As Air India inducts more widebody aircraft, the airline can add more routes and expand its international network, which was the basic premise of privatising the airline. Air India recently had to let go of Amsterdam flights, with Schiphol not renewing their slots. That aircraft is now going to fly to Australia.

Air India to launch flights between Mumbai – Melbourne

Today, Air India announced it will launch the first-ever non-stop services to Melbourne in Australia from Mumbai as it expands its route network. 

Air India will operate three times a week between Mumbai and Melbourne starting December 15, 2023, becoming the only non-stop operator between Mumbai and Australia. Air India already operates daily services between Delhi and Melbourne and between Delhi and Sydney. 

The new Mumbai-Melbourne service, which is being launched with the backing of the Victoria State Government,  will add nearly 40,000 seats per year into the Australian state of Victoria, where the Indian community is estimated at over 200,000, constituting about 40% of the total Indian diaspora in Australia. The new services aim to respond to the growing demand to visit friends and relatives and capture demand for business and leisure travel to the region.

Air India used to operate a hopping service briefly to Melbourne back in 1981, so this marks the return of the BOM-MEL route after over 40 years, albeit on a non-stop basis this time around.

The Labor Government of the State of Victoria estimates that the Air India flights will generate $55 million for the Victorian economy each year and create an estimated 264 jobs in the aviation and tourism sectors. Last year, 149,000 people from India travelled to Victoria for tourism.

Victoria is also a key study destination for Indian students, with around 53,000 international students enrolled in Victorian institutions in 2022.

Exporters will also benefit from the new flights, adding more than 1,800 tonnes of annual air freight from Victoria to Mumbai – a major financial centre and cargo hub. India is already a fast-growing export market, with 368 tonnes of goods valued at $33 million exported by air freight to India last financial year.

Here are the timings of the flight and days of operation.

The flights on the Mumbai-Melbourne route will be operated by Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring 18 flat beds in Business Class and 238 seats in Economy. This option will benefit those who currently want to fly non-stop and skip the one-stop transit via South East Asia.

Air India’s flights to enable domestic and international connections

Travellers from 17 Indian cities can take convenient, one-stop connections to and from Melbourne via Delhi or Mumbai. The new Mumbai-Melbourne route enables seamless two-way connectivity between London Heathrow and Melbourne via Delhi and Mumbai.

On this occasion, Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial & Transformation Officer, Air India, said,

We look forward to launching the only non-stop flight between Mumbai and Melbourne. This is a great step forward in our ongoing transformation programme, which among other aspects aims at connecting India to more of the world with non-stop flights. We are excited to showcase the positively changing Air India flying experience to travellers on this route, of which great Indian hospitality will remain a cornerstone.

Bottomline

Air India has announced the launch of a three times weekly flight between Mumbai and Melbourne, making the return of a route last operated in the early 1980s. This flight will be operated with a Boeing 787-8 aircraft and backed by Victoria’s state government. As more equipment comes online, this route could be further developed with more frequencies to be added. The flight will also enable connections between London and Melbourne via Mumbai.

What do you think about adding the Mumbai – Melbourne flights in the coming weeks?

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