AI’s Bengaluru-San Francisco to be first scheduled direct between south India & US

NEW DELHI: Air India’s Bengaluru-San Francisco (SFO) will be the first direct scheduled flights between south India and the US, followed by Hyderabad-Chicago. The Maharaja has got US Transportation Security Administration approval for these two new twice-weekly nonstops.
Hyderabad-Chicago, which was planned to start from January 9, 2021, and be the first scheduled direct between south India and US, will have its first flight on January 15.Bengaluru (BLR)-SFO will start from January 11.
Tweaking operations as per current demand, AI will operate a Boeing 777 (long range) on Delhi-SFO-Bengaluru-SFO-Delhi twice a week. Similarly, a B777 (extended range) will operate Delhi-Chicago-Hyderabad-Chicago-Delhi with the same frequency.

At 14,003 km, AI’s Bengaluru-SFO nonstop will be the longest route to be operated by any US or Indian carrier. United is scheduled to start direct flight on this route from May 6, 2021. And next winter, Amrican Airlines plans to connect Bengaluru to Seattle.
“This route, at this point in time, Bengaluru-SFO will be third in the ranking for longest routes operated by all carriers,” a United spokesperson had said recently.
The privatisation process for AI is on and aviation minister H S Puri has often said that failure to find a buyer could mean curtains for the Maharaja. As of now, the deadline for bidding for AI ends next month unless the same is extended again.
While AI future depends on it getting a buyer, south India will see direct connectivity to the US. Due to Covid, people will want to travel nonstop between India and North America and not one-stop via hubs in the Europe, Gulf and southeast Asia. So India-North America, especially US, is a huge market for airlines flying direct.
If AI gets a buyer and the new owner decides to continue the routes then Hyderabad-Chicago and Bengaluru-SFO routes, then at least these two routes could continue if not more by the privatised Maharaja. Then United and American Airlines have planned their own launches. Vistara is also looking at starting direct flights on India-US routes.
Currently while scheduled international flights to and from India remain suspended, these flights are being operated under an air bubble between India and the US.