Air India Expands Key Routes and Modernizes Fleet for 2025

Air India is set to enhance its global connectivity with a series of additional flight frequencies as part of its Northern Summer schedule, effective from 30 March 2025. This move is expected to significantly benefit African travel agents and their clients, offering improved access to key destinations in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The airline’s ongoing fleet modernization program further underscores its commitment to delivering a superior travel experience.

Expanded Frequencies to Boost Connectivity

Air India’s new schedule includes increased frequencies on several high-demand routes. For the United Kingdom, the Delhi-London Heathrow route will see an increase from 21 to 24 weekly flights, operated by the flagship Airbus A350-900 and upgraded Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Other UK routes, such as Amritsar-Birmingham, Amritsar-London Gatwick, and Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, will also see additional weekly flights, enhancing connectivity for travelers.

In the rest of Europe, Delhi-Zurich flights will increase from 4 to 5 times weekly, while Delhi-Vienna flights will rise from 3 to 4 times weekly. For Far East Asia, the Delhi-Seoul (Incheon) route will expand to 5 weekly flights, and the Delhi-Hong Kong route will now feature the advanced Boeing 787 Dreamliner for its 7 weekly flights.

Of particular interest to African travel professionals, the Delhi-Nairobi route will increase from 3 to 4 weekly flights. This enhanced connectivity is expected to boost tourism and business travel between India and Africa, offering new opportunities for African airports and tourism stakeholders.

Fleet Modernization to Elevate Passenger Experience

Air India’s ambitious fleet modernization program is progressing steadily. The airline’s narrowbody aircraft upgrades are on track for completion by mid-2025. Meanwhile, the retrofit of its legacy widebody Boeing 787 fleet will begin in April 2025, with the first upgraded aircraft re-entering service by October. These upgrades include new seats and state-of-the-art entertainment systems, ensuring a more comfortable and modern flying experience.

However, the retrofit of the Boeing 777 fleet has been delayed to early 2026 due to production constraints. In the interim, Air India plans to refresh other interior elements of the B777s during 2025 to maintain service quality.

Temporary Route Suspensions

As a result of the retrofit program and the temporary reduction in operational fleet size, Air India will suspend its non-stop Mumbai-Melbourne service from 30 March to 13 September 2025. Additionally, the Kochi-London Gatwick route will be suspended from 30 March 2025 until further notice. Despite these changes, the airline will continue to operate 12 weekly flights to London Gatwick from Amritsar, Ahmedabad, and Goa.

For African travel agents, these developments highlight Air India’s growing focus on enhancing connectivity and passenger experience. The increased frequencies and fleet upgrades present new opportunities to promote travel between Africa and India, fostering stronger tourism and business ties.