Summary
- Air India has now launched its Bangalore route, expanding London Gatwick’s Indian connectivity with 5 weekly flights.
- LGW aims to double India connectivity in 5 years, with strong interim results due to a growing focus on North America and Asia.
- London Gatwick is strengthening its Asian network, with new services to India, China, and East Asia.
Air India has announced that it has launched a brand-new service between London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and Bangalore (BLR), as part of its continued long-haul network expansion between the UK and India. London Gatwick in particular stands to benefit from its growing list of Indian destinations, especially in light of “strong” interim results for 2024 published earlier this week for the period ending June 2024.
In its release, the airport said a focus on North America, the Middle East, and Asia has allowed it to attract a ‘wider range of passengers and continues to build on the airport’s vision to be the airport for everyone.” It referenced the new Singapore Airlines flights that launched in June, as well as other new services to China and India. It is worth noting that Norse Atlantic Airways also recently announced it would be launching a flight to Las Vegas in September.
Photo: Dmitry Dven | Shutterstock
Air India announces BLR-LGW
Bangalore has become the fifth destination served in India from London Gatwick, after Goa, Kochi, Ahmedabad and Amritsar. The airline now offers five weekly flights with its Boeing 787 fleet. The new route will help LGW reach its ambitious aim of doubling its connectivity to India within five years’ time.
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Air India To Start Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner Service Between Bengaluru & London Gatwick In August
Air India will join British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to connect Bengaluru with London.
Overall weekly frequencies between LGW and India has now risen to 19 weekly. Stephanie Wear, Vice President of Aviation Development at London Gatwick said:
“This new service to Bengaluru is excellent news for both passengers and businesses across London and the South East. This city’s dynamic tech industry and cultural significance makes it a fantastic addition to our route network. It’s set to be a popular service, providing fantastic opportunities for both tourism and trade.”
According to data from FlightRadar24, the first flight operated between BLR and LGW on August 18 with a Boeing 787-8 registered VT-ANJ. The plane is 11 years old and landed roughly one hour later than scheduled, at 19:58 local time in England.
The service operates under flight number AI177. Between August 2021 and March 2022, Air India operated a route between BLR and London Heathrow Airport (LHR) under the same flight number.
Aside from LGW, Air India also offers 31 weekly flights to India from LHR and six weekly from Birmingham (BHX).
Strong start to 2024: a strengthening network
During the first half of the year ending June 2024, LGW recorded 19.9 million passengers traveling through the airport. It said that this was thanks to the nearly 60 airlines that connect it to more than 220 destinations worldwide, pushing aircraft movements to 122,725 in total. This represents a figure of up to 58 movements per hour, it says.
It reported strong growth in the Asian market, with connectivity to India, Central and East Asia all contributing to the increased passenger numbers. CEO at London Gatwick, Stewart Wingate, said:
“With the growing demand for travel, we are experiencing one of our busiest summers yet. Thanks to robust planning and close collaboration with our partners we’ve had a strong start to 2024, ensuring a reliable and enjoyable experience for our passengers.
Photo: Anand Balaji | Shutterstock
Our teams have worked incredibly hard to achieve these results. As we continue to grow our network and offer more choice for passengers, we are working towards our vision to be the airport for everyone, whatever your journey.”
LGW’s Asian network expanded the most
Compared to its other focal regions, Asia had by far the most action during this period. Looking at the Central Asian network, Azerbaijan Airlines launched a thrice weekly flight to Baku in March which operates alongside its connection to Heathrow offered at the same frequency.
Then, in April, it welcomed Uzbekistan Airways with a new service to Tashkent. This flight complements the carrier’s existing flights to London Heathrow and operates every Sunday. This is the world’s third longest Airbus A320 route. Finally, Turkmenistan Airlines also joined the LGW family after it shifted its once-weekly Boeing 777-200LR connection to Ashgabat from Heathrow in April.
Photo: Soos Jozsef I Shutterstock
Now to East Asia. At the start of June, 
Air China began daily flights to Beijing Capital Airport. Soon after, on June 20, China Southern began flights to Guangzhou. On the topic, Wear had previously said:
“Having welcomed both Air China and China Southern to the airport last year, the additional routes highlight the carriers’ commitment to growth at London Gatwick. Alongside China Eastern, we are delighted to continue growing these positive relationships with China’s three largest airlines.”
Singapore Airlines also recently announced that it would be boosting its Gatwick flights from five weekly to daily as of next March.
Related
Singapore Airlines To Add Airbus A350 Flights To London Gatwick
Flights will start In June 2024.
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