Air Transport

AirAsia plans to launch services this year to three destinations in southern India, while its long-haul outfit AirAsia X plans to launch services next year to Mumbai and New Delhi.

Daily services from Kuala Lumpur to Kochi, Kolkata and Trivandrum will begin at the end of the fourth quarter, says the Malaysian low-cost carrier. It will operate Airbus A320s on these routes.

Launch dates have not been set as it is still negotiating with the authorities, but it hopes to start selling the tickets later this month, says AirAsia.

Next year, it also hopes to launch services to Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. AirAsia X plans to launch services four-times weekly services to Mumbai and seven-times weekly services to New Delhi in the first half of next year.

No carriers currently operate between Kuala Lumpur and Kochi, Kolkata and Trivandrum, according to Innovata. AirAsia's only service to India is on the Kuala Lumpur-Tiruchirappalli route.