Air India Likely To Be The Chosen Carrier For Non-Stop Flight To Perth

Hon. Paul Papalia CSC, MLA, Minister of Tourism, Western Australia was in India to discuss possibility of direct non-stop flights to Perth with Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha. 

The idea is to start direct flights, initially, four times a week from either of the four metropolitan cities – Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai. In a media interaction, the Minister of Tourism stated that India is already a fast growing market for Western Australia with the number of visitors increasing by 38 per cent from the year ending December 2015 to the same period in 2017. “Perth is on the doorstep of Asia and is fast establishing itself as a thriving airline hub. There are many reasons for Indian airlines to consider Perth as a destination for non-stop entry into Australia. With India and Western Australia sharing an ocean, Perth is the only major Australian city within eight to 10 hours from key Indian airports, making the journey convenient and comfortable,” he said.

With a focus on building awareness about Western Australia in India and develop cross cultural and travel trade ties between the two countries, the Minister informed, “We have appointed a tourism specialist to represent the sector in Mumbai office who would support the trade and students market significantly. We will also be launching a marketing campaign and have invested $300,000 AUD.”

He also shared that six aviation companies had shown interest to explore the business for the route. However, sources have revealed to BWBusinessworld that talks have gone ahead with Air India which is likely to be the carrier for the non-stop flight to Perth. 

Speaking about the opportunities and product experiences that Western Australia offers, he said, “We have high quality hotels that cater to all segments – MICE, leisure, and corporate travellers. Self-drive for independent travellers with attractive packages is major focus of the campaign.”

India and Australia share strong trade, investment, sporting and education ties. Education and tourism are two of the top performing sectors and under that direct flight is a big enabler. He also said that direct connectivity between the two countries has the potential to deepen these relationships.

The state has hotel brands like Crown Towers Perth, Pan Pacific Perth and will launch 2,500 keys by 2020 with brand like Ritz Carlton opening soon. “Perth boasts the best hotels in Australia, with more than 3,000 new rooms opened in the past few years. It is also the perfect launch pad to visit our spectacular regions,” he said. 

Around 144,000 passengers travel between India and Western Australia each year, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.6 per cent over the past five years. The majority of these passengers are Australians travelling to India for business and leisure. 

There has been a 65 per cent growth in the Indian-born population in Western Australia in the past six years and while it is true many Indian travellers come to Perth to visit family and friends, more than 20 per cent travel for business and education. 

Vaishali Dar

BW Reporters Vaishali Dar is a Senior Associate Editor with BW Businessworld and Editorial Head with BW Disrupt. She writes on corporates, start-ups, hospitality and travel