Air India to Land More Flights to UAE and Qatar Before World Cup

Air India is the latest airline to confirm additional flights to the UAE and Qatar in November, when the FIFA World Cup kicks off.

The carrier, which has been controlled by Tata Sons since the beginning of this year, will resume four weekly flights between Dubai and Kolkata when the winter schedule begins on October 22. It will fly the Airbus A320Neo, which has 12 Business Class seats and 150 Economy seats.

"We are currently using all our entitlements to fly into Dubai," stated P.P Singh, Regional Manager of Air India. "Additional routes will require a change in bilaterals (agreements) between the two countries."

In terms of Doha flight plans, Air India may introduce more flights linking India to Qatar. "A clearer picture will emerge once all airlines register their slots on August 22," Singh added.

Air India will be trying to secure those more flights, especially before November, when traffic on these routes is expected to skyrocket as football fans go to their favorite World Cup events.

'ONE INDIA ONE FARE’

Air India is having an Indian Independence Day special sale, with tickets from Dubai starting at Dh330. The promotion will be available from August 8 until August 21.

The 'One India One Fare' scheme provides reduced one-way flights from all Gulf countries, save Oman, to any Indian location. This applies to tickets purchased during the promotion period for travel until October 15.

Flights from Dubai will cost Dh330, according to Air India. A flight to India currently costs up to Dh500, depending on the destination.

“We have seen heavy demand on Day 1 itself of the promotion and that’s a very positive sign,” said Singh.

Dreamliner Delivers

For the time being, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a huge aid to Air India. "We have noticed significant demand for the Boeing 787 Dreamliners on all India-Dubai routes since the commencement of normal scheduled flights from India in March," Singh added.

The airline has 69 weekly flights to Dubai, 35 of which are Dreamliners. This is viewed as an attempt by Air India to improve its market share in the lucrative Gulf region by providing better on-board services and newer aircraft. The Dreamliner has more legroom and is typically more pleasant than the Airbus A320.

According to Singh, the load factors for Boeing aircraft are increasing month after month and are already at more than 85%. "Although passenger counts have surpassed those of 2021, they have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels."

According to Singh, Air India's overall passenger number on the route from April to July was just modestly lower than pre-pandemic levels. "We see a very robust rebound, and forthcoming events like the Asia Cup cricket competition will be beneficial to the tourist sector as a whole."

Prepared for the winter increase

“The winter season is looking promising - we expect yields to be better than current levels and passenger volumes, which have seen a steady rise since the lifting of restrictions in March, will soon reach 96-97 per cent of pre-Covid levels,” he added.