First non-stop flight from Silicon Valley, San Francisco touches down in Bengaluru

Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service

San Francisco International Airport has welcomed the decision of India’s national flag carrier Air India to fly the first-ever non-stop flights between San Francisco and Bengaluru to cater to the growing demand of passengers.

Beginning January 9, Air India will operate two non-stop flights per week to Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore, departing on Saturday and Tuesday. The return flight from Bangalore arrives on Mondays and Thursdays, the airport said in a statement. Air India will operate the flights using state-of-the-art Boeing 777-200LR long-range aircraft equipped with 238 seats, comprising 8 First Class, 35 Business Class, and 195 Economy Class seats. The airport has now become the first airport in southern India to have a non-stop flight to the US. Ambassador TV Nagendra Prasad, Consul General of India, San Francisco inaugurated the maiden flight.

With a distance of nearly 14,000km, the BLR-SFO non-stop is the longest route to be run by Air India (AI) and any US carrier. Despite the pandemic, the maiden flight from San Francisco was fully booked.

An all-women pilot team of Air India flew over the North Pole on the world’s longest air route and the flight from San Francisco (SFO) to reach Bengaluru on January 10 covering a distance of about 16,000 kilometers.

 “Flying through the North Pole is very challenging and airline companies send their best and experienced pilots on this route. This time Air India has given responsibilities to a woman captain for the journey from San Francisco to Bengaluru via polar route,” an Air India official had said.

“Most people in the world will not see the North Pole or even its map in their lifetime. I truly feel privileged and humbled by the trust posed in me by the civil aviation ministry and our flag carrier. It is a golden opportunity to command a Boeing 777 inaugural SFO-BLR, one of the world’s longest flights over the North Pole,” Captain Zoya Agarwal told the media.

Way to go girls! Professional, qualified & confident, the all women cockpit crew takes off from San Francisco to Bengaluru on@airindiain’s flight to fly over the North Pole. Our Nari Shakti achieves a historic first, said Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs (I/C); Civil Aviation (I/C); & MoS Commerce & Industry.