As part of the Indian national carrier’s steady expansion plans, the Indian national carrier has announced that it would resume flights to Toronto, Canada. While there is currently no clarity on the aircraft type that would ply this route, the most popular guess is that it would be a Boeing 777-300ER, which Air India is currently operating on all its north American flights.
Indian Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri took to social media site Twitter to make this announcement. “Delighted to announce the commencement of a thrice weekly Air India flight between Shri Amritsar Sahib and Canada. The Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto will commence on the occasion of World Tourism Day on September 27, 2019,” he tweeted on Sunday.
With the cancellation of Jet Airways’ New Delhi-Amsterdam-Toronto flight, this flight comes as good news for passengers travelling between these two countries. Air India will, however, be competing on this leg with fellow Star Alliance carrier Air Canada, who operates flights from New Delhi to both Toronto and Vancouver. From a traffic standpoint, the flight originating in Amritsar is strategically important, given that there is a huge Punjabi diaspora in Canada, leading to heavy traffic between the two countries.
This flight is also extremely practical for travellers other than Amritsar, who can board the flight at Air India’s New Delhi hub, after flying in from another city on the airline’s wide domestic network.
Remains to be seen how the Indian national carrier renders this route profitable, given that it was not able to do so in the past, when it flew to Canada. Be that as it may, travellers are welcoming this direct flight between India and Canada.
