Air India’s Delhi to San Francisco

Air India has launched its fourth US route with the introduction on 2 December of a new thrice-weekly (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays) service between Delhi (DEL) and San Francisco (SFO). The 12,376-kilometre route will be operated by the airline’s 238-seat 777-200LRs and will not face any direct competition

Flights depart India at 02:35 in the morning arriving in California at 06:00. The return flight leaves San Francisco at 10:00 and gets back into Delhi at 16:20 the following day. OAG lists the outbound flight with a scheduled flying time of 16 hours and 55 minutes, beaten only by EVA Air’s Taipei to Houston Intercontinental service, which clocks in at 17 hours and 35 minutes.

The Star Alliance carrier already serves Chicago O’Hare, New York Newark and New York JFK. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, said: “I am pleased to welcome Air India to San Francisco – the Innovation Capital of the World – after the productive visit by India Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the San Francisco Bay Area. By creating the first-ever non-stop service between San Francisco and Delhi, Air India has united two great cultural and economic centres of the world. As the only non-stop flight between India and the West Coast of the US, I fully expect this new service to be a success.”