With multiple U.S.-based airlines spending 2022 and 2023 reworking networks to run more flights to smaller European cities popular with tourists, many are now seeing opportunities in other continents and previously overlooked countries.
Earlier this year, Oslo-based airline Norse Atlantic (NRSAF) launched the world’s first low-cost flight between London and Cape Town while Delta Air (DAL) announced new routes to Ghana and South Africa that it will start running from the East Coast at the end of 2024.
Related: Floodgates opened: Another airline brings back direct flight to Africa
Setting its sights on another part of the world, Canada’s flagship carrier Air Canada (ACDVF) just announced that it plans to grow its service to India from different Canadian cities by 40% in the 2024-2025 season. In practical terms, this means introducing a new nonstop route between Toronto and Mumbai in October 2024 as well as connecting its existing flights to London from Vancouver and Calgary with ongoing flights to New Delhi (this type of route in which the plane makes two stops but a large number of passengers stay on for the final destination is called a “fifth freedom” flight.)
Air Canada talks Diwali celebrations, says it is ‘thrilled’ to ‘build additional scale’
“We are thrilled to expand our network from India to Canada by building additional scale at our hubs in time for Diwali festivities this fall,” Air Canada’s Executive Vice President of Revenue And Network Planning Mark Galardo said in a press statement. “With new non-stop flights from Mumbai-Toronto, the addition of new flights to Calgary from Delhi via London Heathrow, together with the unparalleled connectivity from our robust North American network, we are solidifying Air Canada as the leading airline offering the most travel options between India and Canada.”
More Travel:
- A new travel term is taking over the internet (and reaching airlines and hotels)
- The 10 best airline stocks to buy now
- Airlines see a new kind of traveler at the front of the plane
The new flight between Toronto and Mumbai will run four times a week on a Boeing 777-200LR (BA) plane. It will leave on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and arrive in Mumbai at 9:45 p.m. local time just over 17 hours later. It will also be the only direct flight to Mumbai from any Canadian city while Air Canada will expand its service between Montreal and Delhi to run daily.
Related: Get the best cruise tips, deals, and news on the ships from our expert cruiser
Other airlines: ‘India is growing faster than the rest of our destinations’
This ups Air Canada’s flight coverage to India by an additional 7,400 seats per week but the expanded service will go on only until March at which point the airline will reevaluate demand for travel between the two countries. The expanded routes are meant to serve both the large Indian diaspora that lives in Canada and flies back to visit family over the winter period as well as the growing tourism interest post-pandemic.
While Air India is the key global player for flights to the area, several other airlines have also observed booming demand for travel to the country and sought to fill the gap.
At the start of 2024, Lufthansa (DLAKF) Chief Commercial Officer Heiko Reitz said that the airline was “taking our capacity from other markets and putting it into India.”
“India is growing faster than the rest of our other destinations,” Reitz told Reuters during an aviation event in Hyderabad.
Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024
