Aviation snippets

Spirit Airlines, a nonscheduled flight operator, started services on the Kolkata-Andal-Patna route which will have three flights a week. The first nine-seater aircraft of Spirit Airlines landed in Andal on Monday .On the first day , three passengers travelled to Patna from Andal.
Regional manager (operations) of Spirit Airlines Gouranga Bhattacharya said online booking of tickets on Kolkata-Andal-Patna route also started from Monday . Passengers would have the option of being picked up from their homes, he added.
The fare has been fixed at Rs.720 a passenger, said sources. At 11am, a flight from Kolkata will land in Andal, from where it will leave for Patna at 11.25am. Similarly , the flight will arrive at Andal from Patna at 3.25 pm and will depart for Kolkata at 4.30 pm.

In a historic leap, Air India's 72-seater aircraft landed on Kullu-Manali airport at Bhuntar for the first time on Wednesday.Earlier, only 48-seater aircraft were operating on the route.
Kullu-Manali airport director YK Sharma said that Air India's ATR 72 plane successfully landed on the airport. “It will operate six sorties a week, except for Tuesday.With an increase in the seating capacity, the airfare too has decreased,“ he said. Indian Airlines was the first to operate its small aircraft on Delhi-Kullu airway in the late 50s when the airport was built. MDLR, Kingfisher, and Vayudoot have also offered their services on this route. A private air company was keen on flying a 78-seater aircraft to Kullu but despite successful trial, it did not operate even a single aircraft.
Sharma said that the aircraft would fly with few seats empty due to short runway. “Still the seating capacity is more than before,“ he added.
Till last Monday, Air India's ATR 48 was making sorties between Delhi and Kullu. Its airfare was nearly Rs 15,000 per seat, which was too expensive. However, the airfare of ATR 72 on Wednesday was Rs 6,900 per seat.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has spent Rs 1 crore in building a new terminal at Kullu-Manali airport. The move has cheered the tourism fraternity of Kullu Manali.Over 99.9 per cent tourists are forced to take a 14-hour journey by Delhi-Manali national highway which is already in dilapidated condition. “This is what we were waiting for. We need more such aircraft so that airfare on this route decreases automatically,“ said Manali Hoteliers' Association president Anup Ram Thakur.