Air India ‘bullish’ on long-haul international routes

Air India Group, which completes three years of privatisation this month, has recorded the fastest growth in passengers on its far-flung international destinations such as the U.S., Europe and Australia.

The airline’s passenger share on routes to North America, Europe, U.K., Australia, Far East Asia and Africa stood at 16% at the time the Tata Group took over the reins of the airline from the government in January 2022. This share has risen to 21% of the total market share, where it is the only Indian player to provide non-stop connectivity since Jet Airways shut down in 2019.

“We are extremely bullish in the long-haul market,” remarked the airline’s Chief Commercial Officer Nipun Aggarwal during a press interaction last week.

Indian airlines enjoy only 21% share of international passengers, while there is room to grow upto 50%, he added.

Air India’s focus on long-haul markets is complemented by its efforts to grow traffic on metro to metro routes domestically, where the Group is the second biggest with a 30% market share. This provides it with a flow of domestic passengers to its hubs in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru to fill its seats on international flights, where its low-cost arm Air India Express ferries passengers from non-metros.

Long-haul routes are a major revenue driver, contributing $16 billion—nearly half of $34 billion revenue in FY 2024—despite accounting for just 11.7% of passengers.

To further strengthen this segment, Air India plans to capture international traffic from India currently routed through foreign hubs like Dubai and Singapore, along with drawing foreigners from SAARC and South East Asin to a major airport in India to connect to a third international destination. The airline aims to double international-to-international transit passengers from 10% to 20% in two to three years.

Air India’s fleet expansion supports these ambitions, with 11 leased Boeing 777s, six Airbus A350s, and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners from Vistara now operating on key routes like New York, San Francisco, and Frankfurt. Its legacy fleet of 40 widebody aircraft will undergo retrofitting in late 2025, adding 50% more premium seats to attract high-paying passengers.

The airline is also set to introduce First Class cabins on its Airbus A350-1000s. The first new Boeing 787-9 out of the 570 new planes ordered by the airline is expected in late 2025, following the addition of 41 planes since 2023.