Air India is the only Indian carrier that has non-stop flights to the United States. Air India operates the following flights between India and the US: Delhi – New York JFK/ Newark / Chicago / Washington DC and San Francisco, Mumbai – San Francisco / New York JFK / Newark and Bengaluru – San Francisco. American Airlines operates New York JFK – Delhi non-stop from the US side, and United operates Newark – Delhi. These are all the flights operating on the US – India route.

Air India is planning non-stop flights to Dallas and Los Angeles (and later Seattle)

Given the ongoing Russia—Ukraine War, many carriers are prohibited from using Russian Airspace for safety reasons or because they are banned from overflying Russia. Indian carriers are, however, allowed to use Russian airspace and do so all the time.

Now that Air India will depute their A350-900 aircraft, first between Delhi – London Heathrow, and then between Delhi New York JFK and Newark, the airline will have five Boeing 777-300ER and two Boeing 787-8 aircraft free up. Some of these aircraft are supposed to enter the refurbishment process, but that will still mean that Air India will have spare aircraft.

Air India has been planning to launch more ultra-long-haul flights to the United States and is quietly laying the ground for expansion in the US. The airline has been hiring key staff in Dallas and Los Angeles, which are likely the airline’s next destinations in the US. The launch of these flights should happen in the Winter 2024 schedule. The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, also visited India on India’s Republic Day in January 2024, likely solidifying the launch of this flight.

Republic Day marks the date India officially became a constitutional republic.

It's an honor to be in New Delhi to celebrate America's largest democratic ally.

India will always have a friend in Texas. pic.twitter.com/9glpu8HvP4

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 26, 2024

Given the vast Indian diaspora based in Dallas (and in the Dallas Fort Worth area as a whole), it is likely that this will become Air India’s first new destination in nine years after the airline launched flights to San Francisco in 2015. The flight would operate from Delhi using a Boeing 777 aircraft.

Over the past years, Dallas DFW Airport has seen around 950 people fly to or from India daily. The DFW metropolitan area is home to one of the largest Indian-American diaspora, and Emirates / Qatar Airways currently carry this traffic. Once it launches, Dallas will become Air India’s longest route from Delhi at 8,186 miles (15,160 kilometres).

After more aircraft are freed up in the coming months, Delhi—Los Angeles will serve the following route: Air India used to serve Los Angeles one-stop in 2008 via Frankfurt using the Boeing 747-400. Flights to Seattle could follow in 2025. American Airlines had announced a new nonstop route from Seattle to Bengaluru in 2020, but that flight never materialised.

All three points (Los Angeles, Seattle, and Dallas-Fort Worth) are among Delhi’s top five unserved markets in North America. The other two are in Canada.

Bottomline

While Air India has yet to make an official announcement, now that the equipment is being freed up, the airline will most likely head to Dallas Fort Worth later this year, followed by flights to Los Angeles and Seattle in the Northern Winter Schedule of 2024. This puts Air India in a commanding lead to fly between India and the United States, with no other airline serving so many points in the US.

What do you think of Air India’s planned expansion to the United States?

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