Summary

  • Air India may be planning to add Brisbane to its route map.
  • It would be the first time that Queensland has had non-stop Indian service.
  • Brisbane-India had about 170,000 roundtrip passengers last year.

Airlines occasionally accidentally disclose a potential future destination. Air India seems to have done this, inadvertently revealing that Brisbane, the Queensland capital where I used to live, might be coming. While nothing is guaranteed until officially announced and indeed until it takes off, it is nonetheless intriguing.

Would Brisbane make sense?

On July 3, an advert for Air India corporate account managers circulated on LinkedIn, as shown below. In addition to mentioning Sydney and Melbourne, which Air India already serves, Brisbane was also mentioned. The role means there would be no reason to work in Brisbane but for Air India flights.

AI job advert AU

Image: Air India

From a network perspective, Brisbane-India would make sense. According to booking data, approximately 170,000 roundtrip passengers flew between the city and India last year, equivalent to 233 passengers daily each way (PDEW). Yet, Brisbane has never had non-stop Australian flights. Most people fly with Singapore Airlines via Changi.

If Air India launches flights, they will probably be from Delhi, its largest hub. An initial three-times-week service would probably be launched, with the added benefit of requiring only one frame. While pure speculation, perhaps it will start in time for the Australian summer, plenty of time to build awareness and sales.

AI DEL-BNE-1

Image: GCMap

The Delhi-Brisbane point-to-point market had about 69,000 roundtrip passengers last year (95 PDEW). It is a relatively sizeable unserved opportunity and more than three times the size of Brisbane’s second-largest unserved Indian market, Mumbai. However, Delhi’s position is less suitable for targeting India-wide passengers, although, depending on the schedule, it could be good for European travelers, especially to/from the UK.

It’d make three Aussie cities

Air India has served Australia on various occasions historically. Most recently, flights launched in 2013. Now, 11 years on, it has three routes to Melbourne and Sydney, more than any other year. It followed the start of Mumbai-Melbourne in December 2023. Its route map is as follows:

  • Melbourne-Delhi: daily 787-8
  • Melbourne-Mumbai: three weekly 787-8
  • Sydney-Delhi: daily 787-8
Air India Boeing 787-8 taxiing

Photo: Media_works | Shutterstock

Where else Down Under?

Three opportunities stand out in addition to Brisbane. Delhi-Auckland was an origin-destination with 156,000 roundtrip passengers last year (PDEW 214). Such a traffic volume is unusual for an unserved market, although this is, of course, just one part of the decision-making process.

It was by far New Zealand’s largest unserved airport pair and crying out to be served at some point. It would be a long way: it would cover 6,747 (!) nautical miles (12,495 km) each way and have a block time, back to India into the wind, of perhaps 14h 45m. But Air India has longer routes.

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Then there’s Mumbai-Sydney (76,000) and Delhi-Perth (47,000). Both seem obvious additions. Curiously, Mumbai-Sydney was a larger point-to-point market last year than Mumbai-Melbourne, which started in December. Will they materialize?

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