Summary
- Air India could add Dallas and Los Angeles to its network to cater to the large Indian diaspora in these cities.
- Dallas and Los Angeles are among Delhi’s top unserved US routes.
- Air India plans to expand its services to take advantage of the huge VFR market and point-to-point passengers in the US.
The United States is a crucial market for Air India, and several reports have surfaced in recent times of the carrier planning to add more destinations in the country. Simple Flying has also looked at such plans over the last several months, and now, another report has surfaced, which says that Air India is close to adding Dallas and Los Angeles to its network.
Air India eyeing Dallas and Los Angeles
Air India could add new US destinations to its network map, with sources revealing to Financial Express that the carrier is looking to start nonstop ultra-long-haul flights to Los Angeles and Dallas. The report quotes a source as saying,
“Plans are being prepared to expand our services to LA and Dallas. There is a large Indian diaspora in the vicinity of these two megacities and no direct flight connections from there to India.”
Indeed, those following Air India’s US plans on Simple Flying won’t be surprised, as our route analyst James Pearson has been tracking these plans for months. At the beginning of this year, it was reported that Air India was planning to add Dallas Fort Worth, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Los Angeles, Rome, Seattle, and Zurich to its network. Some of these have already been announced, so it’s highly likely that Dallas and Los Angeles could also make it to the list.
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Air India’s last new US destination – San Francisco – was added in 2015. The carrier previously served Los Angeles in 2008 via Frankfurt. This time, however, it is likely to be a nonstop flight, with the carrier also expanding its long-range widebody fleet. Currently, Air India has nonstop flights from India to New York JFK, Newark, San Fransisco, Chicago, and Washington Dulles.
Demand for more flights
Dallas and Los Angeles are among Delhi’s top five unserved US routes. With thousands of point-to-point passengers every year, Air India wants to fully take advantage of the opportunity, particularly now that it has the aircraft to fly to new destinations.
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The US has a massive Indian-origin community, with many traveling to the country every year as students and for employment opportunities. This further fuels a large visiting-friends-and-relatives market that Air India often loses out to other hub carriers because of a lack of nonstop flights.
Earlier this year, a petition for Air India to begin service at Dallas/Forth Worth received thousands of signatures. The Indian population residing in the area lamented the lack of a convenient way to travel back to India to meet their family and friends. The petition was started by a resident of Frisco, Texas, Venkat Mulukutla, who said,
“We request Air India to start a Direct Flight from Dallas to Hyderabad. India. Dallas Fort Worth metroplex and surrounding areas are considered Telugu speaking Hub. Out of 400 thousand Indians in DFW at least 50- 60% are Telugu people. Every Year lot of Telugu students coming to Dallas to study while lot of Telugu including elderly parents are traveling to live with their children.”
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While it remains to be seen where Air India will start its Dallas service from (if and when at all), a nonstop connection to anywhere in India is likely to be a step in the right direction, given the massive demands for new flights.