Air India faces passenger decline

In the wake of the June 12 crash involving an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the airline has seen a marked decline in ticket bookings and fares on several international routes, with many passengers opting to delay or cancel their travel plans.
According to industry reports and independent fare tracking, ticket prices on key routes such as Delhi–London and Delhi– Amsterdam have dropped by 20–30% compared to pre-crash levels, with one-way fares now available for as low as Rs. 46,000. The downturn in bookings has prompted Air India to temporarily reduce its international wide-body operations by 15% through mid-July.
As many as 80 flights, primarily to Europe, North America, and the Middle East, have either been cancelled or delayed since the incident, due to both fleet reallocation and ongoing safety inspections.
Of Air India’s fleet of 33 Dreamliners, 26 have cleared the newly mandated safety audits by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), with the remaining aircraft expected to be inspected and cleared in the coming days.
These audits include enhanced checks of the GEnx engine systems, emergency power systems, and takeoff protocols. In the meantime, the airline is offering full refunds or alternate routing options to affected passengers and has deployed substitute aircraft where possible.
Air India has undertaken massive fare cuts in order to attract passengers. For instance, a Delhi–London round trip that previously averaged Rs. 65,000 is now available for around Rs. 48,000. A Mumbai–New York fare, once priced at Rs. 1.4 lakh, has dropped to Rs. 1.05 lakh. Travel agents confirm that the dip in demand is directly tied to anxiety among fliers about boarding Boeing 787 aircraft, even though the cause of the crash is still under investigation and no official safety deficiency has yet been confirmed.