Air India?s plans to increase its flights to Southeast Asia and West Asia from June may hit a roadblock if the pilot impasse persists for long. The carrier was planning to increase its frequency, especially to West Asia, from the next month. An airline official said that while the plan has not been shelved, going ahead with it would depend on when the strike is called off.
The carrier’s international revenues had improved in the last three months before the strike pegged it back again. In January, the revenue from international operations went up 27.2%. ?The seat factor yields were also better. In fact, if there had been no strike, the performance would have improved further,? said an AI official. He added: ?Though we don?t see a major impact on revenues as of now, if the strike continues, it would certainly affect our international plans.?
The aviation ministry recently opened 11 new international routes ? Mumbai-Dar-es-Salaam, Delhi-Guangzhou, Delhi-Yangon, Delhi-Tashkent, Delhi-Ho-Chi-Minh City, Delhi-Hanoi, Delhi-Almaty, Delhi-Macao, Delhi-Addis Ababa, Delhi-Melbourne and Delhi-Sydney ? for domestic carriers to enhance their global network. With this, it was expected that the international services of AI and its subsidiary, Air India Express, would rise from 430 flights per week to 471 each week this summer. The AI official said the plans for Australia would not be impacted as its operation was supposed to commence from August.
