SpiceJet, the most aggressive of India’s low-cost carriers, launched 10 new flights under the government-supported UDAN scheme, including eight to Gwalior and four connecting Bhopal.
Gwalior will be SpiceJet’s 52nd domestic destination.
The move will make the airline the only one to offer daily direct flights on several sectors, such as Gwalior-Hyderabad, Gwalior-Jammu, Gwalior-Bengaluru and Gwalior-Kolkata.
It will also make it the biggest operator of UDAN flights in India. With the addition of these new flights from Gwalior, Bhopal and Jharsuguda (announced during the week), SpiceJet will be operating 39 daily flights under the regional connectivity scheme.
“In the last three days, SpiceJet has announced the launch of 16 new UDAN flights reiterating our commitment to providing air connectivity to the smaller towns and cities of India,” said Ajay Singh – CMD, SpiceJet.
The airline will be deploying its Bombardier Q-400 aircraft on all the ten UDAN routes and will be using its fleet of Boeing 737 for the two non-RCS routes.
Other towns covered by Spicejet under UDAN flights — which are eligible for government subsidy — are Kishangarh, Pakyong, Porbandar, Kandla, Puducherry, Jaisalmer, Adampur, Surat and Kanpur.
SpiceJet had recently added Bhopal as its 50th domestic destination.
The airline said its fares on the new sectors will start at Rs 3,701. The Bhopal-Udaipur sector will see fares starting at Rs 2,293.