Polar flights to US mulled

Ashwini Phadnis

NEW DELHI, Dec. 12

AIR INDIA (AI) is examining the possibility of launching a non-stop flight through the polar route to North America as part of an operational revamp exercise to revitalise the airline.

Sources told Business Line that the future for the airline lies in best utilising the option that the opening of the polar route offered to global airlines.

Flights over the North Pole from this part of the world to the Americas cut the distance and the flying time substantially, resulting in savings for the airline while making it more attractive for the passengers.

"The European market is saturated. AI will have to look at new opportunities.

The recent opening of the polar route offers opportunities to various airlines, including AI.

The airline could look at launching non-stop services through the polar route to destinations like New York and Chicago,'' official sources said.

Currently, AI operates regular services between India and the US through Europe.

The polar route from India was to be used by the now defunct Canadian airline, Canada 3000, which had announced the launch of services between Canada and India.

However, the start of the war in Afghanistan forced the airlines to change its flight route.

As part of the efforts, AI is also set to revive the project for the search for a medium-capacity long-range (MCLR) variety of aircraft which will be able to undertake the long flight.

Officials, however, were tight-lipped on what was to become of the earlier exercise of identifying both medium-capacity long-range and short-capacity long-range aircraft which AI had started a couple of years ago.

Sources said that the search for a new variety of aircraft was necessary for a variety of reasons, including the fact that the smaller aircraft with the airline were capable of operating only up to the Gulf and South East Asian region.

Similarly, AI is finding it difficult to fill the larger variety of aircraft. It has a mixed fleet of Airbus A-310 and Boeing 747-200 and 400 varieties of aircraft.