Air India hits gold with New Delhi-San Francisco direct flight

NEW DELHI: Air India has hit pay dirt with its move to link Delhi and San Francisco (SFO) with a non-stop flight, making it the only airline that flies direct on this route.

The tri-weekly connection, which was launched last December, now commands a hefty premium over the one-stop flights offered by airlines from the Gulf, Europe, America and Southeast Asia. The reason: Flyers save so much time on this connection — the journey to Silicon Valley takes just 17 hours while the return is an hour less — that they don't mind shelling out a little extra.

The return economy fare on AI's Delhi-SFO flight for June is in the range of Rs 87,000-96,000. Though China Eastern and China Southern are much cheaper with return fares of about Rs 60,000 and Rs 70,000 for the same travel period, these airlines take anywhere up to 32 hours one-way as they fly via their hubs in Shanghai and Guangzhou.

After the cheapest Chinese options come the Gulf and Southeast Asian airlines (which are known for their hospitality and on-board comfort) and the European and American carriers (that are known for their networks). Britain's Virgin Atlantic's return is in the range of Rs 71,000-81,500 in June, but the flying time to SFO can be as much as 42.5 hours. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad (which bought five Boeing 777-200 long-range planes from AI almost three years back to fly non-stop to the US west coast) takes up to 34 hours one-way (based on connections shown at its starting fares on travel portals) with return fares starting from Rs 82,000. Japan's ANA, Japan Airlines, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, and United also offer lower economy fares than the AI non-stop, but their travel times are much more as they have to fly via their hubs.

Despite the premium pricing, AI's Delhi-SFO non-stop records 80-85% load factor (aircraft occupancy) and the flight is sold out on many days this summer. In fact, the triweekly is getting so much demand that passengers often get the option of flying via New York or Chicago as the non-stop is sold out. AI has the first-mover advantage on some routes where it's the only airline that flies non-stop, including to SFO and Australia. People are choosing its non-stop services despite an unreliable in-flight entertainment system — an important factor for surviving long flights.

"SFO was a natural choice for a new non-stop from India as it is the IT hub of the US and has a substantial Indian origin population. And the Delhi-SFO has become one of our most commercially successful flights," AI chairman Ashwani Lohani told TOI. He added that there was a plan to increase frequency once AI has more aircraft.

According to John Nair, head of corporate travel at Cox & Kings, AI's in-flight service had also improved considerably in the last one year and customers had noticed the change.

But it all boils down to saving time, says Sharat Dhall, president of travel portal Yatra. "A stopover essentially means a delay of four-five hours. So, shelling out marginally extra for a non-stop flight is not a problem for most long-haul travellers. As it is, people end up spending on food, etc, while waiting at airports."

While AI's economy is priced higher than other airlines, its premium is quite competitive. The return business class fare on the Delhi-SFO is about Rs 2.2 lakh, which is only higher than the three Chinese carriers — Air China, China Southern and China Eastern. All other carriers cost more. A senior airline official said the idea is to attract premium flyers and make them fly the "new" AI so that they can realize how much it has improved.