- India's junior Civil Aviation Minister and Western Australian Tourism Minister meet to discuss air services
- Second meeting in three months to progress efforts to secure a direct flight
- Commitment from Western Australia to undertake marketing activity in India and WA marketing representative to be based in Mumbai
The Indian Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hon Jayant Sinha has met with the Western Australian Tourism Minister Paul Papalia to receive further commitments from the Western Australian Government to establish direct non-stop flights between India and Perth.
The Ministers said the discussions were positive, agreeing there would be benefits for both Western Australia and India if a direct service was established. The chairman and managing director of Air India, Mr Pradeep Kharola was also present at the meeting.
India is already a fast growing market for Western Australia with the number of visitors increasing by 38 per cent from the year ending December 2015 to the same period in 2017.
The Western Australian Government has recently committed funds to market the State to Indian consumers for the first time and has appointed a dedicated marketing representative based in Mumbai.
Air India agreed to explore the business case for the route.
As noted by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hon Jayant Sinha:
"India and Australia share strong trade, investment, sporting and education ties. Direct connectivity between India and Australia has the potential to deepen these relationships.
"India has a very open air service agreement with Australia. It encourages both Indian and Australian airlines to consider making use of the liberal arrangements to mount more flights between the two countries.
"Many Indian carriers are now permitted to fly on international routes and we hope to see many new direct flights and increased frequency between the two countries."
As noted by Tourism Minister Paul Papalia:
"The meeting was extremely productive and significantly progressed our efforts towards establishing direct flights between India and Perth.
"The Western Australian Government is serious about growing the number of visitors travelling to Western Australia from India, which is why we have committed marketing funds for the first time and appointed a market representative to work with travel trade and Tourism Australia to promote the State.
"Our extraordinary State has much to offer Indian travellers, whether they're visiting for business, education or leisure.
"Perth boasts the best hotels in Australia, with more than 3,000 new rooms opening in the past few years. It is also the perfect launching pad to visit our spectacular regions."
