Air India has announced plans to increase frequency from four flights per week to daily services at Birmingham Airport.
Starting December 21, Air India will operate the new daily flight programme between Birmingham, Delhi and Amritsar. With the increase in flight frequency and the new Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner,’ the airline will offer more than 3,500 seats on the route each week. The Dreamliner operates a 256 seat cabin, consisting of 18 business class and 238 economy seats.
With the introduction of Wednesday, Friday and Sunday to its schedule, Air India’s programme will see flights arriving from Amritsar and Delhi at 1700 daily and departing Birmingham for the return legs at 2030 each evening. The new programme is on sale through www.airindia.com or via travel agents.
Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport’s Chief Executive, said, ‘We are incredibly thankful to Air India for committing to daily services from Birmingham and adding more direct capacity to India from the Midlands.
‘The West Midlands receives more foreign direct investment from India than any other region outside of London and Birmingham’s VFR market grew by 71% in 2013, now attracting more visitors from India than any English city other than London.
‘It’s therefore hardly surprising that the route has been such a success since its inauguration in August last year as it allows people to travel from their local catchment area, rather than airports further away.’
Vishwanath Panyam, Air India’s Astt. General Manager, added, ‘The West Midlands is a diverse region and home to more than 200,000 British-Indian people so we are pleased to be able to not only serve this extensive VFR market but also give business travellers direct access to the whole of India via Delhi on the comfortable, quiet and state of the art Boeing-787 Dreamliner aircraft.
‘I hope that the daily services will offer greater choice, flexibility and convenience and make the Birmingham flights even more appealing to local people.’
