Air India will increase the frequency of its flights between Delhi and San Francisco starting this winter.
The Star Alliance member currently operates the route three times a week, but will turn this into a daily service due to the high load factor it currently enjoys, reports The Times of India.
Delhi–San Francisco is Air India’s longest route, with flight times in excess of 17 hours. The airline intends to further upgrade the long-haul service by addressing one of the biggest complaints that passengers have made – the unreliability of the in-flight entertainment system on the ageing B777-200LR.
“Air India chief Ashwani Lohani has set a target of 100 per cent serviceability of IFE on widebody aircraft used for long flights,” said an airline spokesperson.
With Delhi–San Francisco poised to become a daily service, Air India will also delay its plans to launch non-stop Delhi–Washington flights later this year.
“We already have flights from Delhi and Mumbai to New York JFK and Newark (EWR). We will look at the Washington connection next year,” said the airline spokesperson, while also noting the importance of the US market, where Air India has consistently reached occupancy levels of more than 80 per cent. Flights to the US also contribute almost one-fifth of the airline’s total revenue from international flights.
For more information, visit airindia.in
Clement Huang
