With aircraft delivery on a steady schedule, Tata Group-promoted Air India is all set to increase its international flight destinations this winter. The airline plans to add Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City, Boston, and Los Angeles to the list of around 40 international destinations in its network, sources told FE. Additional flight frequencies to Australia and Europe are also on the cards.
According to sources, while Phuket and Ho Chi Minh City are slated for December booking launches, flights to Boston and LA might start in early 2024. “Flights to new international destinations are expected to start as and when new and leased aircraft arrive,” the sources said. There are more than half-a-dozen prospective international destinations on the radar. The Phuket and Ho Chi Minh City services will be operated on narrow-body aircraft, whereas flights to Boston and LA are scheduled to be operated on the leased Boeing 777 and the Airbus A350.
Consequently, the airline expects to add over 30 wide-body and narrow-body aircraft to its fleet by March 2024, including A350s, B777s and A320neos. Sources indicate that the airline expects to receive five Boeing 777s, six Airbus A350s, and 20 A320 aircraft. Besides, the carrier plans to increase flight frequencies to Australia, especially on the Delhi-Sydney and Mumbai-Melbourne routes.
Recently, Air India started flights on four new routes, including Bengaluru-Singapore, Kochi-Doha, Kolkata-Bangkok, and Mumbai-Melbourne.As part of its winter schedule for 2023, Air India aims to operate over 200 weekly flights, of which over 80 weekly flights have already been added. At the onset of the winter schedule, the airline has ramped up frequency by ‘25x’ weekly flights (each way) on eight international routes across points in Southeast Asia, the United States, and Europe.On an overall basis, Air India intends to add more than 400 weekly flights to its domestic and international network until March 2024.
