Air India flags off flight from Mumbai to San Francisco

This will be the third Indian city after Delhi and Bengaluru to have a direct flight to San Francisco.

Mumbai: Air India, on Thursday, flagged off the first-ever non-stop flight between Mumbai to San Francisco. The development comes after the launch of the carrier’s three-times-a-week flight from Bengaluru to San Francisco on December 2.

The first flight AI 179 from Mumbai to San Francisco left the city at 2:30 pm to reach San Francisco at 5 pm (local time) on the same day. The return flight AI 180 will depart from San Francisco at 9 pm (local time) to arrive in Mumbai at 3:40 am +1 day. (PTI)

This will be the third Indian city after Delhi and Bengaluru to have a direct flight to San Francisco, which is reportedly home to many Indian nationals. The flight will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays with the newly-inducted Boeing 777-200LR aircraft.

The first flight AI 179 from Mumbai to San Francisco left the city at 2:30 pm to reach San Francisco at 5 pm (local time) on the same day. The return flight AI 180 will depart from San Francisco at 9 pm (local time) to arrive in Mumbai at 3:40 am +1 day.

Air India continues to develop Mumbai as an important hub for international as well as domestic traffic, officials said. The launch of the Mumbai-San Francisco route will be followed by Mumbai-New York City (JFK), Mumbai-Frankfurt, and Mumbai-Paris. Additional domestic flights originating from the city will also be added.

With this, there will be 40 non-stop Air India flights to the US per week. Presently, the carrier operates non-stop flights from Mumbai to Newark, from Delhi to New York, Newark, Washington DC, San Francisco, and Chicago, and from Bengaluru to San Francisco.

The flight was virtually inaugurated by union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde. They flagged it off along with Rajiv Bansal, secretary, civil aviation, and Vinod Hejmadi, chief of finance, Air India.

“Today is a historic day for Maharashtra, India, and Air India. The Civil Aviation sector is on the cusp of transformation, and India is the third largest civil aviation market in the world,” said Scindia.

The flight witnessed a grand launch with the auspicious lamp-lighting ceremony followed by cake cutting, ribbon cutting, and handing over the boarding pass to the first passenger to have checked in by Campbell Wilson, CEO and MD, Air India.

“Today is a great moment for the people of Maharashtra, as Air India bridges the distance between Maharashtra and San Francisco,” said Shinde. “The government is focused to boost the civil aviation sector, and build many more airports, and helipads in other parts of the state.”

Addressing the gathering, Wilson said, “As part of our five-year transformation plan, Vihaan.AI, we plan to significantly enhance connectivity between India’s major cities and prime global destinations. The non-stop flight between India’s financial capital and silicon valley is a step towards achieving enhanced customer experience.”