Air India on Tuesday (October 31, 2023) launched its first non-stop flight from Mumbai to Melbourne,  Australia, as the India aviation firm expands its global route network. Air India will operate three times a week between Mumbai and Melbourne starting December 15, 2023, becoming the only non-stop operator between Mumbai and Australia currently.
 
The new Mumbai-Melbourne service will add nearly 40,000 seats per year to the Australian state of Victoria, where the Indian community is estimated at over 200,000, constituting about 40 per cent of the total Indian diaspora in Australia. The new services aim to respond to the growing demand to visit friends and relatives as well as capture demand for business and leisure travel to the region.
 
Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer, Air India, said, “We look forward to launching the only non-stop flight between Mumbai and Melbourne. This is a great step forward in our ongoing transformation programme, which, among other aspects, aims at connecting India to more of the world with non-stop flights. We are excited to showcase the positively changing Air India flying experience to travellers on this route, of which great Indian hospitality will remain a cornerstone.”
 
Travellers from 17 Indian cities can take convenient, one-stop connections to and from Melbourne via Delhi or Mumbai. The new Mumbai-Melbourne route further enables seamless two-way connectivity between Heathrow, London, and Melbourne via Delhi and Mumbai.
 
The flights on the Mumbai-Melbourne route will be operated by Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring 18 flat beds in Business Class and 238 spacious seats.
 
Flight tickets are on sale on Air India’s website (www.airindia.com), mobile app, and through travel agents worldwide. Promotional all-inclusive, round-trip fares start at Rs 48,999 in Economy.
Air India currently operates daily flights to Melbourne and Sydney from its home in New Delhi, flying 28 times every week between India and Australia.