Qantas Airways is planning yet another comeback to India. The Australian carrier, which had withdrawn its services last year, is looking at restarting services ex-Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore early next year.
Qantas was previously operating five flights per week on the Sydney- Mumbai via Singapore route. Post withdrawal, it, however, continued an active offline sales presence in India through an arrangement with Air-India, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines.
Rob Gurney, group general manager, United Kingdom/Europe, south-east Asia, Africa, India and the Middle-East-sales, said, "India is one of a number of routes that Qantas is considering for restarting operations. However, no decision has been made. We continually monitor every route on the Qantas network to ensure that we are managing our operations in the most efficient way."
Qantas had earlier resumed Indian operations in July 1996, following suspension of its services during 1990 as part of a global restructuring. Its ties with India dates back to 1947, when it started independent services connecting Australia to Europe with a stopover at Kolkata.
Sources close to the development said besides, Mumbai, a Bangalore-Chennai link is being considered. India has emerged as the most potential market for international carriers, while Singapore has emerged as the biggest air traffic hub linking Australia.
Qantas had in fact withdrawn its India links at a time when local tourist traffic to Australia was on the rise.