Tapping ‘Connecting Traffic’: Air India discloses key strategy to transform India into a key global transit hub

In a recent roundtable discussion, Air India’s Chief Commercial Officer, Nipun Aggarwal, outlined ambitious plans to tap into the largely untapped "I" to "I" traffic (International to International) — connecting passengers flying over India. This segment, currently dominated by global hubs like Dubai, Doha, Istanbul, and Singapore, holds immense potential to position India as a major international transit hub.

“The total originating traffic from India is about 26 million passengers annually, but the connecting traffic flying over India is a staggering 113 million,” Aggarwal said. “Right now, our market share is as low as 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent. If we can increase that to even 2-5 percent, it will unlock tremendous capacity and allow us to deploy more wide-body aircraft,” he added.

A critical element of the strategy is leveraging India’s geographic advantage to provide faster travel times than competitors. "Where we have a circuit-time advantage, we can offer a superior travel experience with quicker connections. This is where we aim to excel," Aggarwal explained.

To achieve this, Air India is realigning its network to bolster east-west connectivity. The airline has optimised schedules to connect Europe, North America, and Australia with Southeast Asia, SAARC, and the Far East. One example is the "Kangaroo Corridor" between Europe and Australia, one of the busiest global routes.

“We’ve adjusted flight schedules so passengers from cities like Frankfurt or Paris can seamlessly connect to Australia,” Aggarwal said.

Early results indicate progress. Air India’s share of "I" to "I" traffic has grown to 10 percent from the US, 15 percent from the UK, 20 percent from Europe and about 10 percent from Australia. These figures highlight the success of its hub-and-spoke model, which focuses on routing traffic through key hubs rather than relying on point-to-point operations. “This model makes us more competitive and resilient against market disruptions,” Aggarwal added.

While acknowledging that foreign carriers still dominate connecting traffic from India, Aggarwal emphasised Air India’s potential to reclaim a significant portion of this lucrative market.