New Delhi: SpiceJet on Monday (October 5, 2020) announced that they are going to operate long haul flights from India to London from December 4.
The United Kingdom's capital will be connected with two major Indian cities namely Delhi and Mumbai.
SpiceJet said that it will become the first Indian low-cost airline to operate flights to the UK.
The airline will operate thrice-a-week to London including twice from Delhi and once-a-week from Mumbai.
From Delhi, SpiceJet flight will depart at 1 pm on every Friday and Sunday and reach London at 5.30 pm on the same day, while from Mumbai, the flight will depart on every Monday at 12.45 pm and will arrive in London at 5.30 pm on the same day.
Flights from London to Delhi will depart on every Monday and Friday at 7.30 pm which will arrive in Delhi at 7.55 am on the next day. Flights from London to Mumbai will depart on every Sunday at 7.30 pm which will arrive in Mumbai at 8.45 am on the following day.
Also read | SpiceJet launches daily flight services from Darbhanga to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru
These non-stop flights from India will be operating to London's Heathrow airport and will operate under the air bubble agreement with the UK.
SpiceJet had operated its maiden long-haul charter flight from London’s Heathrow airport on August 20 to repatriate 329 Indian & British nationals.
Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet said, "This is a huge milestone for us and I am proud of the fact that SpiceJet will be the first Indian low-cost airline to operate non-stop long-haul flights to the UK. London is one of the busiest long-haul destinations from India and our convenient flight timings should suit the convenience of our passengers perfectly."
"While the last few months has been the worst-ever period for the global aviation industry battling the COVID pandemic, I am proud of the determination and resolve shown by Team SpiceJet. From repatriating over 1.3 lakh Indian nationals from across the globe including Amsterdam, Toronto, Moscow, Rome and London to operating wide-body passenger and cargo flights to now starting flights to Heathrow, the last few months have been very significant for us."
"Providing non-stop connectivity from India to different parts of the world and strengthening our own airport hubs has been a long-cherished dream and with our London operations, we have taken a small step in that direction. We hope our passengers, both business and leisure, make the most of this opportunity of creating fond memories forever with us," stated Singh.
To celebrate the launch of its first long-haul flight, the airline is offering all-inclusive introductory return promotional fare starting at Rs 53,555 on both Delhi-London-Delhi and Mumbai-London-Mumbai routes. The equivalent return fare in Pound Sterling is GBP 565. The one-way starting fare will be Rs 25,555 (GBP 270) on Delhi–London and Mumbai-London routes and Rs 29,555 (GBP 312) on London-Delhi and London-Mumbai routes.
SpiceJet will use an Airbus A330-900 Neo aircraft for these flights. The 371-seater twin-aisle A330 has a configuration of 353 economy and 18 business class seats and is said to easily fly non-stop from India to major destinations across the world like New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Paris, London, Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne, Johannesburg, São Paulo amongst others.
Notably, the scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since the first coronavirus induced lockdown on March 23 but the Vande Bharat Mission flights are operating with an aim to bring back stranded Indians from foreign destinations.
Earlier on Sunday, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that more than 19.7 lakh have returned to India and flown out since the Vande Bharat Mission began on May 6.
Our mission is to reach out to every stranded Indian. More than 19.7 lakh have returned to India & flown out since VBM began on 6 May.
We continue undaunted.हम विदेश में फंसे हर भारतीय तक पहुंचेंगे। 6 मई से अब तक 19.7लाख लोग या तो भारत आ चुके हैं या यहां से बाहर जा चुके हैं। pic.twitter.com/dKptPCxzce
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) October 4, 2020
Although, the domestic operations are in full flow as there were 1,461 departures on October 3 which saw a total of 1,52,412 flyers and 3,05,494 footfalls at the airports.
Air travel continues to emerge as India's prefered, safe & time saving mode of transport.
Domestic Operations on 3 Oct 2020.
Departures 1461
Total number of flyers 1,52,412
Total movements 2925
Footfalls at airports 3,05,494 pic.twitter.com/a3YVUipkJC— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) October 4, 2020
