Queensland woos Air India to open up largest untapped market

Queensland is making a concerted pitch to open up its biggest untapped market by wooing Air India to introduce routes to the Sunshine State.

India – now the world’s most populous nation – is the largest economic market within range that does not have any direct routes to and from Brisbane Airport.

Air India chief executive Campbell Wilson in Brisbane on Thursday.Credit: Glenn Campbell

The state government hopes to change that and will urge Air India chief executive Campbell Wilson – in Brisbane this week for an aviation conference – to add Queensland services to its route map.

There were signs Wilson, a New Zealand native, was open to the idea. He told the CAPA Airline Leader Summit, being held at the newly opened Star Event Centre at Queen’s Wharf, there was “plenty of untapped potential” for Air India, both in Australia and his homeland.

That was why, Wilson said, the airline had doubled its frequency to Australia in the past two years.

“But having said that, we’re only going to Sydney and Melbourne, and only 17 times a week,” he said.

“Clearly there’s a huge amount of opportunity to grow, not just in terms of frequency, but certainly in respect of city coverage.”

Wilson said new services would be driven by the pace of aircraft deliveries. Since privatisation in 2022, Air India has ordered about 470 new aircraft – more than Qantas’ entire fleet.

“There are many competing markets for these aircraft, whether it be Africa, Europe, Asia, Australasia,” he said.

“As soon as we get aircraft, we would like to put more into Australia, absolutely.

“We see a significant opportunity with the Indian diaspora, and Australia is ranked, I think, in the top three of the markets Indians want to travel to.”

India is Queensland’s eighth-largest international tourism market.Credit: iStock

Wilson said Indian airports could compete with the likes of Dubai, Doha and Singapore as stopover or layover hubs.

“It’s exactly the same geography as the Gulf, Middle East and South-East Asia, so we can participate in all those central networks,” he said.

“I think the perception is that Indian infrastructure is not where it should be, and anyone who has visited India recently would probably realise that’s no longer the case.”

Queensland Tourism Minister Michael Healy, who was due to meet with Wilson over dinner on Thursday night, said India was the state’s eighth-largest international tourism market.

And India’s growing middle class would mean more of the nation’s 1.4 billion people will soon have the capacity to travel abroad.

“India remains a key market that we are working to grow and would love to attract direct aviation access from in the future,” Healy said.

Brisbane Airport Corporation chief executive Gert-Jan de Graaff said it made sense for the Queensland capital to join Sydney and Melbourne as Air India’s Australian destinations.

“Brisbane Airport is ready to welcome Air India the moment it has aircraft available to fly here,” he said.

“Travellers from India now represent the sixth-largest inbound market for Brisbane, with 126,000 passengers arriving at [Brisbane Airport] in the past year – a 13 per cent increase from the previous year.

“Queensland accounts for 68 per cent of Australia’s trade with India. Brisbane also serves as the Australian headquarters for a number of Indian companies.

“A direct route between India and Brisbane will only strengthen family and business connections.”

Meanwhile, Qantas international and freight chief executive Cam Wallace told the conference Brisbane remained a high-growth international destination for the airline.

Qantas head of international and freight Cam Wallace says he’s confident of Brisbane’s growth.Credit: Glenn Campbell

“If you look at the last 12 months, I think we’ve added four international flights,” he said.

“This week, we added Vanuatu. We’ve got Manila, Honiara, a number of new city pairs. Jetstar also has been serving this community well.

“We deal in a really collaborative way with Brisbane Airport, we really value the relationship. They’re easy to work with and it sets the platform, the agenda for us, to be confident to grow in this part of the world.”

Data released on Thursday by Flight Centre corporate bookings division FCM Travel showed inbound international bookings to Brisbane were up 51 per cent since 2023, with outbound bookings up 38 per cent.

FCM Australia and New Zealand general manager Renos Rologas said that growth was largely due to a drop in Brisbane airfares – down 13 per cent for international economy and 5 per cent for business class.

“Brisbane’s international airline seat capacity is currently at 90 per cent of what it was before the pandemic,” Rologas said.

“I have no doubt that this news today will encourage both our international and domestic carriers to add more flights and more new routes in and out of Brisbane, which will, of course, drive more choice and better fares for travellers.”