Air India Express announced the commencement of operations from Goa International Airport (Dabolim Airport) with the introduction of four weekly direct flights on the Goa-Dubai sector. The first flight, IX 840, took off with 148 passengers on board.
To mark the occasion, Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express and AirAsia India, said: “We are thrilled to start our maiden international services from Goa under the Air India Express banner, which is amongst India’s most popular tourist destinations.”
“We take pride in being the only airline that offers direct connectivity to Dubai from Goa. AirAsia India, which is set to merge with Air India Express, already operates 13 daily direct flights to/from Goa, connecting five domestic cities. We hope to be a part of the tourism success story of the state and remain committed to offering the best of services to our customers.”
Earlier in the evening, the Goa travel trade joined the celebrations marking the entry of Air India Express to Goa at a function held at a city hotel with the senior leadership teams of Air India Express and AirAsia India.
Air India Express, launched in 2005, is India’s first international budget carrier and a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India. It meets the need for affordable services on short and medium haul routes connecting smaller Indian towns directly to the Gulf and South East Asia regions.
With 19 Indian cities and 14 international destinations in its network, the airline operates more than 600 flights a week. The airline has a fleet of 26 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft.
In January 2022, Air India Express, together with Air India, was successfully privatized, with ownership returning to the Tata group that had initially founded Air India.
