AI to start direct flight to Washington next yr

Air India has begun the process to start its fifth non-stop flight to the US by next year-end, making Washington the national carrier’s next destination after successfully launching a direct flight to San Francisco.

“We will complete the viability study in the next few months, and once it’s completed, we will move to the next step. If everything goes fine, we may start a direct flight to Washington by the end of 2016,” a top Air India official said.

The national carrier now operates non-stop flights to four US cities — Chicago, New York and San Fransisco (From New Delhi), and Newark (from Mumbai).

Air India earlier used to fly to Washington via New York, but the service was discontinued a few years ago.

The official said the airline is encouraged by the response to its newly launched direct flight to San Francisco. The tickets for next two months have already been sold out and the demand was “huge”, he added.

Kandace Bender, Deputy Airport Director for Marketing and Communications, San Francisco International Airport, said that Indians were one of the fastest growing communities in San Francisco, after the Chinese.