New Route of the Day (11 June 2023): Air India between Delhi and Amsterdam
Air India launched flights between Delhi and Amsterdam on Sunday 11 June, marking its return to the Dutch city following a 26-year hiatus. The 6,735-kilometre service will be maintained 4-weekly, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, using the 256-seat 787-8 aircraft. The airline will compete directly against KLM’s 6-weekly rotations between the two cities.
Flight AI155 departs Delhi at 13:10 local time, arriving in Amsterdam at 18:35 local time. The inbound service, operating as flight AI156, takes off from Schiphol Airport at 20:45 local time, touching down back in India at 07:55 local time the following morning.
What they said
Campbell Wilson, CEO and Managing Director at Air India, said: “With the launch of this new non-stop flight to Amsterdam, Air India adds further breadth to our long-haul network and more options for our customers. Together with the three other European routes started in recent months, and others to come, it supports our objective of establishing Delhi as a significant international hub.”
Air India targets point to point traffic
Air India will target the point-to-point Amsterdam-Delhi market (~139,000 passengers in 2019) along with connecting passengers across India and to major Southeast Asia cities. It will be the first time since 2019 that the market has had more than one airline (when Jet Airways ceased operating). It will also be the first time since that pre-pandemic year that any of Amsterdam’s three Indian destinations has had two carriers.
Air India expands European operations to nine destinations
Amsterdam becomes Air India’s ninth destination in Europe, having last served the city in 1997. The Star Alliance carrier maintains operations from Delhi to eight European airports including Amsterdam, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London LHR, Milan MXP, Paris CDG, and Vienna. It also serves London LGW from four secondary airports.
Air India now boasts 77 weekly flights between India and Europe. Barcelona, Manchester and Brussels are now the biggest unserved European markets out of the carrier’s Delhi hub.
