Air India & IndiGo To Ramp Up Flights on Delhi to Phuket Route

Air India and IndiGo, two major airlines from India, which handle more than 80 percent of the country’s traffic have announced the expansion of services to Phuket International Airport. Both airlines are set to almost double their services between the capital of India and the Pearl of the Andaman.

Indian passport holders can visit Thailand for up to 30 days without a visa. This rule is expected to be conceded on 10 May. The Thai Government may extend this period until 31 October 2024 or even 30 April 2025.

Air India & IndiGo Expands Phuket Services

Phuket is the second-largest tourism market in Thailand after Bangkok. Air India and IndiGo are the only two airlines connecting India to Phuket. Both these airlines connect Phuket to three Indian cities: Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Not a single Thai carrier operates between India & Phuket.

Now, both Air India and IndiGo have announced the expansion of services between Delhi and Phuket.

Air India: Frequency Increment With Equipment Downgrade

Currently, Air India connects Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) to Phuket International Airport (HKT) with daily flights. The airline operates this route using the Airbus A320neo configured in a two-cabin layout. These aircraft include 12 Business and 150 Economy Class seats.

Air India has announced an increment of Delhi to Phuket services from daily to 13 times a week. The new service will start on June 1, 2024, and will operate all days of the week except Wednesdays. However, the rise in weekly services does not equate with the number of seats offered.

While the airline has increased the frequency to 13X weekly, the Delhi to Phuket will be exclusively operated using Airbus A319 aircraft. From June 1, all 13 weekly flights will be operated using the A319. Currently, the airline offers 1,134 one-way seats for sale (7X weekly). After the downgrade in equipment, it will be offering 1,586 seats (13X weekly). While the number of services increased by 85%, the number of seats offered increased by 40% only.

Air India started Phuket service in December with 4X weekly. Gradually, it increased the services. Phuket was the first new international destination for Air India post-privatization. The airline is pulling out A319 operations from Kolkata Airport, deploying the pocket-dynamite on this international route.

IndiGo Welcomes Air India’s Phuket Expansion

Just a day after Air India announced its revamped schedule, IndiGo revealed its plans to enhance frequency on the Delhi to Phuket route. IndiGo is not just the largest airline in India, but also the largest airline in terms of operations between India and Thailand. Currently, it is also operating daily flights between Delhi & Phuket.

From June 1, it will be operating twice daily between both cities. In its press release, the airline said that this decision has been backed by the visa-free day entry for Indian citizens allowed by the Government of Thailand. These flights are expected to boost trade and tourism between both cities. Other than Delhi, IndiGo also connects Phuket to Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Unlike Air India, IndiGo will not degrade the product. It will continue to operate the 186-seater Airbus A320neos on both daily services, resulting in the doubling of weekly services as well as seats offered.

Timings and Sizeable Expansion

Before looking at the overall size of these expansion plans, let us have a look at the timings of these flights first.

The new service of Air India will depart from Delhi Airport in the late morning hours, while the evening departure from Phuket positions it as one of the best options in terms of convenient timings.

Meanwhile, the IndiGo flight will depart at 09:35 in the morning and will arrive at 03:40 PM at Phuket Airport. After a 1 hour halt at Phuket, it will depart at 16:40 hrs and will arrive at Delhi Airport at 19:45 hrs. Here is the table depicting the flight numbers and timings of both the new services.

With these additions, the total number of weekly services between Delhi and Phuket will increase from the current 14X weekly to 27X weekly from June 1. After this, Air India and IndiGo will be operating a total of 34X and 72X weekly flights between India and Thailand respectively.

Conclusion

Phuket is a very popular market for Indian tourism. Air India and IndiGo are the only airlines serving flights between India and Phuket. Both currently operate daily flights. Post June 1, they will jointly increase the frequency to 27 times a week. Air India’s Phuket network will be exclusively operated by Airbus A319. Both airlines handle more than 80% of the Indian domestic market.

Have you ever traveled to Phuket? If yes, how was your experience? Discuss in the comment section.