With demand rising, airlines add flights to India

Singapore Airlines added nine weekly flights to India last year, bringing its total to 104. Air France-KLM is increasing its seat capacity on Indian flights by 25% this winter. United has just begun offering nonstop seasonal daily flights from San Francisco to Delhi. And Delta began nonstop service between Kennedy International Airport in New York and Mumbai in December. In the last few years, more than 20 of the 80 international airlines that fly to India have added service, in some cases through arrangements with other airlines, called code sharing. Travel between the US and India increased 10.3% from H1 2018 to H1 2019, American Express Global Business Travel reported. At this pace, India is expected to become the third-largest aviation market by 2024, behind China and the US, according to the Center for Aviation. The uptick in flights, experts say, is the result of a variety of economic, social, immigration and travel trends. More international social media and tech companies are setting up shop in India or increasing their staff. A growing number of Indians are living and working in the US, Canada, Britain and elsewhere, and that means more homeland visits for traditionally close-knit Indian families. Tourism continues to rise. The contribution of travel and tourism to India’s gross domestic product is expected to increase to $492.2b in 2028, from $234b in 2017. The World Travel and Tourism Council ranked India third among 185 countries in terms of tourism’s total contribution to the national economy in 2018. It was seventh in 2016. The international airlines have also increased the flights in the wake of the collapse of Jet Airways in April 2019, which in 2018 accounted for nearly 20% of passengers flown by Indian airlines, and the slow decline of the Indian government-owned carrier Air India.<br/>