en.Wedoany.com Reported - Air India has announced it will launch a route between Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) on October 25, with operations planned through March 26, 2027, at three flights per week.

Air India is currently the largest carrier between India and North America. According to Cirium Diio data, the Star Alliance member holds slightly more than half of the share of nonstop and connecting flights between the two regions in 2026. Due to airspace closures and flight restrictions, flights take longer and cost more, undermining competitiveness. Traffic between the two regions is heavy with relatively low yields, and most passengers must transit via European or Gulf hubs; booking data shows that in the 12 months through May 2026, there were approximately 8.7 million round-trip passengers, of whom over 85% traveled indirectly.

The aviation market between India and Toronto is substantial, with more than 1.2 million round-trip passengers between June 2025 and May 2026, averaging about 3,300 per day. Air India and fellow Star Alliance member Air Canada currently operate flights from Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport to YYZ, and another route is also set to launch. The new route's inaugural flight on October 25 coincides with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) winter schedule season change, with the operating window extending through March 26, 2027; the route was announced less than three months before launch, leaving a relatively short preparation period.

The Boeing 777-300ER operating this route features an "upgraded" cabin with 328 seats: 8 first-class suites with privacy doors in a 1-2-1 layout; 40 business-class lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 layout; and 280 economy seats, predominantly in a 3-4-3 layout with 31 inches of seat pitch. Wi-Fi is available onboard, though reliability remains to be seen; meals and the in-flight entertainment (IFE) system have been upgraded accordingly. Air India has repeatedly stated the flight will operate nonstop, but given that its existing BOM to New York JFK and Newark flights both stop at Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) for refueling and crew changes to avoid Iranian, Pakistani, and Russian airspace, the BOM-YYZ flight is also highly likely to stop at FCO. Additionally, most of Air India's other flights to North America also make stops, though not always at FCO.

The flight operates on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The BOM to YYZ direction departs at 4:00 AM local time and arrives at 10:00 AM, with a flight time of 16 hours and 30 minutes; the YYZ to BOM direction departs at 12:30 PM local time and arrives at 2:10 PM the next day, with a flight time of 15 hours and 10 minutes.

This route was previously operated by Air India's codeshare partner Air Canada. Air Canada last flew it from October 2025 to March 2026, operating via London Heathrow Airport (LHR) under fifth-freedom rights, four times weekly, using the Boeing 787-9. Between 2017 and 2020, Air Canada flew BOM nonstop, but was later unable to continue due to Russian airspace restrictions; in the winters of 2022/2023, 2023/2024, and 2025/2026, it operated via LHR. The winter of 2024/2025 was different, with Air Canada flying from Calgary International Airport (YYZ) via LHR to Delhi (DEL); at that time, it also attempted to operate the YYZ-BOM nonstop service, but the return flight had to stop at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) for refueling—and possibly a crew change—due to detours and headwinds.

Entering an established market after other operators have exited is a common practice in the aviation industry. Toronto Pearson Airport, as Canada's busiest airport, is the third-largest market between BOM and North America; in the 12 months through May 2026, BOM-YYZ local traffic stood at 128,000 passengers, trailing only JFK (225,000) and San Francisco (143,000). The new route will also capture passengers from other Indian cities traveling to YYZ via BOM, particularly benefiting travelers from western and southern India. Key catchment markets include Ahmedabad (81,000), Bengaluru (49,000), Hyderabad (47,000), and Chennai (41,000); connection times at BOM are approximately two to four hours, mostly during late-night hours en route to Canada.