Tata Group airlines, under a strategic overhaul, are streamlining their network to better serve key routes and meet growing demand. This move will see Air India, the full-service carrier (FSC), focus on major hub-to-hub routes, while Air India Express, the low-cost carrier (LCC), will concentrate on connecting tier two and three cities to hub airports.
Aloke Singh, Managing Director of Air India Express, explained that hub airports—large, busy airports in major cities—will be dominated by Air India for international connections, while Air India Express will serve smaller airports, connecting them to larger hubs. For example, the Delhi-Dubai route is operated by Air India, while Air India Express operates the Goa-Dubai route.
This approach extends to domestic routes, where Air India Express operates flights like Delhi-Ranchi, while Air India focuses on high-traffic routes such as Delhi-Mumbai.
Singh clarified that the strategy is flexible and will adapt based on demand. Some routes may see both Air India and Air India Express serving different customer segments, with both full-service and low-cost options available.
“Our focus will be on connecting metro cities to non-metro cities and regional international routes,” Singh noted. He emphasized that tier two and three cities are key to India’s aviation growth. Currently, metro-to-non-metro routes make up about 65% of the domestic market, and this segment is growing rapidly.
The strategy aims to consolidate Air India’s network by deploying the full-service product on key hub routes while using the low-cost model for smaller airports. This approach will also help drive passenger traffic to Air India’s long-haul flights from major Indian airports.
This is a model followed by other large airline groups with both FSC and LCC options. For instance, Singapore Airlines operates its full-service flights on major routes between Singapore and Indian cities, while its budget arm Scoot serves tier two and three airports in India.
Air India Express, after merging with AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India), plans to expand its network with this new philosophy. The airline aims to grow its international reach beyond its strong presence on India-Gulf routes. New destinations like Thailand’s Bangkok and Phuket are on the cards, with potential new routes to Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and even Hong Kong.
In addition, Air India Express is eyeing markets in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. This move follows the success of IndiGo’s CIS routes, which have seen a surge in traffic.
Currently, Air India Express operates 87 aircraft and expects its fleet to grow to over 110 by the end of this financial year. Although delays at Boeing have affected some deliveries, the airline expects to operate more than 525 daily flights, connecting 55 airports worldwide, by the end of the financial year. Passenger numbers are expected to rise to 24 lakh per month by March 2025, up from 16 lakh in March 2024.
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