MUMBAI- Tata Group-owned Air India (AI) has scheduled its 3-class premium Airbus A320neo on International flights from Mumbai Airport (BOM) from November 2024 second week.
Air India used to operate one of the oldest Airbus A320 fleets in the world. Now they have new and leased planes with better seats and interiors. The airline is also retrofitting 27 Airbus A320neo with new interiors.
Air India A320neo 3-Class Int’l Routes
According to Aeroroutes data, Air India will launch upgraded international service from Mumbai utilizing three-class Airbus A320neo aircraft that have 8 Business Class, 24 Premium economy, and 132 economy seats (C8W24Y132) starting November 12, 2024.
The carrier will introduce premium A320neo on daily flights connecting Mumbai to two Saudi Arabian destinations: Dammam (DMM) and Jeddah (JED).
These two routes are currently served by Vistara (UK), which will merge with Air India on November 11, 2024, and will transfer all its routes and fleet to Air India.
Vistara operates an A320neo service with a three-class configuration (C8W24Y132) on both these routes and passengers will continue to enjoy these services post-merger.
Air India currently serves Mumbai to Jeddah flights and not Dammam with two class A320neo aircraft that offer 12 Business Class and 150 economy seats.
Also, Read Air India Will Deploy Vistara Aircraft on These Routes After Merger
Strong Competition
If we talk about competition in terms of premium offerings, yes there is strong competition from both Indian and Gulf carriers.
BOM-JED Route
The Mumbai-Jeddah route is served by half a dozen carriers operating multiple daily flights. They are Air India, Akasa Air (QP), Flynas (XY), IndiGo (6E), Saudia (SV) and Vistara (UK).
Out of these 6, Saudia is the only carrier that deploys Boeing 777, a widebody aircraft (So better seats but more price). Further Air India, Vistara, and Saudia offer premium seating options and other services such as free meals.
From November 12 onwards Air India will have a monopoly as an Indian carrier to offer premium service on this route.
You may ask, ‘We already know that Air India is the only Indian carrier that offers premium and full-service.’ But this is no longer true as IndiGo has entered this market with IndiGo Strech, a new Business class, and will soon deploy them on the Busiest and premium routes like this one.
Air India has an edge in the BOM-JED route with better service, better pricing, and better aircraft but for how long remains a question.
BOM-DMM route
Mumbai-Dammam has less competition with IndiGo and Vistara only carriers operating daily flights. While Air India Express (IX) and Flynas operate a few weekly flights.
From Nov 12, Air India will take over Vistara flights and will continue to offer premium seats. Well, Air India Express also deploys its newest Boeing 737 MAX aircraft with 8 Business Class and 168 economy seats means slightly better seats than IndiGo and Flynas which deploys all economy A320neos.
Air India Group will have a monopoly and dominance in the premium segment as both Air India (3-class A320neo) and Air India Express (2-class 737 MAX) will offer better service, better seats, and still competitive pricing.
At last, to conclude, Post-merger Air India will have a monopoly in terms of premium offerings on some routes where it used to compete with Vistara.
IndiGo needs to speed up the Business class deployment on such busy international routes to keep prices lower and provide travelers with options to choose from.
Feature Image by Clément Alloing (@CAlloing) / X
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