For any Indian airline going global, the dream has always been London Heathrow. What started as natural traffic to London due to government ties as part of the Commonwealth developed into a status and aura that has been timeless, blending history, culture and opportunity in a way few cities can.
As a global hub with deep-rooted ties to India, London offers familiarity through its vibrant Indian diaspora and iconic landmarks. For students and professionals, London’s world-class universities and thriving job market provide unmatched prospects. Add to this the city’s iconic sights like the Tower Bridge, Big Ben, and the Thames, along with shopping havens like Oxford Street and Harrods, and London becomes not just a destination, but an experience — one that feels both global and comfortably Indian.
The Indian government allowed private carriers to fly international flights in 2004. Rights to fly long haul were granted in 2005. Jet Airways started flights to London Heathrow in May 2005. The choice of aircraft? Three A340-300s were leased from South African carrier SAA to operate this route. These short-term leases lasted until Jet Airways inducted its own planes, the A330s and B777s, which slowly entered the fleet starting 2007. The airline operated to London Heathrow from Delhi and Mumbai. Air Sahara followed with its only international long-haul flight being the Delhi – London Heathrow route operated by the B767-300ERs, which it leased from United Airlines. Even back in 2005 or 2006, a slot at Heathrow was a prized possession.
London Heathrow is one of the few airports that allows grandfather rights on slots, which makes the airline eligible to hold on to the slots, trade them, lease them or sell them. Often seen as a way to raise cash in times of need, London Heathrow slots have thus been in demand not just for traffic but also for valuation.
Jet Airways sold its three pairs of slots to Etihad in 2013. Etihad then leased them back to Jet Airways so that Jet Airways could continue operating its scheduled flights to London Heathrow. The slot sale was part of Etihad’s 24% stake in Jet Airways.
The reverse merger to fly to London
While Jet Airways and Air Sahara sprang into action to acquire planes and fly to London, Kingfisher was a different story. The flamboyant Vijay Mallya launched the airline and placed orders for widebody aircraft, only to realise that the government was not changing the famous 5 by 20 rule, which mandated airlines to complete five years of operations in domestic skies and have 20 planes before they could fly international.
The airline, which started operations in May 2005, took delivery of its first widebody aircraft in June 2008, just three years after its start, but would not have flown internationally due to the prevailing rules. The solution? A reverse merger, which Kingfisher Airlines planned with Air Deccan, India’s first low-cost carrier, which was facing rough weather. Kingfisher Airlines announced a reverse merger with Deccan Aviation, wherein Deccan Aviation became the surviving entity and was later renamed to Kingfisher Airlines Limited. With this, the origin of the company became 2003, thus completing five years of operations in 2008 and being eligible for flying international long-haul services. In September 2008, Kingfisher Airlines launched its first widebody route to London Heathrow from Bengaluru, the hub of the UB Group.
Kingfisher Airlines stopped operations to London Heathrow in March 2012, a few months before its eventual collapse, while Jet Airways continued operating to London until its final months, and Air Sahara stopped operations to London Heathrow after being acquired by Jet Airways and subsequently rebranded Jetlite.
IndiGo to London Heathrow
India’s largest airline, IndiGo, placed an order for 30 A350s last year, which will start deliveries in 2027. The airline, which had leased two B777s from Turkish Airlines to operate to Istanbul, went ahead and progressively leased six B789s from Norse Atlantic. With one already in service, the next five enter between September this year and March 2026. IndiGo announced the launch of flights to London Heathrow on its 19th birthday.
While it remains unclear how IndiGo has bagged the slot, it is a coup of sorts since every airline flying to Heathrow and intending to fly has been trying to add slots at Heathrow, and this includes Air India. While the world slot guidelines give preference to a new carrier or a new route, the slot coordinators’ report in the public domain shows the slots requested by IndiGo were initially rejected.
Europe is seeing a lot of pushback against aviation’s growth—from capping flights to not allowing short-distance flights. If IndiGo does not enter now, it may possibly be too late. And this is where IndiGo joins the club of other airlines that went out of their way to get a foot in at Heathrow.