Austrian Airlines To Launch Five Weekly Flights Ex-Mumbai

After having shifted their headquarters to Mumbai from Delhi, Austrian Airlines plans to launch five weekly flights ex-Mumbai from September 1, 2005. Disclosing details about this new venture, Amey Amladi, regional sales manager for western and southern India, Austrian Airlines, said, "We already have daily flights from Delhi and plan to start five flights per week ex-Mumbai from this September. We are also aiming to increase the Mumbai frequency to seven flights per week in our summer schedule from 2006." The airline would be using the Boeing 767-300 aircraft with a configuration of 36 business class and 209 economy class seats.

According to Amladi, the airline was also looking at adding a third destination in the second half of 2006 and is considering cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad among other options. He said that the reason for shifting base to Mumbai was due to the fact that western India, that is Pune and Gujarat, contributed a substantial amount of business along with southern India. The airline, according to Amladi, has identified student traffic as an area of concentration. "We have launched special return fares to Europe and the US for Indian students. Our other primary target would be the corporate segment for our business class offerings and special corporate deals that we will launch soon. We are working closely with the Austrian National Tourist Office to promote Austria as a preferred destination," he added.