Ukraine war keeps Air India on top of non-stop routes to US; can the Tata Group airline maintain pole position?
Tata Motors, the impact of commodity prices, sourcing, semiconductor costs and navigating the maze of sanctions was a challenge for each, except that one entity clearly benefited and made the most like no other - the airline.Also Read: Air India passenger receives broken seat despite paying extra ₹1,000; airline issues apologyAccording to data shared by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, exclusively for this article, there has been an increase of just four frequencies between India and the United States in May 2024, as compared to February 2020, the last month of operations before the COVID-induced lockdown. However, a granular look at the data shows that the American carriers have reduced frequency by 21 weekly flights while Air India has added new flights.
This remains one of the few routes where Air India's strength will remain unmatched for years.Air India operated 33 non-stop flights per week to the US pre-COVID. It launched some new routes as part of the air bubble arrangement, but these were restricted times.
On the other side of COVID, Air India now operates 51 weekly non-stops to the United States.Air India operates to New York, Newark, Washington, Chicago and San Francisco in the United States. It operates 34 weekly non-stops from Delhi, 14 from Mumbai and three from Bengaluru.
In the United States, it operates 18 weekly departures from San Francisco, 14 from JFK, New York; seven each from Newark and Chicago and five from Washington.Also Read: Air India employees get salary hikes, pilots to receive annual performance bonus: Here are the detailsThe non-stop competition from the US side is American Airlines flying to Delhi from New York and United operating to Delhi from Newark. The airline offers a
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