UNITED AIRLINES ANNOUNCES DIRECT FLIGHTS TO INDIA
                     UNITED AIRLINES ANNOUNCES 
DIRECT FLIGHTS TO INDIA
INTRODUCTION
• United Airlines, one of the top three US carriers, said it would operate non-stop 
flights from Chicago to Delhi and from San Francisco to Bengaluru. 
• United Airlines has announced that it would operate first-ever nonstop service 
between Bengaluru and San Francisco. 
Source: Indian Eagle
FLIGHT ROUTES
• The Chicago-Delhi route is scheduled to commence this December, while flights to 
Bengaluru are scheduled to begin in Spring 2021.
• Both the flights will be operated daily and the airline will deploy the B787-9 
Dreamliner on these routes.
Source: Moneycontrol
APPROACH TO  ENTER INDIAN MARKET
• With this announcement, United is going a step ahead of American Airlines and 
Delta and at the same time countering Air India. 
• Both Delta and American have tried routes to India in the past and failed, while 
United has continued its presence and is now building up to take a major leap in 
the market.
Source: World Airline news
FIRST-EVER NON-STOP FLIGHT TO THE UNITED STATES FROM BENGALURU
• The planned launch also goes to show 
the importance of non-stop flights in 
the near term and how airlines perceive 
this market. 
• Indeed, United Airlines is now likely to 
claim the title of making the first-ever 
non-stop flight to the United States 
from Bengaluru.
Source: CNBC TV
COUNTERING AIR INDIA
• By seats deployed between the two countries, Air India is the capacity leader, with 
flights to New York, Newark, Washington, Chicago and San Francisco.
• Air India operated to New York from Mumbai and Chicago from New Delhi.
Source: Invest India
FOCUS ON DAILY FLIGHTS
• While Air India focuses on connections on the India side, United offered good 
connectivity across the United states, but only operated daily flights to Mumbai and 
New Delhi. 
• It then launched the New Delhi-San Francisco route to take Air India head on.
Source: Airline Suppliers
WHO IS BETTER?
• While United Airlines is often criticised for its service, the airline has a far better 
product than Air India, which has not seen any refurbishment on either its B777 or 
B787 planes. 
• Another key differentiator is the Wi-Fi on offer in United Airlines flights.
Source: The Quint
VISTARA
• Vistara recently started a thrice-a-week service to London. While the airline has two 
B787-9 aircraft in its fleet, it does not have a crew rest area in its Dreamliner. 
• This prohibits it from operating ultra-long-haul non-stop flights between India and 
the United states and puts it out of contention.
Source: Business standard
COMPARING THE TWO ROUTES
• United is going head on with Air India on the Chicago-Delhi route. Air India offers a 
Hyderabad-New Delhi-Chicago and back service, with passengers being allowed to 
complete formalities in Hyderabad. 
• United has a code share with Vistara, which will help it cater to Hyderabad and other 
markets in India.
Source: The Quint
AMERICAN RIVAL
• Even before United’s New Delhi-San Francisco flight could make inroads into the 
market, rival Delta had announced a flight to Mumbai from New York, while 
American Airlines announced a connection to Bengaluru from Seattle early this year.
Source: Indian Eagle