San Francisco emerges as Number 2 gateway for Indians

Washington: After JFK airport in New York, San Francisco has emerged as the number two gateway for Indians in the US which is mainly driven by the expansion and new non-stop flights of Air India, according to officials who were in Mumbai this week to explore avenues to tap the huge Indian market. “Our market measurement shows there are about 1,100 passengers per day each way between San Francisco, the Bay Area and India,” Kevin Bumen, Chief Financial & Commercial Officer at San Francisco International Airport told PTI in an interview after concluding his two-day visit to Mumbai.

Air India, he said, has been a real bright spot during the pandemic with a carrier that grew and really made the most of a difficult market and made some big moves with their expansion in San Francisco. “Today San Francisco is the number two gateway in the US behind John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). We’re 17 flights a week. JFK has 21 flights a week. And if United Airlines were operating their full schedule, we (San Francisco) would be the number one airport in the US for India service. That would add an additional 14 flights a week if United was operating at full capacity,” he said.

Air India now has nonstop flights from San Francisco to New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. “It’s an exciting story,” said Bumen, who led a delegation of officials from San Francisco this week. The Indian travellers to San Francisco are now approaching the pre-pandemic level, said Hubertus Funke, executive vice president and chief tourism officer of the San Francisco Travel Association.