Air India Express To Connect Chennai & Singapore

Chennai finally joins the list of cities which are connected by international budget carriers. Air India Express, the only Indian international budget carrier has been flying between the Middle East and God's own country for sometime now. Even Sidin had an hilarious post on his experience onboard an Air India Express flight to Abu Dhabi. Although Air India Express had expressed interest in flying to destinations in South East Asia, it is commencing operations on the Chennai - Singapore route only from this month end. JetStar Asia, a popular budget airline, already operates on the Bangalore - Singapore route.

A quick glance through the Air India Express site shows that return fares hover around SGD 575, when compared to the SGD 700 - 900 fares offered by full service airlines. Given that the budget carriers impose restrictions like lesser weight allowance, no / limited free food and date change penalties, the fare difference may not be big enough to cause a shift from a full service airline to a budget airline. However, if AIE fares plunge south (below SGD 500), it would be a runaway success.

BTW, if Indian decides to start a budget carrier, would it name it Indian Express?