This article was last updated and fact checked on December 11, 2022 by Mani Karthik.
U.S. Airways resumed non-stop flights to India this week, almost a decade after ceasing them, a senior executive told Reuters.
American Airlines aims to grow its worldwide network, and Tom Lattig, managing director of EMEA sales, claimed India was “one of the greatest untapped markets.”
American Airlines resumed flights between New Delhi and New York over the weekend and will add flights between Bengaluru and Seattle in March.
According to Lattig, American Airlines is currently flying 90% of its pre-pandemic capacity domestically.
Also, once the US opened its borders last week, demand from Europe and the UK was robust, while demand from Mexico and portions of Latin America had surpassed 2019.
Lattig blamed the poor pace of vaccination in the area for the airline’s delayed recovery in Asia, where it is flying fewer than 25% of pre-pandemic capacity.
Globally, most current demand comes from tourists and friends. Lattig predicted that business travel will not reach 2019 levels until 2023, with Asia being the slowest to recover.
