DELHI- Air India Express (IX) plans to launch a new Delhi-Amritsar service beginning March 30, 2025, that directly overlaps with parent company Air India’s (AI) existing flights on the same route, reported Indian aviation blogger, Ravreet Singh.
This scheduling decision contradicts a fundamental principle of airline network planning by potentially cannibalizing the group’s own traffic rather than strengthening its market position.
Photo: avgeekwithlens/ Harsh TekriwalAir India Express Costly Mistake
The scheduling overlap creates nearly identical departure and arrival times:
Air India Express:
- DEL 11:10 – 12:30 ATQ | IX1998
- ATQ 13:00 – 14:00 DEL | IX1999
Air India:
- DEL 11:00 – 12:20 ATQ | AI491
- ATQ 13:00 – 14:20 DEL | AI492
With only 10 minutes separating the Delhi departures and identical Amritsar departure times, the new AIX service fails to provide frequency diversity or network advantages. This creates direct internal competition between the two airlines under the same corporate umbrella.
The self-cannibalization threatens several negative outcomes for both carriers. Yield dilution becomes likely as the airlines compete for the same passenger base without expanding the overall market, potentially forcing fares down and reducing revenue per seat.
Network synergy remains limited since Air India’s service caters to both point-to-point travelers and transit passengers connecting to its extensive domestic network through its Delhi hub. AIX lacks strong connectivity beyond Delhi, restricting it primarily to point-to-point demand and adding minimal value to Air India Group’s overall network strategy.
The parallel scheduling also creates inefficient capacity allocation. Air India operates a 182-seat A321 aircraft on this route, while AIX will deploy a 180-seat A320. Rather than distributing capacity across different time slots to maximize market coverage, both airlines now risk operating with suboptimal load factors on nearly identical services.
Photo: avgeekwithlens/ Harsh TekriwalAlternative Strategies
Ravreet Singh suggested that Air India Express (AIX) could have implemented several alternative strategies to avoid competing directly with its parent company on the Delhi-Amritsar route. The current scheduling decision fails to optimize the overall network strategy of the Air India Group.
AIX could have scheduled flights at different times of day, such as early morning or late evening departures, to capture additional market demand without overlapping with Air India’s existing service. This approach would have expanded the total addressable market rather than splitting the same passenger pool.
The airline could have also aligned its scheduling with Air India’s Delhi hub operations, ensuring passengers had viable connection options to domestic and international flights. This integration would have strengthened the overall network effect of the Air India Group rather than creating isolated point-to-point service.
Product differentiation represents another missed opportunity. AIX could have offered distinct service elements to justify its presence on the route instead of duplicating an existing service with nearly identical departure times.
Mr Singh notes that instead of strengthening the Air India Group’s competitive position, this scheduling misstep weakens both carriers by splitting demand, potentially reducing yields, and limiting overall operational efficiency. Without schedule adjustments before the March 30 launch, this decision risks eroding Air India Group’s market position rather than enhancing it.
Both airlines currently have bookings open for their respective flights.
Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.
Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News
Air India Express Added Over 13 New Routes in January 2025
The post Air India Express Making Costly Mistake by Competing with Air India appeared first on Aviation A2Z.
![Pleszew. Planujesz wstąpić do policji? Spróbuj swoich sił na torze sprawności [ZDJĘCIA]](https://static.zpleszewa.pl/zpleszewa/articles/image/c168c239-caa1-4dd5-b1f7-4369be6e1360)
