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Approximately 5.9 million passengers flew between the US
and India in the 12 months to July 2024, equivalent to more than 16,000 people daily. Approximately 86 in 100 passengers connected to another flight en route, especially in the Gulf and European hubs.
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The largest unserved long-haul market
Air Canada, Air India, American Airlines, and United Airlines operate non-stop US-India flights. They carry a small proportion of the total traffic, and Cirium Diio information shows they have fallen. For example, in January 2025, there are 284 one-way flights, down 10.4% from January 2024.
Given so few passengers fly non-stop, it is the world’s largest underserved long-haul market. Many reasons explain this, including:
- Very long stage lengths
- Typically fairly low yields, precisely what is not required for such long flights (reflecting a general lack of premium traffic)
- The inability of US airlines to overfly Russian airspace, adding time and increasing costs and complexity
- Air India’s shortage of widebodies
- Questionable profitability of Indian flights for US carriers
- Numerous one-stop options, sometimes on carriers with better hard products. However, Air India’s A350-900s, which now fly to Newark, and its eventual 777 product upgrade may help to close the gap
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They are operated by seven carriers.
Air India to Los Angeles
Air India
has long said it would return to Los Angeles.
It last flew there in 2008, operating from Delhi via Frankfurt on the Boeing 747-400. In early 2024, Air India added Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Seattle to its route map, suggesting it’d begin flying to them. Yet nothing happened.
Later, in 2024, the growing and increasingly developing Indian flag carrier confirmed that Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles flights were being planned, although Seattle was not mentioned. Yet nothing was announced.
Things appear to be developing, with Ishrion Aviation’s X post below indicating that a critical hurdle has been passed. It is undoubtedly a matter of time before Air India finally announces its return to Los Angeles, inevitably from its primary hub of Delhi.
When writing, it is unclear when it will be announced, and details—start date, frequency, schedule, aircraft, etc.—are unknown.
Hang on: why Los Angeles?
Booking data shows that Los Angeles has around 340,000 passengers (967 daily) traveling between the Californian city and all of India. As no non-stop service exists, everyone changed planes en route.
When the entire market is considered, most passengers transferred in Dubai with Emirates, followed by Doha with Qatar Airways. In third place was connecting in Singapore with—you guessed it—Singapore Airlines, then London Heathrow with Virgin Atlantic, and Heathrow with British Airways.
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It won’t be first for long.
Unsurprisingly, Los Angeles-Delhi is the largest market. It has 97,000 roundtrip passengers, significantly more than Mumbai (71,000), Bengaluru (31,000), Hyderabad (25,000), and Chennai (20,000).
Emirates carried the most Delhi passengers, followed by Virgin, Turkish Airlines (which will have 17 weekly Los Angeles flights this summer), Qatar Airways, and United. Of course, Air India would capture passengers flying across India.
Photo: Eliyahu Yosef Parypa | Shutterstock
When all passengers on all airlines and in all cabins are considered, the average one-way Los Angeles-Delhi fare—including a fuel surcharge but excluding taxes—was $1,194. That was higher than Seattle ($994) and similar to Dallas/Fort Worth ($1,202). Yet when spread over distance, Los Angeles had (marginally) a higher fare per nautical mile.
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