going by that logic they should shut AI down (i dont want that to happen) because almost all their routes are unprofitable... they do hv the aircraft to operate the route

there is a difference between a route having a possibility of doing well & one with no possibility....

Exactly. It is possible for Air India to make a profit on flights to New York if they execute it properly. The chances of making any sort of profit on a route to Australia are close to none.

Why do u think so? Are the loads that less? Do u see any change if AI gets delivery of 787?

There are a couple problems with flights to Australia:

There isn't a lot of premium traffic. Most traffic is VFR or Leisure, which doesn't pay as much

The stage length is very long, meaning that operating costs are very high

There is a lot of competition by the Gulf Carriers and Southeast Asian carriers. The Southeast Asian carriers have much lower costs than a nonstop since the stop at the hub effectively acts as a fuel stop.

Few passengers are willing to pay a premium for nonstop flights in this market.


The 787 might make the market viable, but there are much better markets out there available for Air India, like Boston and Washington DC in the USA, or Tokyo, and Seoul in Asia. AI could also operate flights to secondary cities in the UK, which would also likely be more profitable.

Sadly, what is most likely is that AI will use the 787s as 1-to-1 replacements for their fuel guzzling 777 fleet. That means that it will actually be a net capacity reduction since the 787 is smaller.

It will be interesting to see what happens though. Now that the Ex-Im Bank lawsuit got dismissed by a judge, it seems almost certain that AI will take delivery, which is a good start...

And to all AI company representatives: Yes, I am interested in attending the media flight for the 787 launch :D:D:D:D

Shows how much I know about AI ;)

When AC gets 787 s they might start YVR/YYZ-DEL.

lots of airlines fall under the 'might' cloud....very few actually start the service....

I have read that the 777 are actually fuel efficient as compared to 340.. y do u say that it is a fuel guzzler?

I wasn't comparing to an A340. A340s burn more fuel than 777s, this is true.

787s burn a LOT less fuel than 777s, and that was the comparison being made.

Ok... so what will they do with their 777 once 787 arrives?

Why is AI so keen on joining star and not oneworld?

Because oneworld is the alliance of bankrupt carriers while Star Alliance has the most marketshare and has the majority of other prestige state owned carriers... Also, Kingfisher is a member of oneworld, and AI wants exclusivity (just like any other airline would want).

I wouldn't be surprised to see AI go to SkyTeam though.

Doesnt Skyteam have the worst reputation amongst the three alliances

Arguably.

I personally think that oneworld is in a much worse position than SkyTeam, regardless of reputation.

But there is no doubt that Star Alliance is the strongest alliance out there right now.

I agree Star is the best..