Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 7 (IANS): SpiceJet has started commercial flights connecting this Kerala capital city to Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh and Chennai in Tamil Nadu with its brand new fleet of Q-400 NextGen turboprop aircraft.

This marks the commencement of the first direct flights on these routes by any airline, and these will operate daily.

SpiceJet also commenced its Kochi-Chennai service Thursday and has announced the addition of a second flight on this route from Nov 11.

SpiceJet Limited has been fast expanding its domestic footprint with the brand new fleet of the latest Q400 NextGen turboprop aircraft from Bombardier.

SpiceJet's fleet expansion, with addition of the Q400 aircraft, aims to enhance air connectivity to Tier-II and Tier-III cities and towns.

In the first phase of the Q-400 operations, the airline is connecting Hyderabad to 12 popular Tier II and Tier III destinations - Aurangabad, Bhopal, Goa, Indore, Madurai, Mangalore, Nagpur, Pune, Rajahmundry, Tirupati, Thiruvananthapuram and Vijayawada.

The Q400 NextGen turboprop aircraft can accommodate 78 passengers.

SpiceJet had placed an order for 30 such aircraft and has already taken delivery of the first five aircraft in early September. The delivery of the next two aircraft is expected by end-October.