India to rank among world’s biggest aviation mkts: British Airways

New Delhi: India is going to be one of the biggest aviation markets in the world and British Airways (BA) wants to be a grab a chunk of the pie.

"India is our biggest market after North America and is absolutely critical part of BA network. We are putting a lot of emphasis and investing a lot in terms of our brand. India is strategically one of the most important markets we fly. It's a massive market for BA," Christopher Fordyce, the airline's regional commercial manager, South Asia told HT.

BA, which is celebrating 90 years of flying to India, operates 48 flights a week to five Indian cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai.

"One of the big things is that we have been flying here for 90 years. Some other carriers have come in and gone and they haven't been able to make it work. The fact that we have been here for so long and have been growing is a good indicator of us having the right product and we are looking to be here for another 90 years," Fordyce said.

At the moment, Fordyce said, BA didn't have any plans to operate the A380 in India or invest in an Indian carrier. "We continue to review as the market grows and if we are able to be as successful as we have been so far there is no reason why we won't love to bring bigger aircraft," he said.

"What we are really focusing at the moment is making sure we have got the right frequency particularly in Delhi and Mumbai," he added.

BA, which operates Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Hyderabad, may operate the aircraft to other Indian cities as well. "We are looking at new places to fly to and India is definitely on that list," he added.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.