Air India has discontinued its flight connecting Pune and Mumbai due to the consistent low passenger occupancy, The Indian Express reported. The domestic flight was launched in March last year. The flight carried passengers from one city to the other in just 55 minutes.
Pune Airport Director Sanjay Dhoke officially confirmed that the service has been discontinued, citing Air India’s “commercial considerations” as the reason.
The Pune-Mumbai route witnesses a strong demand, however, Air India failed to rope in a significant passenger interest due to its inconvenient mid-day schedule, IE reported. The schedule for Air India’s Mumbai-Pune service was as follows: Flight AI 841 departed Mumbai daily at 11:05 am and arrived in Pune at 11:55 am. The return flight, AI 842, departed Pune at 12:45 pm and arrived in Mumbai at 1:35 pm.
The flight’s schedule failed to match passengers’ travel plans, IE cited sources as saying. This caused an “unmet expectations for the airline”, the report added. Most international flights from Mumbai operate at night, leaving passengers with long waits until the evening, which has further contributed to the service’s underperformance.
According to aviation expert Dhairyashil Vandekar, there is an urgent need for such a service, ideally with two flights daily—one in the early morning and another in the late evening.