In July 2019, an individual named Tejas Bhatia started a Change.org petition to attempt to persuade Air India to begin flying to Dallas-Fort Worth. The petition has since closed but garnered support from 1,148 individuals during its operation. These potential passengers are not the only supporters; many have been requesting nonstop service from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to India for several years. 

These years of waiting appear to have finally paid off. Recently leaked information suggests Air India intends to initiate service to DFW and six other international destinations this year. Two of these new routes will serve U.S. destinations. 

Air India to Dallas/Fort Worth?

At this time, Air India has not officially announced any new services. However, X account Jet Arena reported that the following seven cities are slated to receive new Air India service this year: 

• Zurich, Switzerland (ZRH)
• Rome, Italy (FCO)
• Jakarta, Indonesia (CGK)
• Los Angeles, California (LAX)
• Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (DFW)
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL)
• Seattle, Washington (SEA)

Los Angeles, Dallas, and Seattle are among the top three North American markets lacking a nonstop flight to India, the other two being the Canadian cities of Edmonton and Calgary. Zurich, Rome, KL, Jakarta, and LA were all previous Air India destinations, while Dallas and Seattle will be new services.

There is strong demand for an Air India route serving DFW for multiple seasons. Over the past year, booking data revealed that DFW Airport had around 950 people flying to or from India daily. The DFW metropolitan area is home to one of the largest Indian-American populations, with over 235,000 as of 2021. Texas alone has 450,000 Indian Americans, the second-highest number in the U.S. after New York. 

At the moment, Emirates and Qatar Airways carry the bulk of DFW's India traffic, with Turkish Airlines, American, and Air France being other significant contributors. Surprisingly, British Airways and Lufthansa, who both serve more Indian cities than Turkish or Air France, are not higher up on this list.

Also surprising is that the most popular Indian city flown to from DFW is not Mumbai or Delhi but Hyderabad. Mumbai and Delhi are the second and third-most popular markets from DFW, respectively, followed by Bengaluru and Chennai. Other popular Indian cities from DFW include Ahmedabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, and Nagpur. A nonstop route to India from DFW could fly to Delhi, Air India's primary hub, or Mumbai, the airline's secondary hub. 

Although Air India states this new service will start on February 1, this date is unlikely since the airline would have officially announced ticket sales months in advance. Usually, new international routes need anywhere from three to six months advance notice to account for government approvals and garner enough awareness and sales. It remains to be seen if Air India will get this service launched by February 1.

Internal schedules for Air India's new destinations were partially leaked on X. While these could change, the schedule Air India has for DFW is as follows:

*Local times to departure and arrival cities

The flights will operate as Air India 199 from DEL-DFW and Air India 198 from DFW-DEL.

[DFW,DEL]

Dallas will be Air India's longest route from Delhi and third-longest overall at 8,186 miles (15,160 kilometers). Given this route's massive mileage, Air India plans to use its newly-acquired fleet of five secondhand Boeing 777-200LRs that formerly flew with Delta. These aircraft seat 288 passengers, with 28 in Business, 48 in Premium Economy, and 212 in Economy. The -200LR has a range of 9,845 miles (18,233 kilometers).

However, the long-distance route requires a significant amount of fuel, which can be a major cost nowadays amid volatile global oil prices. The possible launch of direct service between DFW and India would excite many travelers, especially those who frequently travel between the U.S. and India.

Los Angeles and Seattle

Los Angeles is Air India's next U.S. destination that's been leaked. LAX had over 95,000 point-to-point passengers to Delhi alone in the past year. Looking at all of India, the numbers are around 305,000+ passengers flying from LAX to India in the past year. Air India previously served Los Angeles via Frankfurt with the Boeing 747-400. Although this service ended in 2008, there are many awesome photos and videos of Air India's elegant 747s flying in and out of LAX. 

Air India's new service from Delhi will operate four times a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. The equipment used on the LAX route will also allegedly be the ex-Delta 777-200LRs. The flight numbers will be AI 195 from DEL-LAX and then AI 194 for the flight back, but the exact schedule has yet to be released. Air India has witnessed massive success with its routes to San Francisco from Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai. 

Seattle is the third U.S. city that Air India is targeting in 2024. Not much is known about this route's frequency or the aircraft Air India will deploy for this service. The route may also operate from Delhi using a Boeing 777-200LR. In the past year, Seattle saw 67,000 passengers point-to-point to and from Delhi, and airlines have noticed this demand in the past. 

Emirates launched nonstop flights to Seattle in 2012 due to strong demand for travel to India. Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines followed suit in 2021 and 2022, respectively. American Airlines announced a new nonstop route from Seattle to Bengaluru in 2020, but it has yet to materialize due to the pandemic and Russian airspace restrictions. As of now, American has yet to make plans to move forward with that service.

Europe and Southeast Asia

Air India is also looking to start services to Rome and Zurich. Rome was last served until 2021, while Zurich was last served until 2008. Once they resume, both flights will allegedly use the Boeing 787-8 that Air India primarily uses on flights to Europe. There is no information about flight frequencies or a possible start date. Both cities will likely be served from Delhi, where the bulk of Air India's European services operate.

The other two new destinations in 2024 will be Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. Jakarta was last served via Singapore until 2008 with the Airbus A310, and as of now, there are no current nonstop flights between Jakarta and Delhi and most of India. The only route from Jakarta to India is from Mumbai on IndiGo, a six-hour flight. Air India has not specified what city they will serve Jakarta from.

Kuala Lumpur was last served by Air India until 2008, also with A310s. According to internal schedules, Air India will launch daily service from Delhi to Kuala Lumpur from March 1 with the Airbus A320neo. Perhaps the A320neo will also be used for the airline's new route to Jakarta.

The Rise of Air India

Air India has been in the process of making a huge comeback following its privatization. New aircraft, branding, and a bigger route network were some results people expected from the TATA Group's takeover of the Indian flag carrier. While Air India has not officially disclosed the schedules for these seven new international destinations, the leaked info suggests the airline is moving quickly to expand its network, aiming to serve Indians worldwide.