Akasa Air to start Kolkata operations from May; will be its 17th destination in India

Home-grown low-cost airline Akasa Air announced on March 15 that it would add Kolkata as its 17th destination in the country. With the introduction of non-stop daily flights between Kolkata to Bengaluru and Guwahati, the airline will thus operate flights 'across all metro cities' in the country. The Kolkata operations will commence on May 18, the carrier said.

Passengers will be able to travel from Bengaluru to Guwahati via Kolkata with a daily through flight, and no change of aircraft will be required. "With this announcement, Akasa Air will mark its operations across all metro cities in India.” a press release said.

 Akasa Air plans to hire over 300 pilots, will be ready to fly internationally by year-end: CEO

On March 1, Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube told CNBC-TV18 that the airline planned to hire over 300 pilots and will be ready to fly internationally by the year-end. At present, the airline has over 2,000 employees, which is in line with the global average, Dube said. "We will be looking to hire 300 pilots alone in the next 12 months," he added.

Kolkata will be Akasa Air's second destination in West Bengal after flights connecting Bagdogra to Bengaluru went on sale earlier this month.

The airline also plans to place a "three-digit" order for aircraft this year. "We will be placing a much larger aircraft order by the end of the year; the order will be in 3 digits," the CEO told CNBC-TV18. He added that the larger order is not just bout Akasa Air, but also about India's future story. "We will be a part of India’s bright future with that large aircraft order," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)