While nothing has been officially announced, and while this has been rumored for some time, it appears that Air India is moving closer to launching service to at least two new destinations in the United States.
Air India plans United States expansion
As reported by @IshrionA, Air India’s approved winter schedule with India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) shows the airline flying to both Dallas (DFW) and Los Angeles (LAX) using Boeing 777s. These would be ultra long haul services — Dallas would clock in at 8,186 miles, while Los Angeles would cover a distance of 8,013 miles.
The service could launch as soon as December 1, 2024, though odds are that it won’t start so soon.
It’s worth emphasizing that flights aren’t yet on sale, and it’s possible the airline doesn’t follow through on this. However, these are clearly the next destinations in the United States that Air India intends to add service to.
Earlier this year, @IshrionA flagged how Air India updated its route map, to add three new destinations in the United States, including the above two, plus Seattle (SEA), which is the other destination in the United States that Air India is targeting.
Exact details remain to be seen, including when the service will launch, and how frequently the flights will operate. However, between Air India adding these destinations to its official route map earlier this year (which only shows destinations served directly by the airline), and the airline now filing these services in its latest winter schedule, it seems like these routes are imminent.
We don’t yet know what kind of 777s Air India would use for this service. Air India has its own “traditional” 777s, which aren’t particularly well regarded. Then the airline also has some leased 777s, which are comprised of former Delta 777-200LRs, former Etihad 777-300ERs, and former Singapore Airlines 777-300ERs.
These new routes would complement Air India’s existing service to the United States, including to Chicago (ORD), New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), San Francisco (SFO), and Washington (IAD). Air India also flies to Canada, with flights to Toronto (YYZ) and Vancouver (YVR).
This Air India expansion makes a lot of sense
Air India has been privatized, and is in the process of reinventing itself. The airline is investing hugely in modernizing its fleet and improving the passenger experience. This includes ordering hundreds of new aircraft, introducing new cabins, retrofitting existing aircraft, and completely rebranding.
India is a huge aviation market, and for so long, Air India has essentially handed the market to the Gulf carriers when it comes to offering quality long haul service. That’s finally starting to change.
It’s not surprising to see Air India now looking to greatly expand service to the United States, given that it has a huge competitive advantage. Air India can use Russian airspace on flights to the United States, while US carriers can’t. Not only does this significantly reduce travel time, but it makes routes possible that US airlines simply can’t serve due to range limitations of existing aircraft.
Clearly these markets are about serving the large demand for travel to and from India from the local community, since Air India has fairly limited partner connectivity there, especially in Dallas. The airline should have no trouble filling those planes, given the volume of travelers.
Interestingly this isn’t the first time that Air India has planned such service. In 2017, Air India’s CEO at the time announced plans to launch Dallas and Los Angeles flights. However, that never came to fruition. Suffice it to say that the airline is now better positioned to operate this service, both in terms of its new strategy, plus its competitive advantage.
Bottom line
While it hasn’t been officially announced yet by Air India, everything is pointing toward the airline launching flights from Delhi to Dallas and Los Angeles in the near future, with Seattle being the next US destination that Air India is targeting after that. Most recently, the airline has filed its official winter schedule to include the routes to Dallas and Los Angeles, so I imagine they’re imminent.
Air India has been wanting to launch these routes for the better part of a decade, but the airline is finally in the best position to actually do that. Now if only more Air India aircraft actually had new interiors…
What do you make of Air India’s planned expansion to the United States?
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