Trichy high on radar after Jet Airways, AirAsia fly in

The small Tamil Nadu city of Tiruchirapalli (Trichy) appears to be high on the radar of national as well as international carriers with Indian private airline Jet Airways and Malaysian private carrier AirAsia announcing more flights to and from the city.

Jet Airways has announced it is enhancing its domestic connectivity by linking Trichy and Vishakapatnam in the South. The airline announced daily flights between Bengaluru and Vijayawada, two additional services a day to Mangalore and an afternoon service to Trichy via Kochi six days a week from July 25.

Malaysian carrier AirAsia, all set to come up with its Indian arm AirAsia India, is increasing connectivity between Trichy and Kuala Lumpur. The airline is introducing a third daily flight frequency from Trichy to Kuala Lumpur, starting August 30, 2013. The period of travel is from August 30, 2013 to January 31, 2014.

Sudheer Raghavan, chief commercial officer, Jet Airways, said in a press release, “As disposable incomes increase in India and the propensity for air travel increases as a direct corollary, we are seeing strong demand emanate from tier II and tier III cities across India. Jet Airways is introducing new services to these cities across India to enhance domestic connectivity. This increased connectivity with Vijaywada, Trichy and Mangalore will benefit our guests across South India.”

According to an industry analyst, one main reason behind the airlines connecting to these cities is the low airport landing and parking charges charged, compared with Delhi and Mumbai. “The Kochi airport charges almost 10 per cent less than many airports. Trichy, Coimbatore, Vishakhapatnam too are much less expensive in terms of airport charges. A lot of air traffic and cargo movements take place from cities like Trichy, Coimbatore and Kochi to West Asia and Southeast Asia, making it all an attractive proposition for the airlines. With low-cost carrier AirAsia planning to start operation by the year-end with Chennai as its base, a lot of other carriers are trying to take the routes AirAsia has plans to operate on,” the analyst said.

Though AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes has not disclosed which cities it will initially connect, he has hinted at Chennai, Kochi and Trichy as part of the carrier’s India operations