Air India

[User001]

I think most have worked out the new airline now Ian lol

 

[nwoody2001]

Unfortunately I have had confirmation that this is not growth....

We are switching from 7x weekly BHX-DEL to 5x weekly BHX-DEL & 2x weekly BHX-ATQ...

Lets hope that direct flights increase the traffic levels!

 

[nwoody2001]

Unfortunately I have had confirmation that this is not growth....

We are switching from 7x weekly BHX-DEL to 5x weekly BHX-DEL & 2x weekly BHX-ATQ...

Lets hope that direct flights increase the traffic levels!

 

[User001]

Air India probably re-adjusting for a 2 pronged defence.

BHX-ATQ is the main market of the route, DEL was there purely due to it being the main hub.

With increased competition from Qatar initially, and soon the new airline, perhaps Air India feel the need to reposition and make sure they remain the airline of choice for ATQ.

That combined with Spicejet starting a daily MAN-DEL next summer, that too could put pressure on the BHX-DEL sector.

 

[nwoody2001]

Has their been a formal announcement by Spicejet or either airport yet or suggestion of MAN-DEL purely down to slot applications at the moment?

 

[User001]

It’s not just a slot application no. They can’t announce yet until the aircraft is sourced.

 

[thunderchild]

Sorry, for a minute I thought this was a BHX thread!

 

[David_itl]

What would be the likelihood of AI going back to 5 weekly 777 on BHX-DEL and keeping BHX-ATQ on the 787? Although the non-stop option would be 1st port of call for most, there may be some cost-conscious passengers that would be tempted at the cheaper deals that presumably Uzbekistan Airways would offer? Boosting AI capacity would allow for some more discounting of prices.

 

[thunderchild]

The 777s have first class and a much high proportion of business class seats meaning they are probably too premium heavy for the BHX market. I think the 787 is still the best choice of aircraft for both DEL and ATQ.

 

[Ray Finkle]

I never understand the reasoning behind the notion that Birmingham to India is all about Amritsar when it clearly isn't.

Every time I've checked the CAA Stats there has always been more passengers into Delhi than there are heading on to Amritsar. Air India themselves have said that the BHX-DEL sector is the one that makes the money which is why the service has operated as it does for so long. There are also the amount of connections made via Delhi, not only across India but also to other international destinations (AI once said that 10-12% of passengers were connecting on to SYD/MEL). If that wasn't enough then the 2/5 split in favour of Delhi speaks volumes, if it was all about ATQ then they'd have 5 weekly flights.

I get the feeling that this move is just to placate the politicians who have been so vocal about getting direct Birmingham flights from Amritsar.

#AirIndia #Birmingham #BHX

 

[Ray Finkle]

The Air India website doesn't seem to have been updated yet with the current schedule still showing, so it's hard to say if it will be a straight 2/5 split or if the routing will just reverse twice a week.

Looking ahead to the future if things go well it may actually be easier to increase frequency, possibly bringing Delhi back to daily and having Amritsar at 2/3 weekly. It's been a while since I've seen a load factor below 90% so hopefully something is being looked at.

Excellent news for the Sikh community

 

[User001]

No one has said BHX-ATQ is the only game in town, but it is clearly a huge driver in the BHX-India market. It was one of the main reasons AI came onto the route, it’s the main driver behind the Turkmenistan route and likely to be a contributing factor in the new eastern route. It’s also been touted by posters here that TK are not expanding BHX to over 14 weekly due to them not getting the Armitsar route going.

So no, it’s not the only reason to serve India, but it’s a big one, and that’s all I’ve personally said. If Delhi was so big, then why reduce it at all, why not daily DEL and 2 weekly ATQ?

 

[Deleted member 8862]

Interesting point about Delhi, rather than Amritsar, it would seem to be likely to have been political pressure brought to bear on AI.

Although the original AI routing i think used to be Amritsar and Bombay via Moscow with the 707.

Bombay doesn't seem to figure at all these days..

 

[Ray Finkle]

It was one of the main reasons AI came onto the route

Not disagreeing that ATQ is a big market but when Air India returned in 2013 their original routing was to be just DEL-BHX-DEL, it was actually Birmingham who campaigned (successfully as it turned out) to get the route extended to ATQ.

it would seem to be likely to have been political pressure brought to bear on AI.

The political pressure has been quite intense at times even going as far as the courts. Amritsar now have their wish of a direct long haul service so lets hope that the community support it.

The article in the Birmingham Mail pretty much mirrors the airport press release except saying "The exact details of the route's launch the days it will be flying are still to be announced."

 

[Deleted member 8862]

My mistake, of course Bombay is now known as Mumbai.

Some countries are worse than the bl****dy romans for renaming their cities..

 

[Brum X]

Great news for our Indian community here in Greater Birmingham.

It also shows commitment from Air India in BHX and in keeping BHX the premier airport to India outside london.

 

[Ianbutty]

Two routes are better than one.

 

[Ray Finkle]

The articles that I have read so far suggest that full details are yet to be released so I wonder if the comment below has been somehow lost in translation.

The airport's aviation director, William Pearson, said the new non-stop connection will add to the existing daily direct flight to Delhi.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/pti...stop-from-birmingham-to-amritsar-1710469.html

 

[Kevin Farnell]

Every time I've checked the CAA Stats there has always been more passengers into Delhi than there are heading on to Amritsar.

Just for the record, theses are the CAA figures for the Air India service this year -

Jan 2017

ATQ 6794
DEL 7223

Feb 2017

ATQ 5800
DEL 6570

Mar 2017

ATQ 6809
DEL 6796

Apr 2017

ATQ 6955
DEL 5422

May 2017

ATQ 7192
DEL 4835

Jun 2017

ATQ 6067
DEL 6461

Jul 2017

ATQ 6109
DEL 6781

Aug 2017

ATQ 6679
DEL 6020

Sep 2017

ATQ 6551
DEL 7237

As you can see, there are occasions when ATQ has more passengers than DEL although for most months they are pretty close. What the reason is for these changes (Monsoon season, religous festivals), I have no idea.

Regards
Kevin

 

[Kevin Farnell]

Although the original AI routing i think used to be Amritsar and Bombay via Moscow with the 707.

Certainly was and 2 or even 3 days late was not unusual.

Kevin