Air India, the Indian flag carrier is looking at starting direct flights to Los Angeles, Boston & 2 more Asian destinations. When the airline announced its new Mumbai to Melbourne route, it hinted at the upcoming launch of 4 International destinations. I think, we have some idea now about which destinations the airline is going to start.
Boston & Los Angeles
The airline is looking to increase the number of destinations to United States of America. Currently, the airline is operating to Newark, JFK, Chicago, Washington Dulles & San Francisco International Airport. It is expected that the bookings for these American destinations will start in December this year. Flights may start in early 2024.
The airline will be getting delivery of 6 Airbus A350-900 and 4 former Etihad Boeing 777-300ER in the upcoming time. Initially, the airline will deploy the Airbus A350-900 on domestic routes for crew familiarisation. So, it can be expected that the airline will initially deploy the Boeing 777 on this new ultra long haul route.
Air India used to operate non-stop flights to Los Angeles but stopped flying after the airline started flying to San Francisco.
Phuket & Saigon
Apart from American destinations, the airline is also looking to start some short/medium haul routes. It is constantly getting deliveries of Airbus A320neos which it leased in 2022. With this jets, Air India is planning to start flying to Phuket and Ho Chi Minh City.
Finally, some major Full Service carrier from India is looking at Vietnamese market as the market is totally dominated by VietJet Air. From Indian side, only IndiGo operates to Hanoi & Saigon. The aircraft to be used on this routes will be Airbus A320/Airbus A321.
More flights & frequencies
Air India has more than 6 destinations in radar as of now. The airline will announce as soon as it gets delivery of more & more aircraft. Apart from starting new destinations, the airline is looking to increase flight frequencies on various European & Australian routes. It recently announced the launch of flights between Mumbai & Melbourne. After launch, the airline will increase frequency on this new route. Furthermore, it will increase frequency on Delhi-Sydney.
With Dutch Government removing the flight cap, it may be expected that Air India can restart Amsterdam flights as well. The airline started flying to Amsterdam in June but was forced to shut down operations as it failed to acquire slots which it wanted. We will have to wait & see whether Air India restart AMS ops or not.
Source : Financial Express
