Air India Will Fly Airbus A350 Between Delhi & New York JFK This Winter

Summary

  • Air India’s new Airbus A350 will fly from Delhi to New York JFK daily starting Nov 1, 2024.
  • Newark flights will commence on Jan 2, 2025, operating five weekly.
  • This means Air India will finally introduce Premium Economy on these two US routes.

Air India has just announced that it will deploy its freshly delivered Airbus A350 aircraft, sporting its new livery, to the United States. The latest move comes as the carrier begins the rollout of the new planes across its route network, initially having begun operations on domestic sectors. It is slated to go to London shortly before moving to the United States on a more stable schedule.

USA bound

Air India’s new Airbus A350 aircraft will feature on the following routes later this year.

Origin

Destination

Date

Frequency

Delhi Indira Gandhi Intl (DEL)

New York John F. Kennedy Intl. (JFK)

November 1, 2024

Daily

Newark Liberty Intl (EWR)

January 2, 2025

5 weekly

Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Air India said:

“We are encouraged by the positive guest feedback we have received from the domestic deployment of our A350s to offer our hero product on the Delhi-New York JFK and Delhi-Newark routes. This is a significant leap forward for our U.S. operations that also underscores our commitment to continuous improvement.”

Air India A350

Photo: Aerospace Trek | Shutterstock

The latest news means that the carrier will finally be introducing premium economy class to the above routes, once A350 service begins. The carrier’s new planes offer 24 premium economy class seats arranged in a 2-4-2 configuration. The A350s also offer 28 private suites in business class, offering lie-flat beds in a 1-2-1 configuration. The economy class cabin makes up 264 seats. Wilson continued:

“The new seats, new inflight entertainment systems, and new soft products will together provide our guests with great comfort and service that are representative of the new Air India. We believe this enhanced offering will solidify Air India’s position as a leading carrier and attract travelers seeking a world-class flying experience between India and the United States.”

Continued growth in North America

Currently, Air India operates its Boeing 777 aircraft on its nonstop flights to the United States. These planes—which are slowly but surely getting older—are deployed on its existing routes from India to the US, including to New York JFK, Newark, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington Dulles.

Recently, it emerged that the carrier is considering launching flights to Dallas and Los Angeles. Connections to these two cities are among the top five unserved routes to the US from the airport serving India’s capital, DEL. Any such announcement would mark the carrier’s first new destination in the US in nearly a decade, given that San Francisco, its newest, was added in 2015.

Air India Boeing 777-300 flying

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

From domestic to Dubai, London and now the US

The Indian national airline has slowly been ramping up A350 operations as its crew and staff familiarize themselves with the new plane. It began by operating domestic flights with the type at the very beginning, with flights to cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and, of course, Delhi and Mumbai.

Air India A350

Photo: Eurospot

Since then, the airline introduced the new widebody on flights to Dubai. Most recently, flights to London were announced with the A350 planned to take over 14 of the airline’s 17 weekly frequencies on the Delhi to London Heathrow (LHR) route. This will enter into effect as of September 1.


  • Air India Tile

    Air India

    IATA/ICAO Code:
    AI/AIC

    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier

    Hub(s):
    Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport

    Year Founded:
    1946

    Alliance:
    Star Alliance

    CEO:
    Campbell Wilson

    Country:
    India

    Region:
    Asia

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