BANGKOK, 22 November 2024: Thai Lion Air will add two new destinations in India — Chennai and Kolkata in mid December — increasing its network to seven Indian cities ahead of the festive peak season.
India is one of Thailand’s top five source markets for visitor arrivals, prompting a steady resumption of airline services since 2023, mainly to Phuket and Bangkok.
Thailand’s visa-free policy for Indian nationals has made it easier for Indian tourists to visit the country. India’s growing middle class has more disposable income to spend on travel. Indian tourists spend an average of THB40,000 per trip in Thailand.
According to Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the country welcomed 1,725,659 Indian tourists during the first 10 months of 2024.
Thai Lion Air’s inaugural flights will depart on 15 December for Chennai and 16 December for Kolkata from Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport (DMK).
The low-cost airline will serve both destinations with four weekly flights using its Boeing 737-800s with 167 seats in a single-class configuration.
Flights to Chennai
Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the coast of the Bay of Bengal.
Thai Lion Air will fly from its Bangkok base to Chennai four times weekly on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Flight SL240 departs Bangkok (DMK) at 2255 and arrives in Chennai (MAA) at 0100.
Flight SL241 departs Chennai at 0200 and arrives in Bangkok at 0710 (plus a day) Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
The airline quotes a lead-in fare of THB3,525 (one-way), but its website promotes a roundtrip fare of THB5,650.
Flights to Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, once the main channel of the Ganges River, about 96 miles (154 km) upstream from the head of the Bay of Bengal. A city of commerce, transport, and manufacturing, Kolkata is the dominant urban centre of eastern India. (Wikipedia).
Thai Lion Air will fly from Bangkok Don Mueng Airport (DMK) to Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport four times weekly on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday using a Boeing 737-800 with 167 seats.
Flight SL242 departs Bangkok (DMK) at 0030 and arrives in Kolkata (CCU) at 0135 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Flight SL243 departs Kolkata at 0235 and arrives in Bangkok at 0635
The airline quotes a lead-in fare of THB7,100 (roundtrip) for the Kolkata service.
Thai Lion Air already serves five destinations in India, quoting roundtrip promotional fares for December bookings. They are Ahmedabad (THB9,715), Amritsar (THB6,720), Bengaluru (THB8,850), Kochi (THB9,880) and Mumbai (THB9,450).
