 "Ashwani Lohani")
Air India is exploring resumption of its service to Nairobi and Dar es Salaam six years after it withdrew from the market.
Air India chairperson Ashwani Lohani said the airline is sending a team to Kenya and Tanzania to assess market potential. He added there have been requests to Air India from these two countries and also from South Africa to introduce flights.
At present no Indian carrier flies to Africa. Air India stopped its Mumbai-Nairobi-Dar es Salaam flight in 2010. It had pulled out of South Africa a few years earlier.
Air India has 21 Boeing 787 planes at present and it will be receiving six planes of the type from November till 2018 and is also planning flights to Madrid and Copenhagen. The launch of the new services will take place as it inducts the new planes.
Currently five African airlines fly to India including Kenya Airways which operates 12 weekly flights between Nairobi-Mumbai. Ethiopian Airlines flies to Mumbai and Delhi and has a code share agreement with Air India. Other airlines with India service include Air Mauritius, Air Seychelles and Egypt Air.
