British Airways and Air India are both planning to increase flights on the route between London and Delhi.
BA said that it will add a third daily flight between London Heathrow and Delhi in 2026 subject to securing regulatory and capacity approval. The airline will also reintroduce its First cabin on flights between London and Mumbai from later this month.
Meanwhile Air India is adding a fourth daily flight on the Heathrow-Delhi route from 26 October, which will add nearly 1,200 seats per week in both directions.
The announcements came after UK prime minister Keir Starmer led a trade mission to India last week, following the signing of a Free Trade Agreement between the two nations this summer.
Sean Doyle, BA’s CEO, said: “We’ve been steadily increasing capacity between the UK and India over the years and we’re now operating 56 direct services to five Indian cities each week.
“The Free Trade Agreement with India will boost economic momentum between our two countries and British Airways really sits at the centre of that activity, acting as an enabler for increased trade.”
Air India has increased UK flights to 61 per week to five Indian cities from three UK gateways – Heathrow, London Gatwick and Birmingham airports.
Indian budget carrier IndiGo is also targeting the UK market with its first flights between London Heathrow and Mumbai scheduled to start on 26 October. IndiGo launched flights between Manchester and Mumbai this summer.
In a separate move, BA has opened new lounges at Miami International and Dubai International airports. The new spaces are part of the airline's £7 billion "transformation programme", which includes investments in redesigned lounges at London Gatwick, Lagos, Singapore, Seattle and Washington Dulles.