GURUGRAM- Tata Group-owned Air India (AI) is finally launching new flights to two US destinations: Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and Los Angeles (LAX) this winter.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has published the winter schedule and it shows these cities, reported Ishrion Aviation.
Air India Dallas and Los Angeles Flights
Both new destinations will be served from Air India’s largest international hub: Delhi (DEL). Here’s the flight schedule:
The proposed Delhi (DEL)-Dallas (DFW) service, designated as AI109/110, schedules departure from Delhi at 4:00 AM with a return flight landing in Delhi at 2:40 PM.
Further, the Delhi (DEL)-Los Angeles (LAX) route, labeled AI107/108, plans a 5:00 AM departure from Delhi, returning at 1:55 PM.
The DGCA has authorized both routes to operate up to seven flights weekly (i.e. daily) using Boeing 777 aircraft, with operations officially approved to commence on December 1, 2024. However, industry analysts expect actual launch dates to occur later as Air India has not announced them officially yet.
Current scheduling indicates potential operational challenges, as the proposed turnaround times at both Dallas Fort Worth, and Los Angeles airports appear insufficient for standard ground operations and servicing requirements.
Longest Non-stop Routes
As seen above, the DEL-DFW route will be flown over Russian Airspace and through the Atlantic. While DEL-LAX will be operated over the Pacific Ocean.
- DEL-DFW route is 13,173 km apart and is likely to take more than 15 hours to complete the journey.
- On the other hand, DEL-LAX is 12,896 km and will take a somewhat similar time.
According to our research and cirium data, these new routes will be the third and fourth longest non-stop routes from India after Mumbai (BOM)-San Francisco (SFO) and Bengaluru (BLR)-SFO.
Currently, Air India serves five cities in the United States, which includes Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Newark (EWR), New York (JFK), San Francisco (SFO), and Washington Dulles (IAD).
Well, there are no Indian or US carriers that fly non-stop between these routes. So Air India will have exclusivity as well as a monopoly over these destinations.
In the summer of 2024, Air India operated 120 weekly flights between India and the United States. This data also includes return flights.
Indian full-service carrier’s last announcement for the newest US route came in 2015 for San Francisco. Since then it has not added any new US destinations but has strengthened its operations by adding more flights.
Air India will also announce more destinations in North America including Seattle (SEA) in the coming months.
You can read all the changes Air India made for this winter here: Air India New International Schedule Update for Winter 2024
Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.
Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News.