BENGALURU: After a gap of 11 years, government-run airline Air India on Friday launched its late night plane known as ‘Red Eye’ flight. The first of the three routes planned for Friday will originate from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) and will run on the Bengaluru-Ahmedabad route, making Air India the only airline to run late flights on this sector.
This is sweet news for passengers as the fare on the A320 Airbus at night will be priced at just one-third of Air India’s day flights and will run throughout the week. ‘Red Eye’ flights are so named due to the fatigue to one’s eyes caused due to lack of sleep during these hours.
Speaking to The New Indian Express from New Delhi, a senior airline official said, “It is the first time we are going back to Red Eye flights after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines (in March 2007).”
The massive slash in fare is the biggest plus for passengers. “For us, the parking charges we pay for every hour when the flight is left idle at the airport will go down substantially,” he added.
Flight No AI 589 has 140 seats with 14 executive ones. “Almost 80 per cent of the seats have been booked for the inaugural flight,” the official said.
The minimum fare is `1,396 (inclusive of taxes) as compared to a minimum fare of `5,000-plus for the day flight. The maximum could touch up to `3,800 while it is hovers around `10,000 on day flights.
A spokesperson of Bangalore International Airport Ltd said, “Bangalore airport already operates several Red Eye flights. This will be the first in the Bangalore-Ahmedabad sector.”