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 percent this winter. United Airlines has just begun offering nonstop seasonal daily flights from San Francisco to Delhi. And Delta Air Lines 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. At this pace, India is expected to become the third-largest aviation market by 2024, behind China and the United States, according to the Center for Aviation, a company that provides market intelligence to the aviation and travel industry. The contribution of travel and tourism to India’s gross domestic product — the broadest measure of goods and services produced in India — is expected to increase to $492.2 billion in 2028, from $234 billion in 2017. While there are signs of an economic slowdown in India, business travel to India remains strong. And driving that travel is bilateral trade, said Gunjan Bagla, managing director of Amritt Ventures, a company in Malibu, Calif., that helps Western companies market their products and services to India.