Air India cuts narrowbody flights too by up to 5 per cent

New Delhi, June 22 (IANS) Air India on Sunday announced temporary cuts of around 5 per cent to its overall narrowbody flights, after already having made reductions in its widebody international services following the tragic crash of the airline’s Boeing Dreamliner in Ahmedabad. 

The decision, which the airline termed “voluntary”, leads to the temporary suspension of Air India’s services on three routes and a reduction of frequency on 19 routes. The changes are effective until at least July 15, the Tata Group airline said.

"These reductions are aimed at strengthening Air India’s network-wide operational stability and minimising last-minute inconvenience to passengers," the airline maintained.

The routes suspended until July 15 are:

- Bengaluru-Singapore (AI2392/2393) – 7x weekly flights

- Pune-Singapore (AI2111/2110) – 7x weekly flights

-Mumbai-Bagdogra (AI551/552) – 7x weekly flights

Routes with reduced frequency until July 15 are:

- Bengaluru-Chandigarh: Reduced from 14x weekly to 7x weekly

-Delhi-Bengaluru: Reduced from 116x weekly to 113x weekly

- Delhi-Mumbai: Reduced from 176x weekly to 165x weekly

- Delhi-Kolkata: Reduced from 70x weekly to 63x weekly

- Delhi-Coimbatore: Reduced from 13x weekly to 12x weekly

- Delhi-Goa (Dabolim): Reduced from 14x weekly to 7x weekly

- Delhi-Goa (Mopa): Reduced from 14x weekly to 7x weekly

- Delhi-Hyderabad: Reduced from 84x weekly to 76x weekly

- Delhi-Indore: Reduced from 21x weekly to 14x weekly

- Delhi-Lucknow: Reduced from 28x weekly to 21x weekly

- Delhi-Pune: Reduced from 59x weekly to 54x weekly

- Mumbai-Ahmedabad: Reduced from 41x weekly to 37x weekly

- Mumbai-Bengaluru: Reduced from 91x weekly to 84x weekly

- Mumbai-Kolkata: Reduced from 42x weekly to 30x weekly

- Mumbai-Coimbatore: Reduced from 21x weekly to 16x weekly

- Mumbai-Kochi: Reduced from 40x weekly to 34x weekly

- Mumbai-Goa (Dabolim): Reduced from 34x weekly to 29x weekly

- Mumbai-Hyderabad: Reduced from 63x weekly to 59x weekly

- Mumbai-Varanasi: Reduced from 12x weekly to 7x weekly.

Despite these temporary reductions, Air India will continue to operate close to 600 daily flights with its narrowbody aircraft on 120 domestic and short-haul international routes, according to the airline’s statement.

Air India said it apologises to the passengers affected by these curtailments and is proactively contacting affected passengers to offer re-accommodation on alternative flights, complimentary rescheduling or full refunds as per their preference.

The revised schedule is being progressively made available on the airline’s website, airindia.com, mobile app, and through its contact centre.