The first major decision by Ashwani Lohani after taking over as CMD of Air India is as controversial as it can get.

AI has decided to launch a tri-weekly service to San Francisco from Delhi starting December 2. This can’t help but make one question how serious the airline is about being a major player in the global arena.

The argument for starting the service is perhaps the same as it was about eight years ago when, during the tenure of V Thulasidas, AI had toyed with the idea of connecting Bengaluru with San Francisco — this followed the logic that the Indian IT hub should be connected to Silicon Valley. 

This old argument perhaps got an impetus with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US West Coast.

The route didn’t work then and there are even lesser reasons for it to work now. Agreed that aviation fuel prices are at an all-time low, there is a greater emphasis on Digital India and there couldn’t be a better place to connect with than San Francisco. But one only has to look at the number of big international players who are providing daily connections to San Francisco, and that too at enhanced frequencies from India, to realise how wrong the AI decision is.

For instance, Emirates operates 186 flights a week to India including four services a day to Dubai from Delhi.

The airline has a daily connection from Dubai on its Airbus A-380 to San Francisco. British Airways offers two daily services from Delhi and Mumbai to London, from where there are two daily flights to San Francisco. 

Given this scenario, it makes very little sense to start a service which operates only thrice a week. Not only will the cost of operating the service be too high for Air India but if the main reason is to help IT professionals find greater connectivity with Silicon Valley, how much sense does a tri-weekly service make?

Gestation period Criticism is already rife within the airline. While some sources maintain that AI is likely to lose ₹30-35 lakh per flight on this sector, others are raising concerns about there not being enough time to sell it in the market. Ideally, every new flight has a gestation period of six months before launch so that it can be advertised and sold in the market.

comment COMMENT NOW