Air India to launch two new routes to U.S

As part of the air bubble agreement, Indian national carrier Air India has announced two non stop flights from Hyderabad and Bengaluru to Chicago and San Francisco respectively.

Air India on Wednesday announced that it will operate twice-weekly flights to the United States from January 11, 2021 from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport and a twice weekly Hyderabad – Chicago flight from January 9, 2021.

“We plan to launch Hyderabad-Chicago as a twice weekly from January 9. The date for Bengaluru-SFO is yet to be finalised. We are awaiting US Transportation Security Administration clearance for both these routes,” an AI official told Times of India.

The Live Mint said that the bookings for the Bengaluru – San Francisco flight have commenced from Wednesday and it will be operated twice-a-week with a Boeing B777-200 LR aircraft, The new non-stop service – which would be Air India’s longest route at 14,000 Km and longest flight to and from India – is expected to meet the demand of corporate customers for travel to San Francisco and adjoining areas in the US, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) said in a release.

“Passengers from Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru can soon fly non-stop to San Francisco (SFO) as India’s national carrier Air India is set to launch a twice-weekly service, scheduled to commence from January 11, 2021,” the release said.

This will be the first non-stop flight between Bengaluru and the United States, connecting the world’s two tech hubs – the original Silicon Valley and the Silicon Valley of India, it added.
Air India plans to operate a 238-seater Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft to serve the largest unserved international origin/ destination (O/D) market for Bangalore Airport, it added.

Bengaluru and San Francisco are ranked first and second, respectively, among the World’s top 45 digitally advanced cities.

The new route sets two records – it would be Air India’s longest route at 14,000 km (8,698 miles) and longest flight to and from India (over 16 hours), BIAL said.

Meanwhile, United Airlines is planning to start a direct flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru from May 6, 2021. American Airlines is also planning to connect Bengaluru and Seattle next winter.