Air India to operate wide-body Airbus A330 on Kozhikode-Sharjah route

November 12, 2007

Gulf-bound passengers from Kozhikode can now look forward to increased capacity and wide-body luxury.  National carrier Air India will begin the operation of its first leased wide-body A330-200 aircraft on the high density Kozhikode-Sharjah sector from 10th November. 

The 279-seater A330-200 aircraft will operate four times a week on the Mumbai-Kozhikode-Kochi-Sharjah sector and thrice a week Mumbai-Goa-Kozhikode-Sharjah and return sector.   Besides a roomy cabin with ample leg space and comfortable seats, this twin-configuration aircraft of 255 Economy and 24 Executive class seats, also offers the attractive feature of audio-video inflight entertainment. 

Kozhikode has a large segment of expatriate workforce in the Gulf.  Air India and the erstwhile Indian have been providing connectivity to destinations in the Gulf since early Nineties.
 

Flight IC 595 (Mumbai-Kozhikode-Kochi-Sharjah) will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with departure Kozhikode at 1815 hrs and reach Sharjah at 2200 hrs via Kochi.  In the return direction, IC 596 will leave Sharjah at 0110 hrs and arrive in Kozhikode at 0745 hrs, again via Kochi on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. 

The Mumbai-Goa-Kozhikode-Sharjah flight IC 597 will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays leaving Kozhikode at 2025 hrs and reaching Sharjah direct at 2240 hrs.  On its return, on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, flight IC 598 will depart Sharjah at 0035 hrs and arrive in Kozhikode via Goa at 0715 hrs.  

Air India and the erstwhile Indian have collectively placed an order for 111 aircraft of which 20 have already been inducted in the fleet.  As more and more aircraft are inducted, Air India will expand its network and also replace its existing aircraft with new aircraft.