News
Air India bookings double after Trump bans, leases seven B787-9s
April 7th 2017
After Emirates Airline and most of its Middle Eastern competitors reported bookings to the U.S. have slumped following the U.S. Muslim and electronics bans, Air India is telling a very different story. Read More »
Its aggregate bookings to the U.S. have more than doubled since the electronics ban took effect, from approximately 150 aggregate bookings a day to more than 300, it said.
The Star Alliance member said it had more bookings from Middle East passengers who are travelling to the U.S. via Mumbai and Delhi. Load factor on flights from Abu Dhabi and Dubai improved from less than 75% before the ban to more than 83% after it came into effect.
“The U.S. is definitely one of the most profitable sectors for us. The laptop ban will surely help us grow. Business travellers spending 14-17 hours on a flight need to work on their laptops. We will be adding more connections to the U.S. in the next year,” Ashwani Lohani, Air India’s chairman and managing-director, told India’s BusinessLine.
Following the electronics ban, Air India has raised fares to the U.S. by an average 10,000 rupees a ticket. In the last financial year, Air India earned more than 3,200 crore rupees from its U.S. operations, up 17% year-on-year.
The flag carrier has said it would launch another U.S. route in 2017 and also add a Canada service. Lohani said destinations being considered were Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Vancouver and Toronto.
Air India flies daily from Delhi to JFK and Chicago and daily from Mumbai to Newark. It added a Delhi-San Francisco route last year, which now operates six times a week via the Pacific on the outbound and the Atlantic on the inbound. It will launch a thrice-weekly Delhi-Washington flight in July.
India’s The Financial Express has reported Air India’s board has approved the acquisition of seven leased B787-9s for flights to North America. The airliners would complement the carrier’s long-haul fleet 12 B777-300ERs, three B777-200LRs and 23 (plus four on-order) B787-8s.
Paradoxically, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said this week that "bookings to U.S. destinations remain healthy and customer feedback to the initiatives taken by Etihad Airways to provide for their business and entertainment needs has been very positive".
Emirates announced a 35% bookings decline. Air India said passenger numbers originating in the UAE have picked up considerably since the ban. It would be surprising if Etihad walked away unscathed from the situation.
