Modi’s gift to Silicon Valley residents especially.
By Raif Karerat
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Plans for the world’s longest non-stop passenger flight, disclosed by Air India, and announced first by prime minister Narendra Modi in San Jose, California, would open between New Delhi and San Francisco, from December 2.
The announcement coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Silicon Valley, where he is expounding the virtues of his Digital India program.
The carrier will use a 777-200LR for the 16-hour, 7,670-mile journey. It will operate three days a week (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday). The aircraft will have eight first class seats, 35 in business class and 195 in economy.
Roundtrip fares will be about $1,600 in economy, $4,300 in business class and $12,000 in first class. The flight from San Francisco will operate westbound, following a polar route over Alaska.
Air India claimed that the planned route to San Francisco would boost traffic and business between homegrown talent and the large Indian community in California, according to Travel Weekly.
“Passengers from seven cities, all IT hubs, — Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Ahmedabad and Pune — will have seamless connections to the flight from Delhi. Likewise, the return flight from San Francisco will provide onward connections to nine cities — Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Pune and Bhubaneswar,” read a statement from the national carrier of India.
However, the service has yet to be confirmed by regulators and the airline’s board of directors, and some observers have questioned whether it would be profitable, reported the Economic Times.
The Delhi-San Francisco flight will have an early morning departure and arrival. The return flight will have an early morning departure from San Francisco and arrive in Delhi in the afternoon, according to the Times of India.
The current longest commercial flight is the 8,570-mile route flown by Qantas between Sydney and Dallas, but the record is set to be surpassed next year when Emirates initiates an 8,590-mile service linking Dubai to Panama.