Air India has finally set a date for direct flights between Australia and India.
The flag carrier will launch daily services using its new fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners on August 29.
After a 16-year absence from Australia, Air India will begin flying a triangular route between Delhi, Sydney and Melbourne.
For four days a week, flights will be Delhi-Sydney-Melbourne, and for three days they will run Delhi-Melbourne-Sydney.
Air India commercial director Deepak Brara said that the airline wanted to split direct services between Sydney and Melbourne to give "both cities the benefits of non-stop services".
He said there had been long delays in starting services to Australia but added that people could take comfort from them happening because Air India had started taking bookings.
"That should afford some degree of certainty. There have been so many [delays]. The reason has been the delay in the delivery of the 787s and the groundings," Brara told Indian media.
