[QUOTE=trofirhen;6270766]
Quote:
Originally Posted by whatnext
I am sure you are totally right, but not having majored in Economics, WHY is this a low-yield market? Not enough Business Class travel?
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Long time lurker, but I have a bit to contribute on this point.
YVR did a pretty comprehensive internal study on the potential for a non-stop YVR-DEL link in 2012 (not published, but not private either). The study included a broad survey of the local business community and was supported by the Provincial Govt (which would love to see a non-stop flight to India for political reasons).
The findings were that, while a huge overall market, YVR-India has pretty minimal business class traffic. YVR-DEL is the 4th busiest route between North America and India, but falls behind virtually every other major NA airport on business class demand (YYZ performed poorly on this indicator as well, actually). The numbers I saw indicated that only about 1% of the traffic between YVR-India is in business class. Considering the economics of ultra long haul (ULH) flights (Delhi would be a 14 1/2 hour flight requiring a 777 or 787), a lack of business class demand means the route is practically a non-starter.
Also, virtually all the Indian airlines are in pretty bad shape financially at the moment. The aforementioned Kingfisher Airlines has been all but wrapped up in bankruptcy and will likely never fly again in India, let alone to North America. Air Canada may make a go of it at some point in the future, but they're more likely to try from YYZ first.