Bangalore to be major Air India hub

Bangalore to be major Air India hub
The Times of India

Bangalore, April 23: Air India has decided to make Bangalore its third major hub after Mumbai and New Delhi, Air India Chairman and Managing Director Vasudevan Thulasidas has said.

The decision to boost flights from Bangalore is tied in with the start up of the new airport. Air India currently operates one international flight starting from Chicago and ending in Bangalore.

But daily flights are expected to start from Bangalore to Frankfurt next year and the other knock on effects will mean more jobs for pilots and cabin crew as the national carrier expands its fleet to 75 aircraft.

More flights also lead to creation of more jobs through others like agents and caterers, Mr Thulasidas said. Of course we are recruiting people from all over India for pilots, cabin crew and engineering personnel.

We have thought of Bangalore as one of our major hubs after Mumbai and New Delhi and for our low frills airline, Air India Express, it will be Kochi. We currently operate flights to Bangalore, although not direct, but the flight originating from Chicago ends up in Bangalore... as for the new international airport we have been talking to the airport management and we are very much part of that.

Mr Thulasidass comments about Bangalore follow his disclosure at a London press conference that Air India will inaugurate a new direct flight from Kolkata to London with a link to Dhaka from June 4, as well as a new Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto operation starting on May 15.

These and other extra flights, which will see Air India reviving and extending its network to Mauritius and Australia, will be made possible by the impending purchase of 68 new aircraft.