Air India hopes to lift off as aircraft touches down

As the much delayed Boeing 787 Dreamliner makes an official touchdown, complete with a water cannon salute, in Delhi tomorrow to join Air India’s fleet, the ailing airline is working on a plan to regain its lost space in the international skies. While AI will not officially share its route plans for the 27 B-787 aircraft (at least three are expected this year), insiders and route planners say with its ability to fly optimally for 10 to 13 hours without a refuel, one destination is surely going to be Australia. According to airport data, as many as 550 passengers fly from Delhi to either Sydney or Melbourne through either Singapore or Hong Kong or other destinations every day, including a large student community. That is because there is no direct flight between the two countries. With indirect flights taking between 22 hours to as much as 38 hours to reach cities like Melbourne from Delhi, the Dreamliner would provide an attractive alternative, as well as command a premium, by doing the same for only nine and a half hours.   A DREAM TAKES WING What does the Dreamliner offer? Replacing 777 with 787 will lead to a cost saving of 25% Low-cabin altitude and lower pressure cabins will reduce passenger fatigue  Large-sized windows  Electronically dimmable window lights  18 J class and 238 Y class seats AI is also looking at leveraging the Dreamliner to expand its limited European connectivity. This is presently only to London, Paris and Frankfurt, helping European carriers and even Jet Airways (with a base at Brussels) to gain at their expense. Worse they are flying these routes with the B-777, long-haul aircraft optimised for 15-hour non-stop flying and requiring high load factors to break even. AI is looking at replacing these with the more fuel-efficient Dreamliners. It is also studying the potential in flying more routes such as those to Rome, Barcelona, Madrid or Milan. The Dreamliners would also provide new opportunities, such as connecting India to more destinations in China like Guangzhou and replacing the 777 to Shanghai directly. Similarly, in Southeast Asia, it could again fly to Kuala Lumpur, which it had stopped doing, and also connect to upcoming markets such as Hong Kong, Vietnam and Philippines. And, instead of flying to Tokyo on a 777, it could use the more efficient Dreamliner and cash on a growing market. AI insiders and airport planners say new markets are also opening in countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where there is a lot of business traffic. The African market provides another opportunity, with the Dreamliner making direct connectivity to places such as Nairobi possible.

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