Singapore Airlines (SIA) has announced a temporary upgrade of its Boeing 737-8 services to Airbus A350-900 services from October 17&ndash20, 2023, and again on October 26 and 27, 2023. Subject to regulatory approvals, this change of aircraft type from a narrow-body to a wide-body over the Durga Puja period will help meet the surge in demand for travel during the festival.
Singapore Airlines currently flies daily from Kolkata, operating its 154-seater B737-8 aircraft from Tuesdays to Fridays and its 303-seater A350-900 aircraft every Monday, Saturday, and Sunday. With this upgrade, the airline will operate daily A350-900 services from October 14&ndash23, 2023, and again from October 26&ndash30, 2023, thus increasing SIA's total capacity from Kolkata by 22% over the Durga Puja period. Daily A350-900 operations during this time will also offer customers an inventory of 40 lie-flat Business Class seats per day, as opposed to just ten on the B737-8 aircraft.
"We are delighted to announce this temporary capacity increase from Kolkata over the Durga Puja period when travel demand usually exceeds the availability of seats," said Sy Yen Chen, General Manager India for Singapore Airlines. "We are fully committed to the West Bengal market, and we want our customers to enjoy their holidays with seamless connections to their preferred destinations on their favourite airline. Our modern Airbus A350 medium-haul aircraft, combined with award-winning inflight service and complimentary Wi-Fi across cabins, will provide enhanced comfort to travellers from Kolkata, further demonstrating SIA's commitment to product and service excellence."
Durga Puja is the most popular festival in West Bengal, usually held in September or October. The festival was enlisted on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2021. This year, Durga Puja starts on October 20. The ten-day festival is centred around Goddess Durga. During this period, crafted clay statues of the goddess are worshipped in "pandals," or pavilions, where people gather. Several folk music, culinary, artisanal, and performing arts traditions contribute to the vibrancy of this unique festival.
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