Air India to operate non-stop flights between US and Bengaluru

Earlier in the year, Aur India suspended operations between San Francisco and Bengaluru partly due to poor demand among passengers during the course of the pandemic and partly due to covid 19 restrictions. It was a major hit to the overall flights to India from USA. Now again, Air India is resuming its non-stop flight operations between Bengaluru and San Francisco from December 2.

Also earlier in the month, Air India announced a group of flights to various cities of the world including that of major US destinations as well. This new flight between Bengaluru and San Francisco is also a step in that direction.

The total distance between the cities is 14000 km making it the longest route under the aegis of Air India for their flights to India from USA. The flight is the longest flight to and from India.

The airline plans to operate a Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft with a seating capacity of 238.

Corporate customers traveling between San Francisco and Bengaluru, and vice versa, currently show a demand. The new nonstop flight is to cater to this newfound rising demand.

Air India will operate three weekly flights between San Francisco and Bengaluru. The inaugural flight AI175 will take off from Bengaluru at 2.20 PM and will cover a total distance of 14000 km in approximately 16 hours and 10 minutes. On the same day, flight AI176 will take off from San Francisco at 9 PM and will take approximately 17 hours and 55 minutes to reach Bengaluru. The official website of Air India lists the economy class price at around 96000 rupees and the business class flights at 3 lakh rupees.

The airline inaugurated the service initially during the COVID-19 pandemic on January 10, 2021.

The flight from San Francisco was abound with four women pilots, 12 cabin crew members, and 238 passengers. Additionally, it had a course set for the Atlantic route, which entailed flying over the North Pole.