Virgin flies to Delhi on behalf of Air India, using Air India's slots and route licence. The agreement with Air India and the Indian government should have had Virgin flying to Delhi five times a week by the end of 2002. This was delayed by prevarication at the Indian end for reasons unknown to me, but I have suspicions. Virgin threatened to pull off the route unless the frequency was increased, as it was unable to make a profit on a twice-weekly schedule despite good loads - Air India was and is, of course, taking much of the revenue. It was agreed by Air India and the Indian government that Virgin could increase to three weekly schedules from summer 2003. There is still a lot of negotiation going on to increase to the previously-agreed five weekly flights.
Virgin is keen to fly to India in its own right. Yet, in spite of the Indian government professing to wish to increase both tourism and foreign investment, they are playing a very slow game. I have no doubt that Virgin will continue to negotiate, but I suspect that corruption and beuraucracy in India will drag the procedure out for some years ahead. If India's not careful, it will lose out big time to China and other Asian nations in the rush to prosperity, and Virgin and others will simply walk away.