5.9 million passengers traveled between the U.S. and India in the year leading to July 2024 (about 8,000 daily each way), making it the world’s largest underserved long-haul market.
Several factors contribute to the limited non-stop flight options:
– Very long flight distances
– Low yield due to limited premium traffic
– Russian airspace restrictions for U.S. carriers
– Air India‘s aircraft constraints
– Profitability concerns
– Strong competition from one-stop routes
Among unserved routes, Seattle-Delhi stands out as the largest with 129,000 roundtrip passengers. Despite having the shortest distance among top 10 unserved routes, it has the lowest base fare ($550 each way), making it financially challenging. The top 10 unserved markets collectively represent $1.4 billion in revenue.
| Airport pair | Roundtrip passengers* (August 2023-July 2024) | Passengers daily each way* | Base fare (one-way)** | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Delhi | 129,000 | 177 | $550 | Seattle’s largest unserved long-haul market |
| Dallas/Fort Worth-Hyderabad | 99,000 | 136 | $873 | Dallas’ largest unserved long-haul market |
| New York JFK-Hyderabad | 97,000 | 133 | $855 | Air India flew Hyderabad-Mumbai-JFK on the 777-200LR in 2009/2010. Hyderabad is JFK’s third-largest unserved long-haul destination |
| Delhi-Los Angeles | 95,000 | 130 | $790 | Air India flew Delhi-Frankfurt-Los Angeles on the 747-400 between 2006-2008. Delhi is Los Angeles’ third-largest unserved long-haul destination |
| Washington Dulles-Hyderabad | 94,000 | 129 | $569 | Air India flew Hyderabad-Delhi-Dulles between 2017-2020. Hyderabad is Dulles’ largest unserved long-haul destination |
| New York JFK-Ahmedabad | 88,000 | 121 | $616 | JFK’s fourth-largest unserved long-haul market |
| Chicago O’Hare-Hyderabad | 83,000 | 114 | $689 | Air India had limited 777-200LR non-stop flights in 2021/2022. It flew Hyderabad-Delhi-O’Hare on the 777-300ER between 2010-2020. Hyderabad is O’Hare’s second-largest unserved long-haul market (after Manila) |
| San Francisco-Hyderabad | 80,000 | 110 | $1,014 | San Francisco’s second-largest unserved long-haul destination |
| New York JFK-Bengaluru | 74,000 | 101 | $1,061 | JFK’s fifth-largest unserved long-haul market |
| Los Angeles-Mumbai | 71,000 | 97 | $911 | Air India served it via Frankfurt on the 747-400 between 2004-2006. Mumbai is Los Angeles’ fourth-largest unserved market |
| * Rounded for easier viewing | * Excl. seasonality. Double for both ways | ** Excl. fuel surcharge, taxes, and other add-ons. Averaged across all passengers in all cabins |
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
