Air India to Launch Direct Delhi-Osaka Flights Four Times a Week
Air India is set to expand its air links with Japan. The Indian carrier has announced that from February 2027 it will operate direct flights four days a week between New Delhi, the Indian capital, and Osaka in Japan. Once the new service begins, Air India says it will be the only airline operating a non-stop flight on the Delhi-Osaka route.
The route will be served by Boeing 787-8 aircraft. The long-haul jet will offer 18 seats in business class, each converting into a fully flat bed. Economy class will have 241 seats. Together, the two cabins will carry more than two hundred and fifty passengers on each flight.
Under the schedule, Air India's new flight AI360 will leave Delhi at 10:50 p.m. Indian local time. It will arrive the next morning at Kansai International Airport in Osaka at 9:50 a.m. local time. The overnight journey will allow passengers to reach Osaka in the morning.
On the return leg, flight AI359 will depart Osaka at 11:50 a.m. local time. It will land in Delhi the same day at 6:20 p.m. Indian time. Passengers will therefore be able to complete the return journey within a single day.
Delhi-to-Osaka flights will operate every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Osaka-to-Delhi flights will run every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Travellers will need to plan their trips around these fixed days of the week.
Air India says tickets for the new route are being opened for booking in phases. Tickets can be bought through the airline's official website, mobile app, customer service centres, airport ticket counters and travel agents in different countries. Interested passengers can choose whichever channel suits them best.
Osaka will become Air India's second destination in Japan after Tokyo. The airline currently flies daily from Delhi to Tokyo and four times a week from Mumbai to Tokyo. Adding Osaka will widen its Japanese network and give passengers more choice of destination.
According to the airline, the new service will help increase business, tourism and cultural exchanges between India and Japan. Greater movement of people between the two countries is expected to deepen commercial ties as well as mutual understanding.
A direct flight to Osaka will also make it easier for visitors to Japan to plan trips covering several cities. Tourists will be able to arrive in Osaka and return home from Tokyo, or enter Japan through Tokyo and fly back from Osaka. This kind of itinerary is known as an 'open-jaw' trip.
Japan's popular 'Golden Route' is built around Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Along this route, tourists can visit the country's historic buildings, heritage, culture and famous attractions. A direct Osaka flight will give travellers more options when putting together an itinerary covering these cities.
The new route may also be relevant for Bangladeshi passengers. Those planning to travel to Japan via Delhi from Dhaka will have a new option for reaching Osaka. However, connecting flights in Delhi, transit conditions, visas and ticketing arrangements must be checked before travelling. It is important to confirm connection times in advance and whether the whole journey can be booked on a single ticket.
According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, more than 315,000 Indian tourists visited Japan in 2025. That figure is about 35 percent higher than in 2024 and about 80 percent higher than before the pandemic. Growing interest in Japanese culture, food and travel experiences, along with stronger business links and people-to-people ties, are seen as reasons for the rise. Overall, the direct Delhi-Osaka flight will create a new travel opportunity between the two countries, and it could also become a possible option for Bangladeshi passengers using Delhi as a transit point, provided fares, connections and transit rules are checked first.
