Spreading wings

Sept. 9: Air France is considering flying to Calcutta as part of its plan to touch down in more Indian cities. Goa is also on the radar.

The airline, already selling between 82 per cent and 92 per cent of the seats on its flights to India, said the launch of services to the cities depends on the air traffic agreement signed between the two nations.

Tour operators said 1,500 to 2,000 travellers head to France from Calcutta every month on an average. “The number is increasing by around 10 per cent each year,” said Anil Punjabi of the Travel Agents Federation of India.

Lufthansa, which already flies to Calcutta from Frankfurt thrice a week, is considering daily services, a move being seen as a sign of the high demand for flights to Europe.

However, officials at Calcutta airport said they had not received any request from Air France for a slot.

Air France vice-president Bruno Matheu said in Paris that the number of passengers flying from Bangalore, where it launched services in December 2005, and Chennai, where it began touching down in October last year, has reached levels matching Mumbai, one of its older destinations.

The Delhi-Paris route is, however, the busiest.