Now that the Personal Electronic Devices ban has been enacted for passengers flying Gulf Coast airlines to the United States, it may be more prudent for people to consider flying on Air India to reach the Subcontinent in order to evade checking laptops, cameras and/or tablets into checked luggage.
Furthermore, since Air India is expanding in the United States – having loaded schedules for nonstop Washington Dulles to Delhi service to begin in July, shorter journey times are now more accessible for US or India-based travelers between the two countries.
With regards to the electronics ban, Air India is unaffected, and, in fact, has reportedly seen bookings double as a result of the ban. Now, let’s remember that Air India isn’t the most “reliable” airline when it comes to reporting commercial metrics, but they are at least ambitious?
Additionally, Air India feels so encouraged by their recent jump in U.S. bookings that it is reportedly leasing several 787-9s to its fleet to increase its presence in the Americas, including both the U.S. and Canada.
That being said, it may be important to familiarize yourself with Air India’s product, network, schedule and frequent flier program if you are originating in the U.S. (or even Canada) and compare these elements to the ME3 and Turkish Airlines, which transport a lot of U.S. / Canada – India traffic.
Where Does Air India Fly in the U.S.?
San Francisco – Delhi
- Aircraft: Boeing 777-200LR, featuring 8 seats in First, 35 in Business and 195 in Economy
- Frequency: 6 weekly (daily except for Tuesdays from either city)
- Codeshares: None
- Schedule:
- AI 173 departs Delhi at 3 AM local time and arrives into SFO at 7:00 AM
- AI 174 departs SFO at 11:30 AM local time and arrives at 4PM in Delhi the following day
Chicago O’Hare – Delhi
- Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER, featuring 4 seats in First, 35 in Business and 303 in Economy
- Frequency: daily
- Codeshares: None
- Schedule:
- AI 127 departs Delhi at 2:20 AM local time and arrives into ORD at 7:25 AM
- AI 126 departs ORD at 1:30 PM local time and arrives at 2:35 PM in Delhi the following day
New York JFK – Delhi
- Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER, featuring 4 seats in First, 35 in Business and 303 in Economy
- Frequency: daily
- Codeshares: None
- Schedule:
- AI 101 departs Delhi at 1:45 AM local time and arrives into JFK at 7:25 AM
- AI 102 departs JFK at 3:10 PM local time and arrives at 2:50 PM in Delhi the following day
Newark EWR – Mumbai
- Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER, featuring 4 seats in First, 35 in Business and 303 in Economy
- Frequency: daily
- Codeshares: None
- Schedule:
- AI 191 departs BOM at 1:30 AM local time and arrives into EWR at 7:55 AM
- AI 144 departs EWR at 2:15 PM local time and arrives at 2:30 PM in Delhi the following day
Newark EWR – London Heathrow
- Aircraft: Boeing 787-8, featuring 18 seats in Business and 238 in Economy
- Frequency: 3 times weekly (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from LHR)
- Codeshares: None
- Schedule:
- AI 171 departs LHR at 12:30 PM local time and arrives into EWR at 3 PM
- AI 172 departs EWR at 10:30 PM local time (Mondays and Fridays) and arrives at 10:15 AM in LHR the following day
- AI 172 departs EWR at 12:20 AM local time (Thursdays) and arrives at 12:15 PM in LHR
Washington Dulles – Delhi* (starts July 7, 2017)
- Aircraft: Boeing 777-200LR, featuring 8 seats in First, 35 in Business and 195 in Economy
- Frequency: 3 weekly (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
- Codeshares: None
- Schedule:
- AI 103 departs Delhi at 1:15 AM local time and arrives into IAD at 7:15 AM
- AI 174 departs IAD at 11:00 AM local time and arrives at 10:30 AM in Delhi the following day
Which Airlines Partner with Air India, and Earn Miles on AI Flights?
Air India is a member of Star Alliance, and therefore there are earning opportunities for frequent fliers on United‘s program, as well as Air Canada (assuming you’re based in North America). Air India also has its own Flying Rewards program that may be worth considering.
These are the earning rates on Air India flights for United, Air Canada as well as on Air India (on its own metal):
The earning rates on Air India are the most generous for people who want to achieve status with Star Alliance in the quickest and most efficient manner possible. If you are based in San Francisco, Chicago, Washington or New York, and have to travel to Delhi or Mumbai often, then this may be the best way to go.
What about Connections?
