The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner to enter commercial service on a route to Australia lands today courtesy of Air India, as the airline uses the fuel-efficient aircraft to open up new routes.

Air India's return has been a long time coming but the direct service to the subcontinent has been roundly welcomed by airports and the tourism industry.

Both see India, with its burgeoning population and rising middle class, as a key growth market, and the 12-hour daily Delhi-Sydney-Melbourne route is set to knock about eight hours off the indirect routes now on offer.

Via Tourism Australia