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Lufthansa would resume passenger services connecting Frankfurt and Kolkata from December 2, after 35 years with three weekly flights, a top airline official said.
Lufthansa's General Manager (Passenger Sales India) and Director South East Asia Werner Heesen told reporters the airline would be the sixth city after Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad as the state emerged into a major business destination with priority in IT and food processing.
Heesen met West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya at the state secretariat in Kolkata on Thursday.
The airline would operate a 235-seater non-stop Airbus A340-300 between Frankfurt and Kolkata with a three class configuration establishing its presence across all metros with 45 weekly flights.
Its frequency could be increased with the hike in business, since the airline was permitted to operate 50 flights a week as per a new Indo-German Air Traffic Agreement.
Its fare in economy class would cost Rs 19,500 both ways without taxes, he said adding that the flight would have special in-flight innovations like access to high-speed wireless Internet, Bengali food and touch of Indian culture.
A 40-member delegation comprising German businessmen and VVIPs would arrive here on inaugural flight, he said.
Lufthansa withdrew its flights in 1971 citing insecurity over the naxalite agitation in the state.