To meet the festive rush starting from Dussehra and continuing till Diwali, Air India will fly its 423-seater classic double decker jumbo, the Boeing 747, on the Mumbai-Delhi and Kolkata domestic routes.
The airline mostly flies its twin-engine narrow body Airbus A320 plane on this route, offering 140 seats inclusive of 20 business class seats. But the four-engine aircraft are operated on international routes and for ferrying VVIPs like the President, Vice-President and Prime Minister.
With 12 seats in first class, 26 in business and 385 in economy class, the aircraft will operate one flight per day each to Kolkata and Mumbai from New Delhi between October 16 and 21. While Kolkata will be covered in the first phase, Mumbai will follow in the second, during November, Air India said.
The aircraft will operate as AI 887 and leave Delhi at 7 a.m. to arrive in Mumbai at 9.10 a.m. On its return journey, the aircraft will operate as AI 809 and leave Mumbai at 10.40 a.m. to reach Delhi at 12.45 p.m. The same flight will operate as AI 764, departing from Delhi at 4.55 p.m. and reaching Kolkata at 7.10 p.m, the airline said. The return flight, AI 023, will leave from Kolkata at 8.50 p.m.to reach Delhi at 10.55 p.m.
The aircraft will also operate two flights per day daily on the Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi sector from November 1 to 11 to cater to passenger demand during the Diwali season, Air India said.
“The bigger plane will have more leg room compared to the regular narrow body planes. No other airline offers such a service currently on the route flown by many business class passengers,” an official said.
Air India will also operate four new routes from October 28. “After consultation we have decided to start flights on Mumbai-New York, Bangalore-Kolkata, Kolkata-Bangkok and Delhi-Nanded sectors,” the official said.