Monday, November 14 2005 16:29 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Air Deccan, India's first low cost carrier today (Nov 14, 2005) announced its plans to connect Kolkata with Agartala, Raipur, Ranchi, Patna and Silchar with daily flights.

While Kolkata - Patna flights will commence on 26th November 2005, the rest of the sectors will begin operations on 14th November 2005. The bookings for all sectors are open for travel till 31st January 2006.

Capt Gopinath commented, "Bringing in connectivity to smaller towns gives a fillip to the economy. We always look at an equitable balance between small and big towns. Several small towns in India are rich in natural resources, have tourism potential and are developing rapidly. That is where the wealth of our economy lies and needs to be tapped. It is important that these towns are connected to the major hubs in India and these new flights will provide mobility to people at very low fares".

A 48 seater ATR 42-500 has been deployed on these routes. Fares on all these routes start at Rs 500 (plus taxes) and go up to the last day fare.