Air New Zealand Could Finally Launch Direct Flights to India

Air New Zealand (NZ) is working with Air India (AI) to build the foundations for a joint venture and, eventually, potential nonstop flights between the two countries. Chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar, who grew up in India before taking the top job at the New Zealand flag carrier, confirmed the airline is in active talks with Air India on a revenue-sharing deal that could form the basis for direct service by either carrier. Ravishankar says Air New Zealand is working with Air India to establish a joint venture deal, where revenue can be shared, and provide the foundations for what could develop into direct flights by one of the airlines.

The push comes as trade and diplomatic ties between the two countries deepen. During a visit to India in March last year by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, both countries committed to explore non-stop flights, and Ravishankar says this remains a work in progress. No launch date has been set, and any new route would still need regulatory sign-off in both countries before an aircraft could be committed to the market.

Why Air New Zealand’s CEO Sees India through a Personal lens

Ravishankar’s connection to the route is not purely commercial. He grew up in what he describes as the “Dunedin of India,” a description he uses for Bengaluru, the city formerly known as Bangalore. That upbringing gave him a front-row view of how India’s fast-growing IT sector reshaped the wider economy around him.

He has also carried that outlook into how he frames New Zealand’s relationship with India more broadly. Ravishankar describes India and New Zealand as sharing a similar national temperament, calling both countries “introverted,” “humble,” and relationship-based. He argues that engaging with India directly, rather than only through intermediaries, produces stronger long-term partnerships, even if it takes longer to show results.

Air New Zealand and Air India are Building a Joint Venture Before any Nonstop Flight

Rather than jumping straight into scheduling a new route, Air New Zealand is treating the joint venture negotiation as the first real step. A joint venture would let the two carriers coordinate schedules, share revenue, and effectively treat connecting itineraries as a single combined product rather than two separate bookings. That structure typically requires both airlines to file applications with aviation regulators in their respective countries, a process that can take considerable time to clear.

The current relationship between the two airlines already runs deeper than a simple ticketing agreement. Air New Zealand and Air India signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2025 that expanded codeshare cooperation across 16 routes, letting passengers from Delhi (DEL), Mumbai (BOM), Bengaluru (BLR), and Chennai (MAA) book onward journeys to New Zealand on a single ticket. Those connections currently route through hubs including Singapore, Sydney, and Melbourne rather than flying nonstop.

No Non-stop Route Exists yet Despite Years of Government Talks

Direct India-New Zealand flights have been discussed for years without ever materialising into a scheduled service. Right now there are no non-stop flights between New Zealand and India, despite the idea being on the radar for several years, even though the route is well within range of modern aircraft. The pandemic offered a brief glimpse of what nonstop service could look like, when Air India operated several repatriation flights connecting Auckland directly to Indian cities.

That capability gap is part of why Air New Zealand is not treating this as a simple network expansion. Star Alliance partner Singapore Airlines (SQ) is also involved in the carrier’s evaluation of the route, giving Air New Zealand a third partner with existing India experience to draw on as it studies the market. Coverage from Outlook Traveller reports that Air New Zealand is targeting a potential operational window around the end of 2028, though that timeline depends on demand assessments, regulatory approval, and fleet planning all lining up.

What an Auckland–Delhi or Auckland–Mumbai Route Could Look Like

Industry reporting has narrowed the likely shape of a future nonstop service, even without a confirmed launch date. According to Outlook Traveller, the leading scenario involves the following:

• Auckland Airport (AKL) would serve as the New Zealand-side hub for any nonstop India service.
• Delhi or Mumbai are considered the most likely Indian gateway cities for an initial route.
• A nonstop Auckland-Delhi service would cover roughly 12,500 kilometres and take around 15 to 16 hours, placing it among the longest scheduled flights in the world.

Any aircraft assigned to a route of that length would need to come from Air New Zealand’s long-haul widebody fleet, which is already committed to high-performing existing routes across the Pacific and Asia. Fleet planning, rather than commercial appetite alone, is likely to be one of the harder constraints the airline has to work through before committing to a firm launch date.

Why New Zealand’s Indian Community is Central to the Business Case

Behind the route evaluation sits a rapidly growing population base on the New Zealand side of the market. Census data shows the Indian population overtook the Chinese community to become New Zealand’s third-largest ethnic group, with 292,092 people identifying as part of the Indian community in the 2023 Census, up 22 percent since 2018. That growth has strengthened the “visiting friends and relatives” segment that airlines typically rely on to anchor demand for a new long-haul route before business and leisure travel catch up.

Outlook Traveller also cites Tourism New Zealand market research suggesting around 18 million people across Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru are actively considering New Zealand as a travel destination. Combined with steady numbers of Indian students choosing New Zealand for higher education, that pipeline of potential demand gives Air New Zealand more to work with than a purely speculative route launch.

Comparing Air New Zealand’s Approach to Rival Airlines Chasing India

Air New Zealand is entering a market that several other carriers from developed economies are also targeting. Coverage from Travel And Tour World notes that Air New Zealand’s move to formally evaluate India connectivity puts it alongside airlines from Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Singapore, all of which are expanding service to India as outbound passenger numbers continue to climb.

What sets Air New Zealand’s approach apart is its reliance on partnership infrastructure ahead of any standalone launch. Rather than committing hundreds of millions of dollars to a new aircraft deployment first, the carrier is using its codeshare and prospective joint venture with Air India to test demand patterns on the existing network. That mirrors a broader shift industry-watchers have identified, where long-haul carriers increasingly build connectivity through partner networks before risking a full nonstop commitment on a new, unproven route.

Building demand before launch: VFR, corporate, and premium leisure

Ravishankar has been explicit that Air New Zealand will not simply launch a route and hope demand follows. Before committing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of aircraft and support structures, Air New Zealand says it needs to see demand from three parts of the market: VFR travellers, corporate travellers, and its key premium leisure segment. That framing reflects how expensive ultra-long-haul routes are to sustain if load factors fall short in the early years.

Ravishankar says the airline is working with Air India right now specifically to build that demand ahead of any launch, rather than waiting until after a route exists to start selling New Zealand as a destination. In practice, that means marketing New Zealand’s tourism appeal to the right traveller segments in India well before any aircraft is scheduled, so that a future nonstop route launches into demand that already exists rather than demand the airline hopes will appear.

What Comes Next for Air New Zealand’s India Strategy

The next concrete milestone is regulatory. Both Air New Zealand and Air India would need to file joint venture applications with aviation authorities in New Zealand and India, and that assessment process is expected to take time rather than resolve quickly. Only once that structure is approved would either airline be in a position to formally commit aircraft to a nonstop Auckland-India route.

For now, passengers travelling between the two countries will continue connecting through Singapore, Sydney, or Melbourne, using the codeshare arrangement the two airlines expanded in 2025. Whether that changes by the airline’s informally floated 2028 target will depend on how quickly the joint venture clears regulatory review, and whether the demand-building work Ravishankar describes translates into passenger numbers strong enough to justify one of the longest scheduled routes in the world.