Washington, Jul 7 (PTI) The first direct Air India flight from Delhi to Washington DC landed at the Dulles International Airport, connecting the capitals of the world’s two largest democracies. Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna, Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani and Commercial Director of Air India Pankaj Shrivastava were among the passengers on the inaugural flight AI 103 to Washington. Air India has deployed its 238-seater Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft to cater to the new direct service to the US. The plane offers eight seats in first class, 35 in business and 195 in economy class. The state-run airline will operate a bigger 321-seater Boeing 777-300ER aircraft between July 9 and 17, according to the airline spokesperson. Washington is the the fifth destination for Air India. The service to the US capital will be offered three times a week. Apart from Washington, Air India flies to four US airports – New York, Newark, Chicago and San Francisco. There are daily flights to Newark, New York and Chicago. However, its Delhi-San Francisco flight is operated six times a week. The national carrier also plans to fly to other destinations in the US, such as Los Angeles and Houston among others. Air India’s operations to the US account for 20 per cent of the total revenue of the national carrier. In the last fiscal, the state-owned carrier mopped up an estimated Rs 3,200 crore revenue, which is an increase of 17 per cent over FY 2014-2015, from its US operations alone. PTI
