Bombay goes as airlines axe services

Both Virgin Atlantic and Finnair are to scrap their services to Bombay (Mumbai). Virgin is to axe the London to Mumbai route from May. Finnair said it would temporarily suspend its Helsinki-Mumbai route from May to mid-October.

The route from London to Bombay was initially given to bmi, however it dropped the route within months of starting it in 2005. Virgin Atlantic then decided to have a go, but it too has found the route unprofitable. Virgin Atlantic says semand for seats on this route is falling fast, and figures show that passenger numbers fell by 18 per cent between January and November 2008 compared to the same period in 2007.

With the economic downturn causing a huge fall off in traffic, the London to Mumbai route is currently plagued with overcapacity over the summer, which is a more difficult time as the hot weather puts off many people from travelling. Finnair says it may return to the route in the winter season.