Air India to launch red-eye flights on domestic routes from Nov 30: Report

NATIONAL carrier Air India has announced the launch of red-eye flights to some of the domestic destinations, including Goa, starting November 30.
A red-eye flight departs generally late at night and arrives early morning. Because of their low fares, these flights are quite popular abroad, especially in the US and Europe.
Air India will introduce red-eye flights with fares lower than the normal fares on...
sectors like Delhi-Goa- Delhi, Delhi-Coimbatore-Delhi and Bangalore-Ahmedabad-Bangalore from November 30, the airline said in a statement.
These late night flights, popularly called 'red eye' flights, will be offered at fares considerably lower than normal and help travelers beat peak hour city traffic as well as save on hotel charges, the statement added. These services will have daily operations, it added.
The airline said its flight AI883 will leave Delhi at 2200 hours and arrive Goa at 0035 hours, while the return flight AI884 will take off from Goa at 0115 hours and land at Delhi at 0340 hours Similarly, flight AI547 will depart Delhi at 2115 hours and land at Coimbatore at 0030 hours. In its return journey, the flight will leave as AI548 from Coimbatore at 0100 hours and reach Delhi at 0400 hours.
The Bangalore-Ahmedabad flight AI589 will take off from Bangalore at 0030 hours to reach Ahmedabad at 0235 hours, Air India said adding the return flight AI590 will depart Ahmedabad at 0305 hours to touch down Bangalore at 0525 hours.
The Maharaja is trying to stay afloat with the help of funds from exchequer. Air India has a net debt of Rs 55,000 crore, including Rs 21,000-22,000 crore of aircraft debt.
Earlier, Air India has recommended to the government that its low-cost subsidiary and ground-handling unit be sold to improve the national carrier’s financial position in what could be aprecursor to its eventual divestment.
This follows a failed plan to sell the debt-laden, state-owned airline earlier this year. The report suggests that Air India Express and Air India-SATS, which were previously meant to be sold with Air India, be put up for sale along with the engineering division and another ground-handling business, said a senior aviation ministry official.