Hub in Making: Air India Expected to Connect Bengaluru to Two More Cities

Air India is all set to expand its domestic presence from its South Indian hub- Bengaluru Kempgowda International Airport (BLR). The airline has opened the reservations for two new domestic routes. In addition, both Air India and AIX Connect will enhance services between Bengaluru and Chennai.

As it nears the Bengaluru-Gatwick launch, Air India is looking to source more passengers from nearby cities. The Bengaluru arrival of the new Chennai service has been timed to facilitate smooth connections to Gatwick.

In this article, let us take a look at all the new services.

Air India: Bengaluru to Trivandrum

From 1 July, Air India will start flights connecting Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) to Thiruvananthapuram International Airport (TRV). These flights will be operated on a daily basis with Airbus A320neo.

Here is a quick look at flight timings:

Following this addition, the airlines under the TATA Group will be operating three daily flights on this route. Air India Express and Vistara are already operating daily services. However, IndiGo will remain dominant because of its huge presence with 30 weekly flights. The airline operates majority of these these flights with Airbus A321neo. Hence, frequency wise and capacity wise, it will continue to dominate.

Air India: Bengaluru to Pune

From 1 July, Air India will commence non-stop flights connecting Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) to Pune Airport (PNQ). These flights will also be operated daily with Airbus A320neos. Here is a quick look at flight timings:

This route is a crowded one. IndiGo, Air India Express, AIX Connect, and Akasa Air are already operating here. As expected, IndiGo dominates on this route with 55X weekly flights. Akasa Air is the second largest carrier with 29X weekly flights. AIX Connect and Air India Express operates 14X and 13X weekly flights each. It means that when Air India starts operations, TATA Group airlines will jointly become the second largest airline on this route with 34X weekly flights.

Additional Flights to Chennai

Air India is currently operating 14X weekly between Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) and Chennai International Airport (MAA). From July 1, the airline will be operating 21X weekly on this route.

It will add a new service with flight numbers AI561/562, which will be operated daily with Airbus A320neo. At present, the airline is operating the new Airbus A350, ten times a week on this route.

Here is a look at the flight timings of the new service.

Other than Air India, another TATA Group airline will expand presence on this route. AIX Connect will add a morning departure from Bengaluru Airport. This new service will be operated daily. By the end of this year, AIX Connect will be merged into Air India Express. Here is a look at flight timings of AIX Connect:

As always, IndiGo is the king of this market. With 42X weekly flights majorly operated by A321neos, IndiGo is biggest carrier on this route. After the expansion, TATA Group Airlines will be operating 35X weekly (21X by Air India and 14X by AIX Connect). Akasa Air operates daily flights on this route.

Conclusion

Air India is all set to expand its presence from Bengaluru Airport. The airline has committed to expand the domestic and international presence from the airport. From July 1, it will launch two new routes from Bengaluru connecting the airport to Pune and Trivandrum. Additionally, Air India and AIX Connect will add more flights between Bengaluru and Chennai.

What do you think about the new flight additions from Air India? Discuss in the comment section.