AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, On Friday flagged off its daily flight between Kolkata and Kuala Lumpur. The low-cost carrier is also exploring possibilities of starting flight between Kolkata and Bangkok and Kolkata and Phuket by next year, said Kathleen Tan, regional head of commercial, AirAsia.

"If the passenger load factor is good, we will start a second flight on Kolkata-Kuala Lumpur route," said Tan. The Malaysian low-cost carrier plans to launch flight service to other destinations of the country like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Amritsar from Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur in the future.

AirAsia had launched its first route to Trichy in Tamil Nadu on December 1, 2008, which incidentally was the first airline in South East Asia to fly direct to the south Indian city. So far AirAsia have carried over 1.2 lakh passengers to and fro Trichy.

“With 28,000 seats sold to date for the new route, it is a significant achievement for this market. Ae are committed to expand this market and provide excellent opportunity to the community to enjoy our unbelievable low fares and world class service. With Kolkata added to our extensive network, AirAsia is unlocking the potential of international travel from Kuala Lumpur to eastern India and its surrounding areas,” Tan said.

Meanwhile West Bengal tourism minister Manab Mukherjee on Friday urged the Union Railways minister Mamata Banerjee to extend the route of the special train for Buddhist pilgrims to Kolkata. This train currently travels between New Delhi and Gaya. Mukherjee will shortly be writing to Banerjee in this regard.

Speaking on the sidelines of the programme on the occasion of the launch of AirAsia's daily flight on Kolkata-Kuala Lumpur route Mukherjee said, "In West Bengal, we also have several Buddhist pilgrimage sites. I will request the railway minister to extend the route of the special train to Kolkata to give an opportunity for the tourists to visit those sites."