American Airlines delays Seattle-Bangalore flight

The Seattle-Bangalore flight was supposed to launch in October 2020. It was pushed to October 2021, then November 2021, then again January 2022, and now until March 2022

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It was in February 2020 that American Airlines announced the formation of its international hub in Seattle. It was from this hub that American had announced its plans to fly to Bangalore, London, and Shanghai. The three routes were scheduled to launch in 2021.

The pandemic caused an upheaval in international aviation and American’s growth out of Seattle was put on hold. The Seattle-Bangalore flight was supposed to launch in October 2020. It was pushed to October 2021, then November 2021, then again January 2022, and now until March 2022.

According to the latest schedule, American Airlines plans to launch its Seattle to Bangalore flight on March 26, 2022. The flight will operate with the following schedule:

AA180 Seattle to Bangalore departing 5:55PM arriving 11:05PM (+1 day)

AA181 Bangalore to Seattle departing 1:45AM arriving 6:00AM

The flight will cover a distance of 8,112 miles, and will be covered in 16hr40min to India, and 16hr45min from India. A Boeing 787-9 will be used for the route, featuring 30 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 234 economy seats.

Before the pandemic, San Francisco had 17.7% of the traffic, accounting for over 200 travelers per day while Seattle had 4.3% of the traffic, accounting for roughly 50 passengers per day

When American first announced this route, it was welcomed since no other US airline flew nonstop from the US to Bangalore. American wanted to have the first-mover advantage in the market. But all that has changed. United has announced it will fly daily between San Francisco and Bangalore; this was initially supposed to launch in May 2021, but has been delayed until May 2022. Air India too, has planned to fly up to two weekly between San Francisco and Bangalore.

Before the pandemic, San Francisco had 17.7% of the traffic (the most of any US city), accounting for over 200 travelers per day while Seattle had 4.3% of the traffic, accounting for roughly 50 passengers per day. American was relying on connecting traffic. Only time will tell if American is successful on the Seattle-Bangalore route.

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