GURUGRAM- Tata Group-owned Air India (AI) is planning to gear up its US network with new destinations and additional flights as it adds new widebody aircraft to its fleet.
As of the latest schedule (December 2024), the only Indian full-service carrier serves five cities in the United States. This includes Chicago O’hare (ORD), Newark (EWR), New York (JFK), San Francisco (SFO) and Washington Dulles (IAD).
Air India New US Destinations
Star Alliance member carrier is likely to launch new routes to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Boston Logan (BOS), Los Angeles (LAX), and more.
Air India might serve these US destinations from its Delhi International Airport (DEL) hub
Los Angeles (LAX)
Air India may launch launch flights to Los Angeles with Airbus A350s and 777s. The flight distance between Los Angeles and Delhi is 8,013 miles (12,895 kilometers).
The Los Angeles-Delhi route market showed strong demand with over 300,000 passengers in 2017 according to IATA data.
Air India planned DEL-LAX in 2017 when it launched flights to Washington Dulles.
Ashwani Lohani, a former Air India Chairman and MD in 2017 said, ‘We are planning to connect two additional cities—Los Angeles and either Houston or Dallas—during an event celebrating the launch of a new direct flight between the capitals of the world’s two largest democracies. The Los Angeles route is expected to begin by October 2017, while the timeline for the Houston or Dallas flight is yet to be decided.’
However, we know that it never launched, also Air India is now under Tata management and they have a more dynamic and better vision to turn Air India into an airline that can compete with global carriers such as Emirates (EK), Singapore Airlines (SQ) and Lufthansa (LH).
Seattle-Tacoma (SEA)
The flight distance between Seattle and Delhi is around 7,061 miles or 11,363 kilometers. It usually takes over 14 hours to complete the journey.
Seattle-India traffic averages 510 daily passengers based on OAG data. American Airlines (AA) previously planned but never launched a Seattle-Bangalore service. The route remains under consideration by Air India’s management.
Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and Houston (IAH)
Dallas and Houston compete for Air India’s attention since 2005. DFW Airport CEO Sean Donohue reports 800 daily passengers traveling between Dallas and India, demonstrating substantial market demand.
The distance between Delhi and Dallas is around 8,186 miles or 13,174 KM. While Houston is 8,373 miles or 13,475 KM away from Delhi.
There are talks that Air India should start flights between Dallas and Hyderabad (HYD), India. However, there are some operational challenges in making that route possible. First Air India stations its widebody fleet in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Secondly, will they get sufficient point-to-point traffic every day or at least 3 times a week during non-peak season?
The petition filed by Indian citizens residing in the US reveals that out of 400K Indians residing in DFW, a substantial portion, approximately 50-60%, are Telugu-speaking individuals. This means there is sufficient P2P demand.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that Texas has experienced rapid growth in its Asian Indian population, making it the second most populous state for this community in the nation.
But DFW-DEL or especially DFW-HYD routes are only possible when Air India expands its widebody fleet and it can take a few years.
Boston Logan (BOS)
Boston’s India market exceeded 185,000 passengers in 2019 according to anna.aero analysis.
Aviation analyst Jain confirms Air India is potentially targeting multiple North American cities including Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas/Houston, and Boston for expansion.
The distance between Boston and Delhi is 7,146 miles or 11,500 KM. Air India can easily serve this route with slightly smaller widebody aircraft, Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) and Philadelphia (PHL)
Air India can also consider launching flights to the world’s busiest international airport, Atlanta.
The Indian Consulate in Atlanta has actively talked about direct Air India flights to their city.
The distance between Delhi and Atlanta is 7,985 miles or 12,850 Kilometers.
Philadelphia emerged as a potential route when American Airlines (AA) considered India’s service in 2019. However, it ultimately dropped its plan.
The distance between Delhi and Atlanta is 7,399 miles or 11,907 Kilometers.
Bottom Line
Overall to conclude, Air India currently operates 11 North American routes, connecting Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru to New York JFK, Newark, San Francisco, Chicago, Wahington, Toronto, and Vancouver. The airline plans expansion to Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Seattle, etc.
Cirium data shows Air India will provide 75% of non-stop seats between India and North America from October 2024 to February 2025. Star Alliance partners Air Canada and United Airlines boost this share to 94%, dominating direct routes.
The airline holds 13% market share of total India-North America traffic due to competition from one-stop flights through European, Middle Eastern, and East Asian hubs.
The airline’s network strategy focuses on direct connections between major Indian cities and North American business centers.
All above mentioned destinations are just fraction of what Air India will operate by 2030. So stay tuned and follow Aviation A2Z website for such exclusive and latest network analysis.
Featured Image by Clément Alloing | Flickr
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