Australia-India a market of large potential, but dream unlikely to become a reality in 2012

India-Australia is a largely untapped market with significant potential, given both the volume of trade, tourism and VFR traffic between the two nations, yet it remains without direct air service. Several factors are at play here. Few aircraft types of the appropriate size are capable of non-stop service in both directions; and the sixth freedom competition from carriers such as Singapore Airlines creates a high hurdle.

India's international carriers remain financially challenged while Qantas is also suffering losses across its international network and is similarly focusing on profitable, higher-yielding markets.

At the same time, concerns centre on the yield-generating ability of India-Australia services and the need for beyond traffic rights to make the routes profitable. However, Sydney Airport CEO Kerrie Mather has said that the market has evolved so rapidly over the past 10 years that India-Australia routes are now able to be supported in their own right, supported by USD20 billion in annual trade between the two nations.