that disrupts the traditional Low Cost carrier (LCC) model with a hybrid offering.

Guests can enjoy increased baggage allowances of 25kg for domestic flights and 40kg for international flights when booking Xpress Biz fares.

Air India Express is already operating aircraft with 'Biz' seats across 70+ routes in India, connecting metro cities with other key destinations. From Kolkata, the destinations are Ayodhya, Chennai, Jaipur, Guwahati and Imphal.

Air India Express, is a subsidiary of Air India and a part of the Tata group, operating over 360 daily flights, connecting 31 domestic and 14 international airports, with a fleet of 67 aircraft, comprising 39 Boeing 737s and 28 Airbus A320s.