Five years after hosting Routes Asia, Routesonline hears about the massive growth of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai and how it is dealing with capacity constraints.
In the international market IndiGo is currently ranked as India’s sixth largest carrier behind local operators Jet Airways, Air India, low-cost carrier Air India Express and Gulf giants Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways. It will this year hold a 4.1 per cent share of international capacity from India, based on published schedules, up from 3.2 per cent in 2016.
India is still failing to address capacity issues and high fuel prices despite a recent rethink of the country’s aviation policy. Speaking at a Routes Talks Focus on India, Mumbai International Airport CEO Rajeev Jain said the new Civil Aviation Policy has failed to address the fundamental problem of ensuring there is enough space for the country’s aviation sector.
The relocation of domestic operations to T2 is part of Jet Airways' strategic commitment to develop Indian airports as hubs, providing greater connectivity on its domestic and international networks. Jet Airways operates over 135 daily flights out of Mumbai to destinations in India and around the world.
The revised Amsterdam operation and agreement with KLM will enable Jet Airways to increase its coverage of the European market, albeit on a codeshare basis. Alongside its existing Brussels services the carrier currently only serves two other European points: London Heathrow (daily from Delhi and twice daily from Mumbai) and Paris Charles De Gaulle (daily from Mumbai).
Jet Airways currently offers a mini hub operation at Brussels Airport with daily flights from Delhi and Mumbai in India connecting in the Belgian capital to daily continuation flights to Newark, USA and Toronto, Canada, but changes to its business strategy after United Arab Emirates (UAE) national carrier, Etihad Airways became an equity partner mean this demand is not being more efficiently handled via Abu Dhabi International Airport.
The first new Pharma Express route commenced on November 10, 2015 and operates from Mumbai via Ahmedabad to Doha on Tuesdays and Fridays. The second new Pharma Express route commenced on November 11, 2015 and operates from Hyderabad to Doha on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Both flights will offer connectivity across Qatar Airways’ extensive global network.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called for a comprehensive policy for aviation aligned with India’s government’s stated intention to make it easier to do business in India.
The airline will offer a three times weekly link between Mahe and Paris Charles De Gaulle from July 1, 2015, using an Airbus A330-200, replacing the current twice weekly offering via the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Delivering on a brand promise of “a world class flying experience” Vistara is the first full service carrier in India to introduce a ‘Premium Economy’ class to the domestic market. It will configure its A320s in a 148-seat arrangement with 16 seats in Business Class, 36 in Premium Economy and 96 in Economy Class.
Subject to regulatory approvals, the new three times per week service between Mahé and Mumbai will be launched from December 2, 2015 and will be operated by a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft, configured with 16 Business Class and 120 Economy Class seats.
Lufthansa is likely to receive the green light from Indian authorities to fly the A380 into Mumbai, but without the strong transfer traffic its current operating slot affords, it is unlikely to want to move the service to accommodate the utilisation of the larger aircraft and may have to wait up to 15 months until the airport completes work to support simultaneous A380 operations.
UK carrier Virgin Atlantic Airways is to suspend flights to Cape Town, Mumbai, Tokyo and Vancouver as it instead looks to strengthen its transatlantic partnership with shareholder Delta Air Lines. The latest network changes are part of an ongoing network review and business recovery plan to return the carrier to long-term profitability.
Our data analysis shows that bi-directional O&D demand between Nigeria and India has seen an average annual growth of 25.3 per cent over the past ten years as traffic has more than trebled from around 46,000 passengers in 2004 to just under 150,000 in 2013.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline’s first Airbus A380 will operate commercially to London Heathrow from December 2014, while its first Boeing 787-9s will debut on routes to Düsseldorf from December this year and then to Washington DC and Mumbai from January 2015.
