Figures released from Air India and Birmingham Airport illustrate the strong demand for direct flights to the Indian Subcontinent from the region. After a long campaign to get direct flights, South Asian businesses and families in the Midlands support the new direct services to Delhi and call for the further strengthening of aviation links between the two countries. Key facts and figures:-
- Air India launched a direct service from Birmingham Airport to Delhi on 1st August 2013
- Since their flights commenced, they have carried 20,500 passengers and their services are already nearly 80% full
- The number of passengers that travelled from Birmingham Airport to India for the period Sep 12 to Aug 13 was 129,741 using indirect services, illustrating a strong demand within the Airport's catchment area
- The service operates four times a week using the new Boeing 787-8 Dreamlineraircraft. The 256 seat B787-8 series aircraft has a split cabin, consisting of 18 business class and 238 economy seats
- Latest figures from Birmingham Airport show a 13.5% increase in the number of long haul passengers using the Airport in September, compared to the same month last year
Why not?
AI aren't known for their planning expertise but this was a route which had all the right elements to work with the right size plane. A 787 is basically 767-size and is much easier to fill at sensible fares than the previous 772ER they used.
It's also got feed potential from the area north of Watford as well as local.
Believe me, you're preaching to the converted! I was merely picking up on a comment made by a certain individual who seems to believe that the world revolves around
MAN. In his (somewhat blinkered) view,
AI made the 'wrong' decision by choosing to operate from
BHX.
It was a rhetorical why not. All their ducks are in a row for this service, and only high fares could damage it or awful punctuality/reliability.
From what my Indian friend tells me, there's also a Delhi connection to be considered as many of the Indian families in or around the Midlands tend to hail from that region originally. Up here, in the north, our Indian friends seem to have more of a connection to Mumbai where he incidentally comes from.
Just doing my Christmas card list Balti ....and inexplicably I thought of you
With ref to
AI I was merely pointing out that Manchester as a major City" could do with a connection to the second fastest growing economy in Asia, I cannot be that far from the mark as Jet Airways toyed with the idea before centering on Amsterdam.....clearly they are wide of the mark as well !
Err, no, that's not what you "were merely pointing out", but, as I'm not sending Christmas cards this year, it really doesn't matter!
