America's Delta Air Lines on Friday (25) announced resuming its non-stop services from New York to India's Mumbai next year.
The major American airline had suspended its non-stop survives to India's financial capital in 2009, blaming Middle Eastern carriers for hurting its ability to operate in parts of Asia.
"It is exciting to be able to announce Delta's return to India from the US as part of our vision to expand Delta's reach internationally," said Delta CEO Ed Bastian.
Delta's announcement follows agreements between the US and the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to address the issue of government subsidies provided to state-owned carriers in those nations.
The framework created by the agreement allows Delta to move forward with service to India, a market long impacted by government-subsidised Middle Eastern airlines.
This move will mark a return to India for Delta, which was forced to exit the market after subsidised state-owned airlines made service economically unviable, the airlines said in a statement.
"We are thankful to the president for taking real action to enforce our 'Open Skies' trade deals, which made this new service possible. We are looking forward to providing customers in the US and India with Delta's famously reliable, customer-focused service operated by the best employees in the industry," Bastian said.
Delta said it also intends to expand its existing codeshare relationship with partner Jet Airways to provide seamless connections to other destinations within India, subject to government approvals. Full schedule and details of the New York-Mumbai service will be announced later this year.
Currently the United Airlines and the state-run Air India operate non-stop services between India and the US.
Bobby Bawa
