In light of the growing bilateral relationships between India and the US in recent times, fliers will soon see a surge in direct nonstop flights between the two nations. Previously regarded as hectic, this move will smoothen oversea journey by a large extent. It will particularly benefit employees of IT companies, a large chunk of whom are stationed in the US. In 2012, American Airlines (AA) had stopped flights to India when its parent company filed for bankruptcy but is now planning to restart operations soon.
Apart from American Airlines (AA), desi airline operator Air India will also start nonstop flights to the US, and indeed the whole of North America. Currently, the two players are the only ones in business to do so. Other carriers, such as Emirates, requires passengers to change aircraft to avail a flight to the US, from cities such as Dubai and Bangkok. American Airlines, prior to 2012, used to operate a daily flight from New Delhi to Chicago before pulling the plug. Since its merger with US Airways in 2013, it is keen to resume flights to India. It is not yet known to which US city the airline would fly.
“AI nonstops to the US, especially the Delhi-San Francisco connection, are a big success and command a significant premium over one-stop flights offered by Gulf, European, Chinese and Southeast Asian airlines between India and America. This is luring other airlines to launching nonstops”  – an airline official  (Source: Times of India)"
Since nonstop direct flights are considered as a vanity, it is expected that prices would remain high. But as more and more carriers join the trend, fares would become competitive, according to analysts. Air India and United are a part of Star Alliance flight carrier group while American Airlines is a part of a British Airways led consortium. United currently operates a daily flight from Delhi and Mumbai to Newark. Air India also operates from the same Indian metros to the US cities of Chicago, San Francisco, Newark and New York. Air India is looking to expand its US operations aggressively. By the end of the year, it might start a New Delhi-Washington direct flight. It also has plans for a tri-weekly nonstop between Bangalore and San Francisco.
Source- https://goo.gl/3n62v7
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