Air Arabia to begin Kochi-Sharjah services on May 1

Kochi, Apr 18: Air Arabia, a UAE Government-owned budget airline, will begin services between Kochi and Sharjah from May one.

Air Arabia Country Manager Rohit Ramachandran said here the launch was part of the Sharjah-based group's plans to expand its operations in India, especially to smaller cities.

It already operates flights to Mumbai and Nagpur and is scheduled to start services to Jaipur from May 12.

The airline with a fleet of five A320 aircraft, plans to acquire three more aircraft this year, offering only economy class. The frequency will be four days a week to start with and daily flights will begin from May 12.

The Kochi-Sharjah one-way fare will average around Rs 4,200,nearly 40 per cent lesser than regular fares, Mr Ramachandran claimed.

Ticket prices will depend on supply-demand equation with the maximum one way fare not exceeding Rs 6000-6,500.

The airline is also offering visit visa services for its passengers to Sharjah. A four-day transit visa will be arranged free of charge for passengers with confirmed onward tickets and a 60-day visiting visa on payment of Rs 2,250.

Air Arabia currently flies to destinations in North Africa, West Asia and Sri Lanka and is planning to begin services to Kabul and Istanbul next month.

However, it has no plans to fly long inter-continental routes to Europe and America or add bigger aircraft to its fleet of A320s, Mr Ramachandran said.

UNI