AI to launch direct Lucknow-Jeddah flight from winter

Disinvestment-bound flag carrier Air India plans to launch a direct flight to the Saudi commercial hub and port city of Jeddah from Lucknow, beginning from the winter schedule. Currently, the airline operates a daily flight to Jeddah from the UP capital via New Delhi. With the direct flight, the journey time from Lucknow will come down by 3 hrs, Air India said Monday.

Air India deploys an Airbus 320 on the Lucknow-Delhi leg and then in a wide-body Boeing 787 (Dreamliner) to Jeddah from the national Capital with about 1.20 hrs transit time. "Air India is set to launch a daily direct flight from Lucknow to Jeddah from the winter. Currently this flight is operated via New Delhi," Air India said in a statement.

The new service will be operated with a 256-seater Dreamliner with 18 seats in business and the rest 238 seats in economy class, it said. As part of its international network expansion, Air India is also planning a Delhi-Toronto direct flight from September, besides flight a Mumbai-Nairobi, and Delhi- Chennai-Bali service in the coming months..