Melbourne Airport CEO Wants Air India & IndiGo to Increase Connectivity to India

India and Australia are two large and well-interconnected markets in the aviation world. After Sydney, Melbourne is the busiest international airport in Australia in terms of passenger traffic. CEO of Melbourne Airport Lorie Argus had a discussion with Indian Express, in which she talked about the need for increasing connectivity between India and Australia.

Melbourne Airport: Discussions With IndiGo & Air India

CEO Lorie Argus said that the airport operator has been in talks with both Air India and IndiGo to enhance connectivity between Australia and India. Argus wants Air India to enhance the frequency of the Mumbai to Melbourne route. Launched in December 2023, the route is currently operated three times a week. In the near future, the airline is expected to increase the frequency to five times a week and within the next 12 months, it is anticipated to operate daily.

It has spoken to Air India to connect Bengaluru to Melbourne. Qantas is currently operating between Bengaluru and Sydney, and the route is doing great. The airline has enhanced the frequency of this route to five weekly and from December, it will go daily on this route.

For the Bengaluru to Melbourne route, the airport is also in talks with Qantas. It is hopeful to receive the Bengaluru non-stop connection within the next 12 months. When asked whether this route will do well, Argus said that in Australia, the market dynamics for Sydney and Melbourne are almost the same. If a route has done well for Sydney, it will be successful for Melbourne too. The same goes the other way around.

What About IndiGo?

When asked about the status of discussions with IndiGo, Argus said that the airport is definitely in talks with the largest airline in India. Recently, discussions were held with IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers. Under the expanded codeshare partnership between IndiGo and Qantas, there are more opportunities for Melbourne Airport.

IndiGo currently lacks the appropriate product for a non-stop flight between India and Australia. Next year, it is all set to receive its first Airbus A321XLR. With the advertised range of 4,700 nautical miles, the aircraft will be able to connect almost all the major cities of India to Perth. However, this depends on a lot of other factors like cabin configuration, change in range, etc.

In 2027, IndiGo will receive the first Airbus A350-900, which will allow the airline to operate non-stop flights to any point in Australia. Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said that IndiGo will launch flights to Australia with these new aircraft.

In addition to passengers, Melbourne Airport has a lot of cargo potential. It is the largest cargo hub in Australia. In the first three months of 2024, 40% of Australia’s air cargo went through Melbourne Airport.

Melbourne Airport is optimistic about connections to more Indian cities in the future. Other than Delhi and Mumbai, there are other markets as well, which are showing an uptick in demand.

Market Growth of 11% & Traffic Potential

The India to Melbourne market has shown a remarkable growth of 11%. In contrast, the European market is yet to recover from the pandemic woes. In such a scenario, the Indian market is growing in double digits. Melbourne caters to the largest number of Indian students, which results in increasing VFR traffic. In the last year, direct flights between India and Melbourne have increased by more than three times. All these services have full occupancy.

You need to listen to just one fact to assess the non-stop traffic potential between India and Australia. Currently, more than 70% of the traffic between both countries is using transit hubs like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, etc. This shows the level of demand in this market.

At present, Air India and Qantas are operating on the following non-stop routes in the Indian market:

• Melbourne to Delhi by Qantas (3X weekly with A330)
• Melbourne to Delhi by Air India (Daily with B787)
• Melbourne to Mumbai by Air India (3X weekly with B787)
• Sydney to Delhi by Air India (Daily with B787)
• Sydney to Bengaluru by Qantas (5X weekly with A330)

In the past, Melbourne Airport has been inaccessible for long-haul carriers. But with extended aircraft range, airlines are getting attracted to Melbourne. The latest example is Turkish Airlines. The airline is currently flying from Istanbul to Melbourne via Singapore, but it will be upgraded to a non-stop flight when it receives the new aircraft. For Melbourne, the main focus remains on point-to-point traffic.

Conclusion: India to Melbourne Market

Melbourne Airport is in discussions with Air India and IndiGo to enhance the number of non-stop services between India and Australia. The airport is optimistic about Air India increasing the frequency of the Mumbai to Melbourne route. In addition, it has pitched Air India to connect Melbourne to Bengaluru. With the A350 delivery, it is anticipating IndiGo to launch flights to Australia.

What do you think about the comments from Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus? Discuss in the comment section.