American to Inaugurate its First Flight From USA to India Tonight

Growing segment

The ultralong, non-stop-flight segment is growing faster than any other distance category. An average of 21 daily flights this month are 15 hours or longer, and most involve a U.S. airport, according to a USA TODAY analysis of OAG data from Back Aviation Solutions.

Henry Joyner, American's senior vice president of planning, says the India route has been a priority for Fort Worth-based American since the government granted authority to fly it earlier this year. Meeting the needs of Indian customers turned out to be one of several challenges. The airline could have racked up a large consulting bill to figure out its target market but instead obtained free advice from its employees. Members of the Indian Employees Resource Group, about 150 people mostly in management and information technology, advised executives on everything from promotions to cuisine.

Flight promotion

The group influenced marketing, for instance, by recommending promotion of the flights at India Independence Day festivals last August in Chicago and New York.

American also devised a menu mostly of northern Indian food that excludes beef and pork in deference to Indian travelers. Hindus do not eat beef, and Muslims do not eat pork. The menus also contain more vegetarian choices than usual, such as the first-class option of channa masala, a traditional dish with chickpeas, biryani rice, spinach and mushrooms.

"This group of employees, they know the market," says Rekha Rao, who grew up in Delhi and works in American's corporate planning department.

American is relying on corporate travelers to fill its premium seats and largely ethnic Indian travelers to fill coach class. U.S. companies that do a lot of business in India have been seeking the service, says Don Casey, who heads international planning for American.

Visiting abroad

The new service was timed to start at the beginning of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, when many Indians living abroad return home to visit.

Other challenges presented potential deal breakers for American along the way. Seasonal winds, for instance, require American to fly over the North Pole from February through October to save fuel. From November through January, the flight will fly over western Russia and northern Europe.

But U.S. airlines didn't have fly-over rights for Russia. Obtaining them last month involved high-level talks between governments.

The flight's length also forced American to navigate around pilots' labor rules. The existing pilots contract capped scheduled duty time at 18 hours, adequate to accommodate pilots on what becomes American's second-longest flight -- New York John F. Kennedy to Tokyo Narita. But the cap didn't leave enough cushion to guarantee that pilots could complete the Delhi-Chicago flight.

The negotiated fix: The maximum duty time was stretched to 20 hours, and American agreed to staff the flight with two pairs of pilots, union spokesman Gregg Overman says. One pair will sit in first class while the other pair flies the plane. They'll switch midway through the flight.