Air India announced three-times weekly San Francisco – Bangalore non-stop service starting January 11, 2021. It will be Air India’s longest route, on board a Boeing 777-200LR.
- American Airlines announced Seattle – Bangalore service as the first U.S. non-stop to the center of India’s high tech industry back in February, supported by its refreshed Alaska Airlines partnership.
- Then United Airlines in September announced that it, too, would service Bangalore. United’s flight would start first and operate from San Francisco which is the source of the greatest traffic to Bangalore, India.
- Now Air India, ostensible United Airlines partner through Star Alliance, is front-running them both. United is the stronger carrier in San Francisco, with large corporate deals. It also has the better on board product (not something one usually says about United versus foreign competitors).
Air India Will Launch Non-Stop Bangalore Service, United And American Are Punching Air!
by Gary Leff on November 25, 2020
Air India announced three-times weekly San Francisco – Bangalore non-stop service starting January 11, 2021. It will be Air India’s longest route, on board a Boeing 777-200LR.
- American Airlines announced Seattle – Bangalore service as the first U.S. non-stop to the center of India’s high tech industry back in February, supported by its refreshed Alaska Airlines partnership.
- Then United Airlines in September announced that it, too, would service Bangalore. United’s flight would start first and operate from San Francisco which is the source of the greatest traffic to Bangalore, India.
- Now Air India, ostensible United Airlines partner through Star Alliance, is front-running them both. United is the stronger carrier in San Francisco, with large corporate deals. It also has the better on board product (not something one usually says about United versus foreign competitors).
Two non-stop San Francisco – Bangalore options will put significant pressure on fares. And since American’s Seattle – Bangalore flight will focus on connecting traffic (Seattle is only the 8th largest U.S. market to Bangalore), low fares out of San Francisco will affect American’s one-stop yields from Seattle as well. (Seattle – Bangalore is 623 miles shorter than the San Francisco flight.)
Unless the government of India suddenly gets serious about Air India having to operate at least at break-even, past claims about having to do so notwithstanding, it’s likely this new entrant will mean cheap main cabin fares and empty coach cabins on new Bangalore flights, while United captures premium cabin tech corridor business in San Francisco. United’s Patrick Quayle, Vice President of International Network and Alliances, is likely punching air, but American Airlines could be the first squeezed out of the market so American’s Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja must be doing so as well.