Originally Posted by
PiperAtGatesofDawn
But this is just mere arm chair speculation isn't it? What's the ideal time for them to announce and market and what is that based on? Most of the AI flights I've been on in 2023-24 would have put passengers on the wings and roof if they could.
They've made the right noises about Indian needs + connecting European traffic for this route. Plus they would have all the pax data to make their decisions. Sure esp. US carriers announce new routes months in advance and then fail to deliver on many of them. With the situation so dynamic and AI getting new planes every 6 days for the last year and through 2024 (according to Mr. Wilson) they will announce routes late and still highly likely have a PLF of 85%+.
The numbers may be there for Indian tourism to Vietnam and business travel in both directions. But I
highly doubt Europeans are going to be connecting to SGN via DEL, when there are so many other options for connecting flights between Europe and Vietnam (BKK, SIN, KUL, DXB, DOH, IST to name a few)--not to mention direct services on airlines like Air France (CDG) and Vietnam Airlines (FRA, LHR, CDG).