Air India to add 20 more weekly flights for Birmingham, London and San Francisco

In an effort to increase its global reach, Air India on Friday disclosed the addition of 20 weekly flights to San Francisco in the US and Birmingham and London in the UK. This is a part of the flag carrier's ongoing effort to take back the top spot on the global aviation map. The extra flights will be added gradually between October and December. Air India will be able to offer more than 5,000 additional seats per week to customers and ensure plenty of choice in terms of connectivity, convenience, and cabin space with the addition of five additional flights per week to Birmingham, nine additional flights to London, and six additional flights to San Francisco.

Air India`s current schedule of 34 flights every week to the UK will go up to 48. Birmingham will receive an extra five flights per week, three from Delhi and two additional from Amritsar. London will receive nine additional weekly flights, of which five are from Mumbai, three from Delhi, and one from Ahmedabad. Altogether, seven Indian cities will now have non-stop Air India flights to the UK`s capital.

Flights from India to the US will increase from 34 to 40 per week. Air India will now connect Mumbai with San Francisco with a thrice-weekly service and reinstate a three-times-weekly Bengaluru operation. This takes Air India`s San Francisco offering from 10 to 16 weekly, with non-stop service from Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.

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Campbell Wilson, CEO & MD, Air India, commented on the development: "As Air India reinvents itself under the Vihaan.AI transformation programme, adding frequency and improving connectivity from major Indian cities to more international destinations is a significant focus.

"This sizeable frequency increase to the US and the UK, as well as the addition of new city pairs and improved aircraft cabin interiors, comes just 10 months after Air India`s acquisition by the Tata Group. It is a clear signal of our intent and an early step towards a much bigger aspiration."

In addition to leasing new aircraft, Air India has been working to restore existing narrow-body and wide-body aircraft to the operating fleet. Prior to the expansion described above, the airline had already enabled frequency increases between Delhi and Vancouver, as well as the addition of numerous domestic services.

With inputs from IANS