Air India is suspending its longest route to London - Kochi to London Gatwick - from March 30, 2025 until further notice, citing fleet reduction due to cabin retrofit programs.
By Aniket Chakraborty
Feb 18, 2025
Despite good load factors of over 90% on the Kochi-London route, lower yields and substantially higher per-trip costs due to distance appear to be behind the decision.
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The airline will maintain the same number of frequencies at London Gatwick by increasing flights from Ahmedabad (from 3 to 5 weekly) and Amritsar (from 3 to 4 weekly).
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Delhi to London Heathrow service will see a significant boost from 21 to 24 weekly flights, operated by both Airbus A350-900s and Boeing 787-9s.
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Air India is increasing Amritsar to Birmingham service by one flight to reach four weekly services, reinforcing its commitment to the UK market.
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European route expansions include Delhi to Zurich (increasing to 5 weekly) and Delhi to Vienna (increasing to 4 weekly flights).
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The carrier will enhance its Delhi to Hong Kong service by upgrading from A321 to Boeing 787 aircraft for the daily flights, significantly increasing capacity.
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Air India's Mumbai to Melbourne route will be suspended from March 30 until September 13, 2025 due to the retrofit program reducing available aircraft.
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The airline plans to begin retrofitting its 27 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in April 2025, with the first upgraded aircraft returning to service in October.
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The Boeing 777 fleet retrofit, originally planned for 2025, has been delayed until early 2026 due to "production constraints at the selected seat supplier."