Air India to launch daily Washington-Delhi-Kolkata flight

The daily flight would have stops in New York and New Delhi before flying on to Kolkata, saving several hours for passengers travelling from Washington.

Air India would deploy its latest state of the art Boeing 777 LR aircraft on this route. The flight from India will arrive at 9.30 a.m. and depart from Dulles International Airport at 12.10 p.m. between Dec 1 and Dec 14.

The timings change from Dec 15 when flights would arrive at 8.10 a.m. and depart at 1.10 p.m. The decision by Air India has been welcomed by the members of the fast growing Indian-American community in Washington and adjoining areas, who have been demanding such a flight for several years.

"There was a demand for this flight from Washington DC and we are happy that our efforts have had a positive impact," said Devashish Ray, executive director of USAsian, a body of Asian communities. "Air India wishes to thank USAsian for their sustained campaign in bringing this long-awaited need for flights from Dulles to India to a fruitful conclusion," Chief of Air India in Washington DC Shrikant Ghole said.

Air India would offer check-in facilities at all major points in India from Washington DC and meals of choice keeping in mind religious and other personal preferences such as pure vegetarian, Jain meals, halal and diabetic meals.