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Air India Adds Los Angeles and Houston
Air India Adds Los Angeles and Houston. National flag carrier of India said today it plans to expand its base in the United States by adding Los Angeles and Houston as new destinations, one day after launching the state's first direct flight from Delhi to Washington DC."We are looking to connect two more cities - Los Angeles and Houston or Dallas," said Air India President and MD Ashwani Lohani at an event to celebrate the launch of the nonstop direct flight between the capitals of the two largest Democracies in the world. The direct flight to Los Angeles is expected to be launched in October, while the date for the flight to Houston or Dallas in Texas has yet to be determined, Lohani said. All of this is part of Air India's expansion plans, he said.
Washington DC is the fifth destination of Air India after New York, Newark, Chicago and San Francisco. "Last year we launched four international flights from India, and this year we have seven new international flights, new connections, new connections, and that's how we're going to do it," Lohani said, adding that Air India is looking to significantly expand its operations in United States. Three times a week the flight frequency of the American capital could soon be extended daily based on the response of passengers, he said.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said there is a huge market for people traveling between India and the Washington area, which would result in full flights from Air India. "President Lohani has said that this was an exhausted flight today. The returning flight is also an exhausted flight. Therefore, there is a very good opportunity for us if this is going to go to seven days a week, if there is a Continuous interest, "he said. The current three-day-a-week program will bring more than 30,000 visitors to the capital's region, he said.
"It will have an economic impact of about USD 30 million for our region," said McAuliffe. India's ambassador to the United States Navtej Sarna, who traveled aboard the inaugural flight in New Delhi, said the direct direct flight between the two capitals is symbolic of the India-US ties that received a boost following the recent Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to America.
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