AIR INDIA: Melbourne to Mumbai route cancelled

As of the end of March 2025, there will be no more flights on Air India between Melbourne and Mumbai. It will become a seasonal route, currently planned to restart in mid-September 2025.

Background

The route was launched in late 2023, using a Boeing 787 to service the Melbourne to Mumbai route. This non-stop trip, meant passengers no longer needed to travel via a transit in New Delhi. The route was flown three times per week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Air India is undergoing some radical change now that it has been substantially re-privatised under the Tata group. This top to toe transformation covers visual branding on the outside of aircraft, and a complete makeover of cabin interiors on its twin aisle widebody fleet, including new business and first class cabins. At a cost of $400 million, this is a radical repainting of aircraft in red, aubergine and gold and a complete repositioning of the airline.

Australia to India flights

Air India will maintain its non-stop flights between Melbourne and Delhi. Qantas currently also flies this route. Jetstar are also looking to providing a non-stop service to India once its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners has been upgraded, scheduled for 2026

The most important innovation on Jetstar will be the inclusion of a crew rest area, which allow scheduling of the aircraft on longer routes specifically India and Sri Lanka, according to Stephanie Tully, Jetstar’s CEO.

There are a number of other one-stop flight options with Singapore Airlines being the standout, especially for Business travellers. From Singapore, SIA flies to eight destinations in India, including Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore), Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai

2PAXfly Takeout

Air India has a long way to go to reinvent itself and rescue its previously failing reputation.

It currently runs a large but fairly mongrel fleet in terms of cabins and service. It is combining a number of airlines including Air India and Vistara to rebirth. As well as placing the largest order of aircraft at the time in February 2023 (470 aircraft including 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing at a cost of US$70 billion) it is also undertaking a US$400 million refurbishment program of its current fleet.

It’s an airline to watch. It offers some very competitive fares from Australia and on to Europe. At the moment, frequent flyers are avoiding the airline for the past bad reputation of its services. Over time that will change, so its worth watching how the transformation under the new Tata Group and Singapore Airlines owners progresses.