AirAsia plans to spread in India, hub in Bangkok

Kolkata, Nov 20 : Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia is planning to make Bangkok a hub next year to expand connectivity to Indian cities, a senior company official said Friday.

"We are looking at many Indian destinations. We are going to make Bangkok a hub and introduce a flight from Phuket to Kolkata next year," AirAsia's regional head Kathleen Tan told reporters.

The carrier started flights between Kuala Lumpur and Kolkata Thursday to tap eastern India, saying it was confident the route would boost tourism and stimulate economies of India and Malaysia.

"We are also exploring connectivity between Bangkok and Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur and Delhi, Kuala Lumpur and Hyderabad, Bangkok and Delhi and Bangkok and Amritsar," Tan said.

AirAsia currently covers over 70 destinations across 20 countries in Southeast Asia with nine hubs in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. In India, its network covers only Kochi, Trivandrum and Kolkata.