Air India to fly bigger Dreamliner to Manila from October 25

Air India is set to upgrade its Delhi-Manila service with a larger 256-seat Boeing 787 Dreamliner starting October 25, 2026, replacing the 188-seat Airbus A321 currently flying the route.

The change follows steady demand growth on the sector since the route began in October 2025 with just five weekly flights before being expanded to a daily service.

Competition on the India-Philippines corridor is also intensifying, with IndiGo seeking Civil Aeronautics Board approval to begin flying to Manila and Cebu.

Philippine Airlines has its own expansion plans, targeting a winter-schedule launch of flights to Delhi and Mumbai under the two countries’ existing air services agreement.

That agreement allows for as many as 28 weekly flights between Manila plus three other Philippine cities and the Indian hubs of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Network Thoughts founder Ameya Joshi noted that load factors on the Manila-Delhi route have twice reached the low 80s, underscoring the strength of current demand.

Aviation analyst Ameya Joshi, founder of the Network Thoughts blog, said load factors on the Manila-Delhi sector have twice touched the low 80s, reflecting strong and sustained demand on the route.

Philippine Airlines is separately planning to launch its own services to Delhi and Mumbai during the winter schedule, basing its request on the bilateral Philippines-India Air Services Agreement.

That agreement permits up to 28 weekly flights between Manila and three other Philippine cities and the Indian metros of New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, leaving room for further expansion by carriers on both sides.

Indian arrivals in the Philippines rose 43% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, with more than 60,000 Indian travellers visiting the country in that period alone.

Visa-free access for Indian passport holders travelling to the Philippines has been cited by industry watchers as a key driver behind the surge in leisure and business travel between the two countries.

Photo by Steve Knight, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0