Air India is expanding its North American network with a new service connecting Mumbai and Toronto. The airline will begin operations in just four days as the Northern Hemisphere enters its winter schedule. This launch fills a void left by Air Canada, which withdrew from the direct Toronto-Mumbai market earlier this year.
The new route is part of a broader shift in long-haul aviation from India. Air India currently holds a dominant position in the India-North America market, accounting for roughly 50 to 60 percent of combined seat capacity. It remains the only Indian carrier operating long-haul flights to North America.
Westbound Route Includes Rome Stopover
Initial listings for the new service suggested nonstop flights in both directions. However, the airline’s latest schedule reveals a different operational reality. The westbound flight from Mumbai to Toronto will include a stop at Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO). This stopover is necessary because Air India cannot fly over Russian, Iranian, or Pakistani airspace. The total block time for the westbound journey will exceed 20 hours.
The return flight from Toronto to Mumbai will operate nonstop. This asymmetry is consistent with Air India’s other North American services. Flights from Mumbai to New York JFK and Newark also stop at Fiumicino to refuel and change crew. Strong headwinds on westbound flights may also contribute to the longer travel time.
Air Canada previously operated nonstop flights between Toronto and Mumbai from 2017 to 2020. The airline later resumed service via London Heathrow on a fifth-freedom basis. However, the inability to fly over Russian airspace made nonstop operations unviable. The fifth-freedom route was also deemed unsustainable, leading to its withdrawal. Air Canada continues to operate daily flights between Delhi and Toronto, with westbound legs routing through either Rome or Vienna.
Boeing 777-300ER Deployment
Air India will operate three weekly flights on the Mumbai-Toronto route. Services will depart on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The airline will deploy its 328-seat Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for this route. The plane features an upgraded cabin configuration designed for long-haul comfort.
The aircraft layout includes eight first-class suites with privacy doors in a 1-2-1 configuration. There are 40 lie-flat business-class seats in a 1-2-1 layout. The remaining 280 seats are in economy class, arranged mainly in a 3-4-3 configuration with 31 inches of seat pitch.
The Mumbai-Toronto market is already well-established. Booking data indicates that more than 1.2 million round-trip passengers traveled between the two cities between June 2025 and May 2026. Toronto is the third-largest market between Mumbai and North America, trailing only New York JFK and San Francisco.
This winter, Air India is operating more than 1,300 flights between India and North America. The carrier offers approximately 436,611 round-trip seats. Most North American departures from India will involve a stop this season. Exceptions include the Delhi-San Francisco and Delhi-Vancouver services, which will operate nonstop using the same Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
Source: Simple Flying
