Air India Set to Change Air Travel: More UAE Flights, New Routes and Direct Service to the US and Europe
Dubai: With its most recent large-scale agreement with Boeing and Airbus to purchase 470 aircraft, the Indian flag carrier Air India may open up previously untapped routes to non-metropolitan areas in addition to increasing capacity on important India-UAE routes.
Not only that. Whenever Air India unifies the other Tata group airlines under one brand, it would not only pose a severe threat to rival full-service carriers serving this route but also offer passengers who currently link through Dubai and other GCC cities a profitable option.
In order to become a "world-class proposition," as stated by Tata group Chairman N Chandrasekaran, Air India is advancing full-steam.
The agreement has replacement and growth capabilities insofar as the contract is concerned.
Satyendra Pandey, Managing Partner, Aairavat Technology and Transport Ventures, said: “Order is 470 aircraft and 370 options. Air India, at the present day, consists of four entities – Air India, Vistara, Air Asia, and Air India Express. I expect deliveries of the new aircraft will be accelerated in the initial years and smoothened out in the years after.”
Pandey explained: “When you look at the capacity plans internationally, things get interesting. Because if you look at the international traffic profile from India, 60 per cent is to the Gulf, and the airline’s second-largest market is the UK. We could see more long-haul and ultra-long-haul flights that bypass the hubs. For example, Air India could put in direct flights from Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai to San Francisco, Milan, and New York.”
This strategy might be effective for business travelers who now favor Emirates, Etihad Airlines, and Qatar Airways because of the direct flight option. Pandey added that Central Asia might be another significant airline catchment area.
Source: Gulf News
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