IndiGo to launch flights to Dharamshala

IndiGo has announced that it will launch flights to Dharamshala. This will be the airline’s 78th destination in India and 104th overall. The addition of Dharamshala to IndiGo’s network also marks the debut of the airline in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

Dharamshala entry!

Starting 26th March 2023, IndiGo will operate a daily flight between Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and Dharamshala’s Kangra Airport with the following schedule:

Delhi-Dharamshala
Departure time: 06:40
Arrival time: 08:25
Flight time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Flight number: 6E7483
Frequency: Daily

Dharamshala-Delhi
Departure time: 08:45
Arrival time: 10:25
Flight time: 1 hour and 40 minutes
Flight number: 6E7484
Frequency: Daily

As of 27th March 2023, the low-cost carrier will operate an additional 4-weekly flights on the route, for a total of 11-flights-a-week. These 4-weekly flights will operate with the following schedule:

Delhi-Dharamshala
Departure time: 11:10
Arrival time: 12:55
Flight time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Flight number: 6E7485
Frequency: Daily

Dharamshala-Delhi
Departure time: 13:15
Arrival time: 14:55
Flight time: 1 hour and 40 minutes
Flight number: 6E7486
Frequency: Daily

Flights will be operated by ATR72-600 aircraft featuring 78 standard Economy Class seats.

We are pleased to announce Dharamshala, as the 78th domestic destination in the 6E network. This will be IndiGo’s maiden destination in Himachal Pradesh. We have witnessed strong demand for connectivity to Himachal Pradesh since the offset of Covid-19 as more and more people are travelling to hills during summer months and for workations. The direct flights between Delhi-Dharamshala, will connect Himachal Pradesh to the rest of the country and international destinations in Asia, Middle East, and Europe. We are committed to make flying a pleasant experience for our customers and will stay true to our promise of courteous, hassle-free, on-time and affordable travel experience across a wide network.
said Vinay Malhotra, Head of Global Sales, IndiGo.

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Located in the western Himachal region, Dharamshala is the perfect place to unwind and experience the scenic beauty of the valley and local markets. It is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh and the residence of the spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. A well-known location for studying Buddhism and experiencing the culture’s origins is Dharamshala. Dharamshala is divided into two distinct parts – Lower Dharamshala which is the commercial market district, and Upper Dharamshala with places like McLeod Ganj and Forsyth Ganj, which serve as historical markers for this region. The area makes a great starting point for hikes and treks into the Dhauladhar mountain range.

The Tsuglagkhang Complex, Dalai Lama, Namgyal Monastery, St. John in the Wilderness, The Tibet Museum, Bhagsu Naag Temple, Naddi Hill Point Mcleod Ganj, BhagsuNag waterfall, and Dal Lake are among the scenic and historic tourist attractions in Dharamshala that draw visitors from all over the country. Additionally, easy access to nearby locations like Kangra, Palampur, and Chamba will be made possible by direct flights to Dharamshala.

Competition

Presently, Delhi-Dharamshala route is operated by two airlines: Aliiance Air and SpiceJet. The former operates a daily flight while the latter operates twice-daily flights.

As of 26th March 2023, SpiceJet is increasing its service on this route, operating 4-daily flights instead of the present 2-daily. With IndiGo launching flights on the same day, there will be sudden capacity increase on this route.

The route will have up to 7-daily flights, operated by a mix of ATR72 and Bombardier Q-400 aircraft. There will be upwards of 500 seats daily on offer.

The months of April and May generally see higher traffic due to school vacations and peak holiday travel season. Although that is true, one question that comes to my mind is that is there enough demand to support 7-daily flights? We will likely have an answer closer to the start of summer schedule 2023 – which also coincides with the launch date of IndiGo flights – where airlines generally rework on their schedules.

One more station being attacked by IndiGo

IndiGo has one habit, one which is good in terms of optimising its network. While IndiGo is the largest carrier with unending supply of capacity, at most times, it does not enter a city which does not have air services at all. It waits for another airline to go and build a sustainable market in that city. Whenever the market is sustainable enough, it goes there and throws away the competition, which is SpiceJet in most cases. The prime example of this is Rajkot, where IndiGo has built a significant presence since it entered the city in March 2021. SpiceJet also has a habit. It is mostly not able to sustain competition from IndiGo. 😉

SpiceJet has taken several years to build the market in Dharamshala, supported by Alliance Air to a extent. It’s uncommon for IndiGo to add this much capacity (11-weekly flights) in one-go on a route where it does not operate, in this case a brand new destination too for the airline. It generally launches 7-weekly flights and tries the route to see customer response.

The fact that IndiGo is launching 11-weekly flights together goes to show that it wants to get hold of the competition in the early stages and deviate the market from the competitors to itself.

If IndiGo is truly wanting to build a significant presence in Dharamshala, then we may see the airline launch flights from Chandigarh too, in addition to Delhi. Chandigarh is also a sizeable market from Dharamshala.

While it’s too early to predict, I personally feel that IndiGo is trying to build a significant presence in Dharamshala. Only time will tell how this goes.

Meanwhile, IndiGo recently announced that it will launch flights to Nashik from three Indian cities.

Featured image by IndiGo

What do you think of IndiGo launching flights to Dharamshala? Let me know in the comments section below.

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