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Most people traveling between India and North America fly indirectly via Europe, the Middle East, or parts of Asia. They often benefit from lower prices and sometimes strong products, but obviously longer journey times. However, nonstop flights have grown significantly in recent months. This August, there are up to 12x daily nonstops across 13 routes. That's the most ever for August. But they rise up to 17x daily later this year.
India-North America: August 2022
Think India to North America, think Star Alliance. This month, the market has 336 nonstop flights, nearly all – some 91% – by Star Alliance members, according to the latest Cirium data. Naturally, routes primarily involve Star hubs, which, not coincidentally, are also major cities for Indian diaspora. With almost six in every ten flights across eight routes, it's very much about Air India. Here's a breakdown of what's operating this August:
|
Airline |
Route |
August 2022 flights |
Aircraft |
|
Air India |
Delhi to San Francisco |
10x weekly |
B777-200LR |
|
Air Canada |
Toronto to Delhi |
1x daily |
B777-200LR |
|
Air India |
Delhi to Chicago |
1x daily |
B777-300ER |
|
Air India |
Delhi to New York JFK |
1x daily |
B777-300ER |
|
Air India |
Delhi to Toronto |
1x daily |
B777-200LR |
|
American |
JFK to Delhi |
1x daily |
B777-300ER |
|
United |
Chicago to Delhi |
1x daily |
B787-9 |
|
United |
Newark to Delhi |
1x daily |
B787-9 |
|
Air Canada |
Montreal to Delhi |
4x weekly |
B787-9 |
|
Air India |
Delhi to Newark |
4x weekly |
B777-300ER |
|
Air India |
Mumbai to Newark |
3x weekly |
B777-300ER |
|
Air India |
Delhi to Vancouver |
3x weekly |
B777-300ER |
|
Air India |
Delhi to Washington Dulles |
3x weekly |
B787-8 |
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Toronto is largest
You might think that, at the city pair level, Delhi to NYC would be the largest point-to-point market, i.e., those traveling only between the two cities and not connecting anywhere. Based on 2019 data, the most recent year unaffected by coronavirus-induced changes, Delhi-NYC had 368,000 P2P passengers across all airlines, for some 504 passengers daily each way (PDEW).
While significant, it wasn't as large as Delhi-Toronto, whose P2P traffic totaled 482,000 (PDEW: 660). At airport level, booking data shows that Toronto was Delhi's sixth-largest international market that year, surpassed only by Dubai (naturally!), Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, London Heathrow, Kathmandu, and Singapore.
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What's coming?
Looking ahead, many routes are set to resume, with one to begin. It means that India-North America routes would have grown from 13 in August to 19, up by 46%, while flights would have risen from 336 to 454, an increase of 35%. No longer will there be a max of 12x daily nonstops – it'll be up to 17x. Here is what's coming, organized by resumption date. As always, changes may occur.
|
Airline |
Route |
Begins/restarts |
Flights |
Aircraft |
|
Air Canada |
Vancouver to Delhi (stops to refuel in Dublin outbound) |
October 20th |
3x weekly |
B787-9 |
|
United |
San Francisco to Delhi |
October 28th |
1x daily |
B787-9 |
|
Air Canada |
Toronto to Mumbai (operates via London Heathrow) |
New: October 29th |
1x daily |
B787-9 |
|
United |
Newark to Mumbai |
October 29th |
1x daily |
B787-9 |
|
Air India |
Bengaluru to San Francisco |
October 31st |
2x weekly |
B777-200LR |
|
Air India |
Hyderabad to Chicago |
November 2nd |
2x weekly |
B777-200LR |
More flights too
Although not yet bookable, Air India's Delhi-Chicago rises from 1x daily to 8x weekly from November, with the B777-200LR operating the additional service (AI109/AI110).
What routes would you like to see? Let us know in the comments.