New Delhi, Nov 24 (IANS): Tata owned Air India is set to connect Delhi with Phuket, Thailand's popular island destination, with a non-stop service from December 15.

The service will meet the demand for convenient air link between the two cities for tourism and trade, while further bolstering the airline's expansion plans, an airline official said on Friday.

According to the airline spokesperson, operated with an A320neo aircraft offering 162 seats (150 in Economy and 12 in Business Class), AI 378 will depart from Delhi at 1.10 a.m. to arrive in Phuket the same day at 7.10 a.m.

The return flight AI 379 will take off from Phuket at 8.10 a.m.

Commencing with a four-flights-a-week schedule (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays), the service will be enhanced to a daily operation from January 2024.

"Phuket is a popular global destination and holds a significant base for business and tourism. We are delighted to welcome Phuket into our network and will continue to expand our connectivity and enhance frequency on domestic and international sectors providing more flexibility of choice to our customers and contributing to the growth in the aviation sector," said Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial & Transformation Officer, Air India.

Air India currently operates a total of 26 flights to Bangkok per week with daily non-stop flights from Delhi and Mumbai and six flights in a week from Kolkata.