BRITISH AIRWAYS’ FOCUS ON INDIA

An insight to British Airways expanding connection with India

Words Moran Birger

British Airways’ Head of Sales – South Asia, Middle East and Africa ough there is no denying that the last few years have been tough for aviation, we have grown from strength to strength and have constantly invested in the Indian market. From new products to additional ights, India has always been our focus. Our commitment now is stronger than ever with the recent launch of our third daily ight from Mumbai to London. We now operate 56 ights per week from ve cities; a double daily from Delhi, thrice a week from Mumbai, and a daily ight from Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru.

This year marks 99 years of British Airways ying to India. Our predecessor, Imperial Airways, took its rst ight in 1924 which took 14 days to complete. is was the start of our deep and extensive relationship with this incredible country. Today, as we celebrate our rich history together, a ight to Delhi takes less than 9 hours onboard some of our most modern and technologically advanced aircra .

On a personal note, India always has been and always will be dear to my heart having spent two years living here. On a professional level, it remains one of our biggest and most important markets.

We know that India is constantly growing and there exists a strong surge in demand for international travel that is fuelled by the growth of domestic tourism. We believe more and more Indians are now travelling abroad for leisure and or business than ever before. In fact, IAG’s recent nancial results noted that leisure travel is back to 2019 levels as an airline..

With customer experience remaining at the forefront of our India plans, we have recently expanded our footprint and have set up a new cabin crew base in Hyderabad. is, in addition to our bases in other Indian cities; the locally inspired meals that we serve on board; as well as the Bollywood lms screened on our ights; enables us to provide our Indian customers with a more personal and reassuring service, delivered in a local language with touches that make them feel at home.

We have also recently launched an advertising campaign ‘A British Original’ in India. is is a celebration of our people, our customers and the UK, which has helped make British Airways, a British original both in the UK and here in India. Needless to say, there is a lot more planned and we continue to invest in new aircra , enhanced catering, completing our wi rollout and installing more of our brand-new club suites on board long-haul aircra .

We have also put a huge focus on sustainability and the environment. is means improving our operational e ciency and introducing carbon o set and removal projects in the short term. In the medium to longer term, we are investing in the development of sustainable aviation fuel, zero emissions hydrogen-powered aircra and investigating carbon capture technology. Today, all British Airways ights leaving India will now y using a small proportion of Sustainable Aviation Fuel.

We are extremely proud of our past, and our heritage here. And as we celebrate 99 years of ying to India, our goal is to take what makes us unique; our Britishness, our network, our service, our reliability, our spirit of innovation, and our commitment to the market to create a British Airways for the future here in India. BTI

We are investing in the development of sustainable aviation fuel, zero emissions hydrogenpowered aircra and investigating carbon capture technology