Air India to cut 100 flights daily

Air travel is getting more expensive again — and Air India is now moving from surcharges to outright schedule cuts. The airline is preparing to trim about 100 flights a day, with the heaviest reductions expected in June on long-haul international routes. That matters because Air India isn’t a fringe carrier here. It runs roughly 1,100 flights a day, so a cut this size hits both capacity and passenger choice. The immediate trigger is fuel — specifically another jump in aviation turbine fuel costs after weeks of pressure on Indian airlines. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) ### Why is Air India cutting flights now? Basically, the math got worse. Air India had already revised fuel surcharges on April 7 after a sharp run-up in global jet fuel p(economictimes.indiatimes.com)d still can’t absorb the bill, the next lever is frequency. (airindia.com) ### How big is the cut? The reported plan is about 100 flights a day across Air India’s domestic and international network. Against a base of about 1,100 daily flights, that is close to a 9% reduction. That doesn’t mean every route disappears. It us(airindia.com)cut — especially on business-heavy or connecting itineraries. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) ### Which routes get hit first? Turns out the steepest reductions are expected on flights linking India with Europe, North America, Australia, and Singapore. That makes se(economictimes.indiatimes.com)ost expensive to operate. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) ### Why not just keep raising ticket prices? Because there’s a limit to what passengers will swallow. Air India already moved to a distance-based domestic fuel surcharge f(economictimes.indiatimes.com) avoids flying marginal seats at a loss. (airindia.com) ### Is this just an Air India problem? No — that’s the bigger story. The Federation of Indian Airlines, which includes Air India, IndiGo, and SpiceJet, warned the government in late April that carriers were under “extreme stress” and could face serv(airindia.com) (ch-aviation.com) ### Why are fuel costs so distorted right now? The catch is that Indian airlines are dealing with a split market. Domestic ATF rates were kept unchanged in the latest revision, while international carriers faced the fresh increase. That means the biggest pressure lands on flights that already have the (ch-aviation.com), long-haul international flying would be it. (cnbctv18.com) ### What should travelers watch next? Watch June schedules, not just fares. When airlines cut capacity, the first sign is often fewer departure options, longer layovers, and faster sellouts on peak days. Air India has not posted a matching official newsroom announcement fo(cnbctv18.com)uel market that keeps moving against it. (airindia.com) ### Bottom line This is what a fuel shock looks like after the fare increase phase stops working. Air India is now shrinking supply — especially on expensive long-haul routes — and that usually means a tougher summer for passengers and a warning sign for the rest of India’s airline market. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)100-flights-daily-as-fuel-costs-bite-big-reductions-on-australia-europe-north-america-routes/articleshow/130650897.cms))