Underserved Route: Kolkata-Pune

Kolkata and Pune, the two major cities of the East and West India, are served by the fifth busiest and ninth busiest airports in India respectively. But the direct air connectivity between Kolkata and Pune is not yet fully developed as only one daily non-stop flight and three one-stop direct flights are operational on the route as of date. In fact Kolkata is the only metro city which receives just one daily non-stop flight from Pune. Still a rapid increase has been experienced in the demand of air travel between the two cities in recent times. In May 2016, a total of 19,323 O&D passengers (two-way) have traveled between Kolkata and Pune, reporting a 26% growth from almost a year ago.

Analysis: Bengaluru-Guwahati direct flight

The prospect of new direct flight between Bengaluru, the leading metropolis of South India and Guwahati, the hub of entire North East India, has never been so bright. As a rapid increase has been experienced in the demand of air travel between the two cities in recent times. In fact Bengaluru is the fourth busiest domestic route from Guwahati. In May 2016, a total of 17,223 O&D passengers (two-way) have traveled between Bengaluru and Guwahati which is more than double the number of passengers traveled almost a year ago. The flight distance between Bengaluru and Guwahati is 2,042 km (1,102 nm) making it one of the longest domestic route in India.

The Curious Case of Kolkata-Europe direct flight

Currently Kolkata airport lacks any direct link to Europe, so people travelling to European destinations have to fly via Delhi, Mumbai or Middle East hubs. Even smaller cities like Ahmedabad and Amritsar have direct flight to London and Birmingham via Mumbai and Delhi respectively owing to much larger diaspora from Gujarat and Punjab compared to that of Bengal. Kolkata's long-haul international market heavily depends on visiting friends and relatives (VFR) traffic which is often price sensitive therefore a sizable demand for economy-class seats exist but premier class (business-class or higher) demand remains low on European routes.