British Airways will likely launch a direct flight service between London and Kochi, making travel between Kerala and the UK hassle-free and easy.
According to sources, Cochin International Airport Limited (Cial) and British Airways have already held talks, and if everything goes according to plan, the service should start in three months.
Top sources claim that negotiations are moving along and that Cial is interested in the planned sector, despite the company’s formal refusal to disclose the plan.
British Airways Flights
We also discover that the airline has evaluated the passenger conveniences and baggage handling at the Kochi airport. European connectivity has long been a need of ex-pats, and Cial has prioritized expanding its direct flights to European locations.
During the Routes World Conference 2022 in Las Vegas, Cial representatives met with British Airways representatives and provided them with information on the airport’s profile and facilities.
Since then, there have been numerous rounds of fruitful conversations about a direct trip, according to a source. Given the enormous number of Keralites living in the UK, the new service will come as a major comfort to them.
Direct flights between London and Kochi
More direct flights between London and Kerala have long been a demand of Malayali groups in the UK. Only Air India now offers direct service, three times each week, between London and Kochi.
The AI service, which debuted in 2019, has been very successful. Later, the route was changed to Gatwick-Kochi-London. However, passengers must frequently rely on connecting flights across the Middle East.
Furthermore, as AI is the only player in the market, airfare on the route is frequently very expensive. Depending on demand, a round-trip in economy class on the AI aircraft between Kochi and London can cost anything from Rs 65,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
For a roundtrip, the business class is between Rs 2.2 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh. The proposed London-Kochi flight, according to Keralites in the UK, will also be a huge success. Following the opening of the country’s health sector to foreigners, more students are choosing to pursue further education in the UK, and there is a significant influx of healthcare personnel from Kerala to the country.
Emerging Market
With a new player entering the market, travelers expect more affordable flying tickets. The new service will help not just the Keralites who reside in and around London but also those who reside in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland due to the large number of connecting flights British Airways offers between these locations and Gatwick.
Balagopal Balakrishnan, a Keralite living in the UK and a Malayali community activist, remarked, “Or Heathrow.” With more than 50 flights per week to destinations including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai, British Airways has India as one of its key markets.
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Source: Time of Indi