India overtakes China in premium intercontinental demand: Lufthansa Exec

Mumbai: Lufthansa Group is increasingly directing its long-haul growth toward India, where stronger passenger and premium demand is making the market more attractive as European airlines contend with higher operating costs on routes to parts of East Asia.

The shift marks a broader reshaping of Lufthansa's intercontinental network as geopolitics continues to alter flight paths and the economics of long-haul travel. India, once behind China in Lufthansa's Asian hierarchy, has now become the group's second-largest intercontinental market after the US and its second-largest premium intercontinental market, according to Kevin Markette, senior director, regional sales south Asia at Lufthansa Group.

Also read: Air passenger service prices surge 31.9% in Q1 FY27: Govt data

"India for us has become the second-largest intercontinental market for the group, second only behind the United States," Markette said in an interview with ET.

Lufthansa has expanded capacity into India this year, including the deployment of aircraft that had previously served Middle East routes. It now operates up to 80 weekly flights to the country and has put two of its eight Airbus A380s on Indian routes, including a second daily A380 service.

Passenger growth has remained strong. According to DGCA data reviewed by ET, Lufthansa's passenger traffic from India increased by about 10% year-on-year in each of the past two years. Markette did not provide a specific forecast for 2026 but said the additional capacity was translating into more traffic. "Those additional flights bring growth," he said. "They, by default, bring more passengers, more cargo volume, more opportunity." The airline, however, is wary of treating India simply as a place to park aircraft displaced from other markets.

"Really for us, it's about sustainable growth," Markette said. "It's not about just putting aircraft to fly somewhere for the sake of it." Premium traffic is becoming an important part of that growth. Around 70% of seats on Lufthansa Group services to India are in economy, Markette said, but demand for premium economy, business and first class is rising as Indian incomes and disposable spending increase.

"As more and more Indians become more affluent, have more disposable income, a lot more people are looking to fly more comfortably," he said.

The group is also expanding beyond India's largest metros. Swiss will launch Zurich-Bengaluru services in October, targeting the city's technology, global capability-centre and corporate sectors.

"Bengaluru is growing very, very strongly," Markette said. "We believe that bringing Swiss in there, it's the right time to do that."

A deeper partnership with Air India could further change Lufthansa's India strategy. The two groups signed a memorandum of understanding in February to develop a broader joint business, building on their existing cooperation. Markette said talks were progressing and that network planning was among the areas under discussion. A completed joint business could allow closer coordination of routes, schedules and capacity across the India-Europe corridor.