Bahrain Air Plans flights to Calicut - International Flights to Calicut

Bahrain Air is to operate to Calicut, Kerala, making it the airline's second destination in India, it was revealed yesterday. The Bahrain airline will also double its fleet by October next year, said managing director Ibrahim Al Hamer.

"We are happy to announce that we have got traffic rights to operate to Calicut , one of the most popular destinations for Keralites living in Bahrain," he told the GDN.

"The new service will be launched on March 16 next year. We already operate daily flights from Bahrain to Kochi, Kerala."

Mr Al Hamer said Bahrain Air would also operate to Abu Dhabi, starting on March 22.

"We shall initially operate three flights a week to Calicut and eight to Abu Dhabi," he revealed.

"Within the GCC, we already operate to Dubai, Doha and Kuwait ."

Bahrain Air planes to expand as per the business plan, which is approved by the board members and the executive management of the company, said Mr Al Hamer.

"Last week we celebrated the inauguration of our 11th station, Kuwait and the operation of both Asyut and Luxor in Egypt," he added.

"Our 14th destination will be the Sudanese capital Khartoum , which will be launched on December 16.

"With the launch of Calicut and Abu Dhabi, the number of destinations will increase to 16."

With the arrival of the third aircraft last week - an Airbus 319 - the company is expanding its network and flight frequency to many of its destinations, said Mr Al Hamer.

"We shall take delivery of another A319 in March next year and two brand new A320s in April and October next year respectively," he said.

"Our fleet will thus be doubled to six aircraft next year."

Bahrain Air's load factor has been increasing steadily, said Mr Al Hamer.

"This month our load was 62pc, and our target is to increase it to 75pc next year.

"We are also proud of our on-time performance which now stands at 98pc."

The Airbus A320 aircraft operates for Bahrain Air with 168 seats, including 12 seats on the Premium class and the A319 has 138 seats.

" Bahrain Air is proud to be a competitive premium service carrier with affordable fares, providing its customers with the highest levels of service and reliability," said Mr. Al Hamer.

"The new airline aims to play a major role in linking Bahrain, the financial centre of the Middle East , with the business community in the region by providing economical and fast point to point air service." Airlines in India