BIRMINGHAM - 3

[AMM626]

30 October.
The Indian diaspora living in the interiors of the UK could soon have
the option of flying with another Indian carrier.
Indian is evaluating the option of operating to Birmingham with the
leased Airbus A-330 aircraft that are to soon be inducted into its
fleet.
"Birmingham is one of the cities being considered along with
destinations in Australia, South Africa and China. Our teams have
visited the cities and a decision on which routes the A-330 aircraft
would be deployed is expected soon," a senior airline official told
Business Line.
As part of the study the airline is also examining the possibility of
operating on the Gujarat-Birmingham route as several requests have
been received from the Gujarati community both in the UK and India,
sources said.
The airline was earlier evaluating the option of deploying the Airbus
A-330 aircraft on the India-London sector. However, there was a
rethink in the airline mainly on account of drop in yields and
intense competition on the India-Heathrow route.
Currently, Air India and Jet Airways operate regular flights from
various cities in India to Heathrow, while British Airways and Virgin
Atlantic operate regular flights from Heathrow to various Indian
cities.
The intense competition on the route has seen return fares drop to as
low as Rs 18,000.
Air India, however, is the only airline from India and the UK side to
operate regular services to Birmingham.




Yesterdays online edition:
Indian Airlines announced it has established an internal panel to
review the rationalisation of international routes as it takes
delivery of widebody aircraft (Hindu Business Line, 15-Nov-06). The
carrier is considering suspending London service and launching
services to Birmingham, South Africa, Australia and Hong Kong.