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Bahrain Air plans to increase the number of direct flights to Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala, to seven a week by the summer.
The move was announced as the airline reinforced its commitment to India by formally launching an initial four flights a week, as recently highlighted in TravelWeekly.
A ceremony was held at Bahrain International Airport to mark the occasion of the inaugural flight attended by Captain Ibrahim Abdulla Al Hamer, managing director of Bahrain Air, in the presence of CEO Richard Nuttall and other senior officials and managers from Civil Aviation Affairs, Bahrain Airport Company, Bahrain Airport Services and the airline.
Thiruvananthapuram, formerly known as Trivandrum, is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland, an area which is the ‘home’ of thousands of Indian expats and their families living and working in Bahrain.
Captain Al Hamer said the plan for seven flights a week would constitute 80 per cent of Bahrain Air-India’s capacity, with 17 flights a week across Cochin, Calicut and Trivandrum. Flights will depart from Bahrain at 9.25pm and arrive at 4.15am. The return flight will depart Trivandrum at 5am and arrive at Bahrain at 7.30am. Flights have been scheduled for onward connection to other Gulf and Levant destinations.
Captain Al Hamer said: 'The Indian sub-continent remains a key focus area for Bahrain Air and Kerala continues to be a focal destination for us.
'Currently there are about 350,000 Keralites in Bahrain and another 400,000 in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. This new route to Trivandrum once again reiterates our commitment to improve our services and meet the needs of our customers within the region. We are positive for the future and traffic rights permitting we will continue to increase flights to India as we take more aircraft in the future.'
Bahrain Air’s goal is to be the favourite airline for passengers flying to and from Bahrain. The carrier offers the choice of both premium and economy class services using modern Airbus 319 and 320 aircraft.
Bahrain Air also serves complimentary meals to all its passengers and whilst it boasts generous standard baggage allowances, the airline offers extra baggage allowances at BD15 per extra 10kg, which is proving particulary popular with passengers travelling from the Gulf to their home countries.
Bahrain Air also has a special section in its in-flight magazine in Malayalam to reflect the importance of the region to the company.
