Airlines Expect Record Non-Stop US-India Flights This Winter Winter flights are expected to increase 28% year over year; however, their actual implementation remains uncertain.
Winter will see an unprecedented surge in non-stop flights from the US to India, provided that all flights operate according to plan. Weekly departures have skyrocketed to 82 (distributed evenly for round-trips), up 28 percent over their previous peak of 64 flights a year ago. Winter months tend to be particularly profitable and in high demand.
United Airlines Expansion
United’s decision to upgrade their Newark to Delhi service from once daily to twice daily has contributed significantly to their recent surge in growth, reaching their highest frequency ever for this route. This move mitigated the effect of United’s cancellation of their long-awaited San Francisco Bengaluru route which had been planned over an extended period, though their future of other routes such as Delhi to Chicago or Mumbai to Newark remains uncertain.
OAG data shows a record winter flights: US to India OAG’s winter schedule features 82 non-stop weekly flights between the US and India during this winter period, led by Air India with 57% market share followed by United Airlines at 34% and American at 9% respectively – Star Alliance carriers control 91% of non-stop flights and Delta will end its India service by 2020.
13 Routes in a Network
As shown below, this trio of carriers will operate 13 nonstop routes between them; four compete directly against one another while all but one are within Star Alliance membership (Air India launched San Francisco-Mumbai service in December 2022).
On October 28th, United will launch its second daily Newark-Delhi service using Boeing 787-9s with 257 seats. Flight UA816 departs Newark at 9:40 and arrives in Delhi 11 minutes and 10 minutes later; its return flight, UA817 is scheduled to leave at 13:15, arriving 19 hours and 40 minutes after departing Newark.
These developments represent a major advancement for non-stop flights between the US and India. The airline industry’s responsiveness to changing customer demand demonstrates how ever-evolving international travel is.
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