A few days to the start of the Northern Winter scheduling season, Air India in a coup of sorts has shifted its Bengaluru – London flight from Gatwick to Heathrow starting Oct 27, 2024 and increasing the frequency to Daily. This comes after the airline decided to deploy its new flagship A350 to London Heathrow from Delhi, a major jump from the 787s which were operating before the B77Ws took over for a few months.
The India – UK market is one of the most interesting markets. From a non-stop flights perspective, it is the seventh largest market from India, but the first when it comes to long haul since the first six are UAE, Singapore, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Malaysia – all in the neighbourhood.
Irrespective of the visa process, often termed cumbersome, there is a constant demand between India and UK with business and trade, VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) and passengers connecting beyond Heathrow is the typical mix along with tourism. With a complex Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) which classifies one airport separately (London Heathrow), the India – UK market is unique in its own way.
A look at which airlines are operating the London (Heathrow and Gatwick) to India routes this winter. Vistara was lucky to have got its slots in the middle of the pandemic, and even SpiceJet wanted to fly to Heathrow!
Air Canada
The airline will operate seven times a week to Delhi from London Heathrow and the flight will originate at Calgary, but have full rights to carry passengers between London Heathrow and Delhi and vice versa.
Air India
The airline will operate 35 weekly flights to London Heathrow from India
- Double daily each to Mumbai and Delhi
- Daily service to Bengaluru
The airline will also operate flights to London Gatwick
- Five times a week from Ahmedabad
- Four times a week from Goa (Mopa)
- Thrice a week from Amritsar and Kochi, respectively
British Airways
The airline operates 56 weekly flights to India to five destinations in the country, all of which are from/to London Heathrow
- Thrice a day to Mumbai
- Twice a day to Delhi
- One a day each to Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad
Virgin Atlantic
The airline will operate 35 weekly flights to India from London Heathrow
- Double daily each to Mumbai and Delhi
- Daily service to Bengaluru
Beyond London
The connectivity between the two countries has largely been restricted to metro cities in India and London Heathrow, until Air India launched flights to Birmingham a couple of years ago. Additionally, Air India launched flights to London Gatwick to tide over the slot challenges at Heathrow.
Pre-COVID, Virgin Atlantic had announced flights to Delhi from Manchester and opened it for sale, but never operated due to the pandemic. At some point of time, IndiGo also wanted to fly to Manchester with the A330s, going by the filings of slot coordinator ACL.
Air India will operate four times a week to Birmingham from Amritsar and thrice a week from Delhi. The only other carrier to venture beyond the metro’s is TUI, which will operate twice a week service from Manchester and twice a week from London Gatwick to Goa – MIA, Mopa.
Seats, flights, Spread
Air India remains the largest carrier between India and the UK with 38.6% of all frequencies and 38.2% of all seats. British Airways comes in second with 33.7% of all frequencies and 30.5% of all seats.
| Airline | Frequency | Seats | Frequency (%) | Seats (%) |
| Air Canada | 7 | 2086 | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Air India | 64 | 18533 | 38.6% | 38.2% |
| British Airways | 56 | 14770 | 33.7% | 30.5% |
| Virgin Atlantic | 35 | 11887 | 21.1% | 24.5% |
| TUI | 4 | 1200 | 2.4% | 2.5% |
| Total | 166 | 48476 |
Network Thoughts
London has been a sought after destination for ages. The shift from Gatwick to Heathrow has been fantastic news for Air India’s Bengaluru flight and comes with an addition of frequency as well.
The question now shifts to who takes the first move? Pre COVID, Virgin Atlantic had announced flights to Delhi from Manchester, which never began. Flights to Manchester from Mumbai by Air India have appeared on the airport website in the past. Can Air India further strengthen its India – UK lead? The sudden slot gain at Heathrow shows that it has sharp eyes, but it is just shifting from one airport to another. While there are many airports in the UK, and many Indians as well including students – Manchester along with Birmingham and London will seal the deal for Air India for a long term, with additions then being in terms of frequency, followed by more destinations being connected from India.
The question then is not “IF” but “WHEN”. Given a shortage of planes and not all routes clocking positive operational finances from early days, the answer lies in where the airline has ranked this route when capacity is available.
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