Air India cuts Melbourne flights

Air India will no longer fly between Melbourne and Mumbai from next month, in a move which sees what began as a year-round flight moving to a seasonal service.

The Star Alliance member launched its direct Mumbai-Melbourne Boeing 787 in late 2023, and it was welcomed by travellers who no longer needed to transit via New Delhi.

However, the thriving Indian city of more than 21 million people will lose that non-stop flight in late March.

According to scheduling data filed by Air India, the current three-times weekly service – which flew every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday – will make its last flight on Friday March 28.

It will then be suspended until mid-September 2025, at which stage it’s expected to return.

Air India will retain its Melbourne-Delhi flights, in competition with Qantas on the same route.

Singapore Airlines also remains a very popular choice on the Australia-India route, with passengers breaking their journey Singapore – and often enjoying SQ’s Changi T3 lounges – before taking a direct flight to eight major cities accross India, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

As previously reported by Executive Traveller, Qantas’ low-cost arm Jetstar is looking at launching non-stop flights between Australia and India following an extensive upgrade to its own fleet of Boeing 787 jets due from 2026.

The makeover will include not only new business class seats and inflight WiFi but dedicated crew bunks, the lack of which restricts the 787’s flying hours and range.

“The new crew rest areas mean our crew will be able to get the rest they need to operate longer flights, unlocking the possibility of exciting new destinations like Sri Lanka and India,”  Jetstar Group CEO, Stephanie Tully has said.

“This multi-million-dollar fleet revamp will allow us to offer our customers more choice, comfort and amenities when flying longer distances internationally.”

Meanwhile, the Tata Group-owned Air India has embarked on a full-scale transformation, beginning with a new logo and livery and extending to a nose-to-tail makeover of its twin-aisle fleet – and yes, that includes the all-new first and business class.

A fresh livery red, aubergine and gold highlights will be rolled out across the entire Airbus and Boeing twin-aisle fleet as part of a $400 million refurbishment project.

Also read: Status shortcut – how you can get Singapore Airlines Gold without taking a single flight!

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.