Connectivity between New Delhi and Hong Kong is set to rise during the northern winter 2023-24 season thanks to the introduction of a new route by Vistara.

The airline, a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, will commence nonstop service between Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) and Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) on Oct. 29. Operations will be daily aboard Airbus A321neo aircraft in a three-class configuration.

“Hong Kong is one of the world’s most premier financial and commercial hubs that continues to draw significant corporate traffic from India. It has also been a very popular destination for Indian tourists,” Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan says.

“With the addition of Hong Kong, we are now able to offer our customers direct connectivity to and from three of the world’s top financial centers, the others being London and Singapore.”

The New Delhi-Hong Kong market is served double-daily by Cathay Pacific and three times per week by Air India at present. IndiGo will also resume daily flights on the 2,326-mi. (2,021-nm) sector from Oct. 5, while Air India plans to increase frequencies to 4X-weekly from the start of the winter season.

Data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows that there will be about 17,400 two-way weekly seats between the destinations by early November, compared with about 14,900 at the same time in 2019. Vistara will account for around 15.1% of the capacity available, behind Cathay on 55.2% and IndiGo on 17.9%. Air India makes up the remaining 11.8%.

Tata bought Air India in January 2022 and is in the process of merging the full-service carrier with Vistara to create a larger entity better equipped to challenge IndiGo and rivals from the Middle East. The Competition Commission of India gave the green light to the merger in early September, paving the way for combination. Once complete, the Air India brand will be retained, while Vistara’s brand will be retired.