It takes a village to raise a child. Similarly, it takes a community to get direct flight service to their native city. After the state government of Telangana sent a delegation to Delta Airlines with the proposal for direct Atlanta to Hyderabad flights, the American Telugu Association (ATA) held meetings with Air India’s CEO Campbell Wilson in Washington DC, seeking direct flights to Hyderabad from major US cities. Their petition coincided with CEO Wilson’s presentation on Air India’s passenger-friendly moves, milestones in its transformation journey, and expansion plans for the United States.
Statistically, Hyderabad is the third largest source of international travelers flying abroad every year. Nearly two million passengers took outbound flights from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to key destinations including USA in 2023-2024 alone. Surprisingly, no airline is serving Hyderabad directly from USA, at present. Air India’s Chicago ORD to HYD nonstop service continues to be deferred starting from the pandemic, and it shows no sign of a comeback in the near future.
The Telugu Diaspora’s constant demand for direct air connectivity makes the untapped US to Hyderabad market highly commercial for airlines, be it Air India or Delta. Apparently, Delta is looking to make a comeback to India with more focus on New Delhi or Mumbai than Hyderabad in 2026, depending on the delivery of new A350-1000 planes. Therefore, Air India with its renewed promises to win back the trust of travelers seems to be the only beacon of hope for direct travel to Hyderabad from the US cities having Telugu Indians in growing numbers.
The demand for Dallas to Hyderabad flights nonstop is higher than that for nonstop service from any other US city. In 2023-24, a majority of over one million travelers flew to Dallas, New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Houston, Atlanta, and San Francisco from Hyderabad RGI Airport, as the airport data reveals. In July 2024, nearly 6,000 Telugu NRIs submitted a petition to Air India, urging for direct flights from Hyderabad to Dallas Fort/Worth, home to the largest community of Telugu immigrants in America.
“Telugu is the third most spoken Indian language in the US. The culturally vibrant and economically thriving community of over 1.3 million Telugu expats comprising OCI cardholders, EB5 visa holders, H1B professionals, their dependents (on H4 visa), students, their visiting parents, and tourists from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh deserve the convenience of flying directly to and from Hyderabad without international transit in a third country,” said Jayanth Challa, the President-elect of American Telugu Association.
“The lack of nonstop air connectivity between USA and Hyderabad forces them to book one-stop flights with layovers in Europe or the Middle East. The long travel time of one or two-stop flights, along with layover duration, makes it difficult for economy travelers to be seated all the way. Besides, the lack of clarity about transit visa requirements for Schengen airport layovers leaves Indian nationals with indecision over whether to travel through Europe,” said Sourav Agarwal, the Editor of Travel Beats, a leading portal for US-India travel news and Indian Diaspora stories.
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I hope Air India launches direct flights between HYD and SFO. So many Telugu people about half the Indian population in Bay Area. So many people complaining about layovers including immigration and baggage transit.
I’m from Hyderabad and I really really want to see a direct flight from US to Hyderabad. But there are too many complications preventing this.
1. Opening foreign routes is under the purview of central govt. and central govt. doesn’t like diffusing demand away from Delhi and Mumbai.
2. A350 improved its range considerably. However, US to Hyderabad is still pushing A350 range to its limit. To make sure it has sufficient fuel for the range, the airlines will have to decrease the number of passengers. This means, it will try to increase premium economy or business class seats. This means the fares will be higher.
3. Emirates and Qatar provide very cost effective routes and Indians are very price sensitive. A few hundred dollars of increase in fare and we are ready to explore cheaper options which means the direct route might not get as many travellers as needed.
Hello! We must say your observation is very insightful. Thank you for sharing such significant insights with us and our readers!
I think Delta air should Partner With indiGo, they are already talking about partnering.I think it would be benificial for delta to enter the Indian market as they would have major success out of cities like NYC and Atlanta. It is the only major airline out of the three US major that doesn’t currently fly to India(they did in 2019 before the pandemic). Though Dheli or Mumbai may be better options to start off, Hyderabad wouldn’t be a bad city. It could be a good next city to offer flights to. I do know there is also a large West Indian Marathi population in Atlanta and a Mumbai flight would definitely help not only Atlanta but Connect the US to India.