SYDNEY: An Air India Dreamliner touched down in Australia, marking the resumption of direct flights by the carrier after a 16-year gap as it seeks to tap a potentially lucrative market.
Air India’s country manager Ravi Bodade said he was confident of regularly filling the daily services that also go via Melbourne on the 256-seat Boeing 787-880 Dreamliner planes.
“It is a state-of-the-art aircraft, and we have a large Indian diaspora here — there is a huge student community and we are confident of filling up the aircraft,” he said.
No other airlines fly directly between the two countries with Australian flag carrier Qantas halting its unprofitable Sydney-Mumbai service in 2009.
According to Sydney Airport, India has been Australia’s largest unserved market, with 140,000 passengers last year traveling between New Delhi and Sydney via Asian hubs.
Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said direct flights were essential if Australia was to secure its share of the 50 million Indians expected to be traveling outside their own country by the end of this decade.
“India is one of our fastest-growing inbound markets, particularly among leisure travelers, who have Australia high up on their wish list of international holiday destinations,” he said.
“With Indian arrivals up nearly eight percent so far this year, the demand is clearly there and I have little doubt that Air India’s re-entry into the Australian market will be widely and warmly applauded by both Indian travelers and by tourism operators here in Australia.”
Despite Indian arrivals booming, Qantas said it had no plans to resume a direct service.
“Qantas International has a large presence in Asia — together with our partners we offer 130 flights per week between Australia and 11 of the region’s major cities — and India is part of our network through our alliance with Jet Airways,” a spokesman said.
“However, we have no plans to resume direct flights to India at this stage.”
Diplomatic ties between Delhi and Canberra have been strained in recent years after a spate of violent crimes against Indian students prompted street protests, but Australia remains a popular destination for both foreign students and tourists.
The Air India arrival was the first in Australia by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which has suffered a series of problems since coming into service, including a global grounding of its fleet this year over battery system problems.
Qantas has 14 on order but their delivery has been delayed until later this year.