Welcoming Air India’s decision to deploy larger Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on its direct Amritsar-London Gatwick and Amritsar-Birmingham routes, aviation activists have urged the airline to improve onward connectivity from the two UK gateways through codeshare and interline collaboration.Office-bearers of FlyAmritsar Initiative, an advocacy group, said seamless connections beyond London Gatwick and Birmingham to destinations across the UK, Europe and other international markets would significantly enhance the commercial viability of the Amritsar services.FlyAmritsar Initiative global convener Sameep Singh Gumtala said passengers travelling from Amritsar should be able to book onward journeys on a single itinerary, similar to Air India’s existing partnership with several international airlines.He said better onward connectivity would make the direct Amritsar-UK flights more convenient, encourage higher passenger traffic, strengthen the routes commercially and pave the way for increased frequencies while also attracting other airlines to launch services from Amritsar.Air India has increased capacity on both Amritsar-UK routes by replacing the 256-seat Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with the larger 344-seat Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, adding 88 seats per flight. The upgraded aircraft features 305 economy class seats, 35 business class seats and four first class seats, introducing first class for the first time on Air India’s direct Amritsar-UK services. Both routes continue to operate three times a week.Gumtala described the additional capacity as a welcome step that would help address seat shortages and high airfares, particularly during peak travel seasons.However, the aircraft deployed are part of Air India’s legacy Boeing 777 fleet, and not the airline’s newer or fully retrofitted aircraft.Better connectivityFlyAmritsar Initiative global convener Sameep Singh Gumtala said passengers travelling from Amritsar should be able to book onward journeys on a single itinerary.He said better onward connectivity would make the direct Amritsar-UK flights more convenient, encourage higher passenger traffic, strengthen the routes commercially and pave the way for increased frequencies while also attracting other airlines to launch services from Amritsar.