Let’s suppose you are based in Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles or even a smaller city, and you travel to India frequently. How do 1 or 2-stop connections work flying on Air India from the States? Here is a sample size of two United hubs (Chicago and San Francisco) that provide the best number of relative frequencies to Air India’s primary hub (Delhi) and then
Chicago
O’Hare provides the most optimal connectivity given the mid-afternoon departure time from ORD to Delhi and the early morning arrival on the inbound flight. Assuming an hour-and-a-half connection time (at minimum), with the time needed to transit terminals, check-in, proceed through security and so on, there are numerous inbound flights supported from the Midwest, East Coast, Southwest, Southeast and Central Plains regions. United has an interline agreement with Air India, meaning customers can check their luggage all the way to Delhi from their point of origin (POO). Supported cities include:
Wichita, Memphis, Cedar Rapids, Cincinnati, Oklahoma City, Winnipeg, St. Louis, Fargo, Toronto, Cleveland, Austin, Omaha, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Philadelphia, Little Rock, Fargo, Kansas City, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Knoxville, Houston, Colorado Springs, San Antonio, Akron, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Monterrey, Dayton, Washington Reagan, Fort Lauderdale, Boston, Louisville, Albany, Orlando, Richmond, Raleigh/Durham, Atlanta, Detroit, Norfolk.
San Francisco
Along the West Coast, SFO provides a really convenient connecting point as well for United-operated inbound flights. Supported cities include:
Burbank, Orange County, Seattle, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Boise, Portland, Omaha, Fresno, Philadelphia, Ontario, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Mexico City, Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Palm Springs, Denver, San Antonio, Sacramento, Tuscon, Redding.
Delhi
Among the subcontinent, outbound connections to domestic markets from Delhi are a bit more sparse than Dubai, but nevertheless plentiful. With the arrival times from U.S. markets, the following online connections are supported:
Viyjayawada, Bangalore, Aurangabad, Mumbai, Vadodara, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna, Poona, Varanasi, Muscat, Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Bahrain, Calcutta, Dubai and Madras.
What about Aircraft?
Air India offers first class on all of its U.S. routes, but their products tend to be a bit dated on their 777s. In Business class, the seating arrangement is 2 x 3 x 2, which is a tough justification against all-aisle products or window/aisle products.
That being said, my relatives have flown all three of Middle East carriers, as well as Turkish Airlines, in Business class, and concur that their preferred option is either Air India or Qatar Airways. They like Air India due to the convenience and the timings, but Qatar is also award-winning for them based on service.
For separate reviews, see the following:
Review: Air India 787 Business Class (The Points Guy)
Review: Air India 777 First Class (One Mile at a Time)
At present, Air India has 23 Boeing 787-8s, 12 Boeing 777-300ERs and 3 Boeing 777-200LRs in service. A large concentration of the 787-8s are used to fly domestic and short-haul international routes (like Delhi – Dubai or Mumbai – Singapore), but they are currently used to fly nonstop from Delhi to Sydney, Melbourne, Madrid, Birmingham, London Heathrow, Paris, Milan, Rome, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Moscow, Vienna, and from Mumbai to London Heathrow. The 777-300ERs and -200LRs are used to operate flights to the U.S. (as stated above) along with a few domestic flights, some London Heathrow services and regional trips to Saudi Arabia, particularly during high pilgrimage season.
The 787-9s will be particularly useful to connect Air India to Canadian markets, as well as Los Angeles. Air India has also hinted at Houston and Dallas/Ft. Worth being possibilities.
Bottom Line
The Maharaja is not a leading global carrier by any means, but it has come a long way since it was offering $300 round-trip fares from Los Angeles to Frankfurt on 747s (this was hardly 10 years ago). The fares are relatively competitive and offer decent connections to the Subcontinent from several U.S. gateways (and others may soon be on the way). The alliance partnership with Star is helpful, along with the reciprocity, although this is weighted heavily towards those opting to travel in First or Business class on Air India rather than Economy (this is becoming the norm anyways).
Air India does not offer premium economy, which is a bit of a draw. This may change over time.
Air India also offers some additional perks that are not common for certain airlines like chauffeur service or free stopovers (i.e. traveling from Newark to Delhi via London, for instance, may permit a free stopover in London). These may be worth exploring.
Give Air India a try, and let us know what your thoughts are. I have flown them in Business from New York to Delhi and First from Delhi to New York. I was impressed with the services on both flights.
