Thai AirAsia to Start Direct Flights to Jaipur, Trichy in September

By Shakir Husain NEW DELHI, Aug 1 (Bernama) -- Thai AirAsia will start direct flights to Jaipur and Trichy in September as budget carrier AirAsia Bhd's Southeast Asian affiliates grow their links with India. The budget airline will fly four times a week between Bangkok and Rajasthan's capital Jaipur starting from Sept 29, the airline said in an announcement in India on Monday. Thai AirAsia Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tassapon Bijleveld, said AirAsia planned to expand services to India to tap into the growing tourism and business travel demand. Thai AirAsia already has direct flights to Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Kochi in India and will also launch its four-times-weekly service to Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirappalli city, also known as Trichy, on Sept 29. The new flights would provide convenient and affordable travel options to Indian tourists visiting Thailand, as well as regional destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore and Macau using AirAsia's regional network, the Thai AirAsia CEO said at a press conference in Jaipur. ​​ AirAsia group is expanding its services to key Indian cities, linking them with Southeast Asian tourism hotspots. At present, the low-cost airline and its affiliates have about 130 flights per week between nine Indian cities and Southeast Asia. Indonesia AirAsia X, a long-haul budget arm of AirAsia group, launched daily flights between Bali and Mumbai via Kuala Lumpur in May. AirAsia group will have 10 Indian cities in its network by September. -- BERNAMA