BENGALURU- Tata Group-owned Air India (AI) has leased 12 weekly slots from Scandinavian Airlines or SAS (SK) to resume non-stop flights between Bengaluru (BLR) and London Heathrow (LHR) in Winter 2024.
Airport Coordination Limited (ACL) shared this information on Thursday night (October 17, 2024) on its official website.
Air India Bengaluru to London Heathrow
Scandinavian Airlines which recently moved from Star Alliance to join SkyTeam used to operate 6x weekly flights between Stockholm (ARN) and London (LHR).
Similarly, Air India will use these slots to operate 6x weekly flights as 12 slots include one for arrival and one for departure.
Air India will operate flights between Bengaluru and London six times a week except on Saturday. This resembles its current Bengaluru to London Gatwick (LGW) flights.
This flight will replace the BLR-LGW route but will continue to operate all other four routes from London Gatwick.
Here’s the flight schedule for upcoming BLR-LHR 6x weekly fights:
Flight AI 133A arrives in London at 19:30 hours and departs for Bengaluru as AI 132A at 20:30 hours.
Further, the Air India Bengaluru-Gatwick flight arrives in LGW at 1905 and departs at 2035 hours.
Note: All these above-mentioned times are local timings.
The turnaround time for Air India BLR-LHR flight is just one hour, which is okay for SAS as it operates A320 on the ARN-LHR route but can be challenging for 787-8 Dreamliner operated by Air India.
Air India’s new London Heathrow-Bengaluru route is currently listed as a “T” (Test) flight, indicating conditional slot approval. This differs from scheduled services, denoted as “J” under IATA World Slot Guidelines, Network Thoughts pointed out.
Complex Heathrow Operations
The airline’s London Heathrow operations will increase to 34 weekly flights: 14 each from Mumbai (BOM) and Delhi (DEL), and six from Bengaluru. Delhi routes utilize Airbus A350 aircraft, Mumbai flights employ Boeing 777-300ERs, and Bengaluru services use 787 Dreamliners. The Bengaluru route may receive upgraded 787s in the future.
Air India will reduce its Delhi-London Heathrow service by three weekly flights this winter due to the expiration of slots leased from Garuda Indonesia (GA). However, it has received Vistara’s 14 slots. This means Air India will operate three daily flights between Delhi and London Heathrow.
London Heathrow’s unique slot system allows airlines to retain grandfather rights and trade slots, a practice uncommon at most global airports. This system contributes to the airport’s high-demand, limited-availability slot market.
The airline faces time pressure to complete necessary paperwork, secure final approvals, and transition flights. This process includes notifying passengers with existing bookings on affected flights.
Questions remain regarding the potential availability of Iran Air slots at Heathrow, adding another layer of complexity to the airport’s slot allocation dynamics.
Strong Competition on Route
Air India inaugurated the Bengaluru-Gatwick route in August 2024 and since then increased its frequencies.
The airline will maintain operations at Gatwick for secondary markets including Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Goa, and Kochi. These routes benefit from the lack of direct competition and Gatwick’s lower fees, despite numerous one-stop alternatives.
Air India previously operated the Bengaluru-Heathrow route during the COVID-19 pandemic for a short duration, making this a return to a familiar route. However, the competitive landscape has intensified since then.
British Airways (BA) currently serves the route daily with A350-1000 aircraft. Virgin Atlantic (VS) joined the market in March 2024, offering daily flights using 787-9 aircraft. Air India’s entry will create the first almost triple-daily operation on this airport pair.
Bengaluru-London traffic reached approximately 210,000 point-to-point passengers in the year ending July 2024, underscoring the route’s significance, Dr James Pearson, an airline analyst reported.
Air India is carrying multiple slot transfers across its network with Vistara and swapping slots with Air India Express as well to streamline its operations.
Air India has two clear goals, first, it will operate all the premium and high-intensity routes by itself and second it will transfer all-economy class aircraft and less-yield routes to AI Express. This way passengers can choose from full-service and low-cost flights easily.
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