Air India to develop Bengaluru Airport as a hub; establish its own lounge for domestic passengers

Hearing about a new Air India Lounge coming up was not on my bingo card today, but here we are. The airline has formally announced an agreement today to join hands with the Bengaluru International Airport to develop it as their south Indian hub.

Bengaluru International Airport and Air India join hands.

Air India and Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) have agreed to develop Bengaluru as an aviation hub for southern India. The airline aims to boost air travel connectivity to and from India over the next few years. Air India (along with other Tata Group airlines – AIX, and Vistara) and BIAL will collaborate to enhance international connectivity, operational efficiency, and passenger experience over the next five years.

Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Air India and Hari Marar, Managing Director and CEO, Bangalore International Airport Limited, with senior BIAL and Air India officials at the Bangalore International Airport. (Image Credit: Air India)

As part of this initiative, Air India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Karnataka to establish comprehensive Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities at BLR airport. This partnership will stimulate the MRO ecosystem and is projected to generate over 1,200 new job opportunities for highly skilled individuals in the state.

Air India will establish a lounge at Bengaluru Airport.

As part of the initiative to use Bengaluru as the hub for Air India, Air India is also going to establish a domestic lounge for the premium and frequent travellers of Air India and Vistara at Terminal 2, Bengaluru Airport. Since Vistara is included in this announcement, it seems this lounge will be a reserved part of the existing 080 lounges rather than a separate lounge. After expansion, there is a lot of space at Bengaluru Terminal 2’s 080 Lounge.

On this occasion, Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Air India, said

Airline-airport synergy is key to elevated customer experience and efficient operations, while Bengaluru is highly attractive as an origin and destination market as well as a connecting hub. We are therefore delighted to be strengthening our relationship with BIAL with a view to developing a greater presence at the airport, expanding air connectivity as well as building a major MRO center. This partnership agreement is a significant milestone in the ongoing transformation of Air India.

Hari Marar, Managing Director and CEO, Bangalore International Airport Limited, said

As the busiest airport in South India, BLR Airport is dedicated to strengthening its position as the primary international gateway in Southern and Central India. This collaboration aligns perfectly with the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s vision of developing Indian airports as hubs, reflecting our commitment to enhancing the passenger experience. Given that over half of the international outbound travellers from Bengaluru and our catchment head to Europe, North America, Australia, and the Far East, our alliance with Air India represents a substantial leap towards this goal. We aim to capture a significant share of long-haul routes from BLR Airport over the next five years.

Bottomline

Air India is going to make Bengaluru an integral part of its plans and develop a hub out of the airport there. As part of its plans, BLR will also get an Air India Lounge, which will be the second airport in the network to get one (after Delhi).

What do you make of Air India emphasizing Bengaluru as its hub?

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