Subscribe to Point Me Awake, a morning jolt of the top stories in travel every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday — straight to your inbox. Our curated list includes deals, reviews, and the best ways to use points and miles.
After months of hemming and hawing, Delta has announced it will begin offering year-round nonstop service from New York (JFK) to Mumbai (BOM) starting on December 22, 2019. This comes as a bit of a surprise considering Delta’s partner, Jet Airways, recently had to shutter its operation in India due to financial issues.
Of course, Delta being Delta, they also took the opportunity to openly criticize Middle Eastern carriers in its press release about a route launch.
Schedule & Aircraft
Delta will fly its newly refurbished Boeing 777-200LR which features the new Delta One suite product, Delta Premium Select (premium economy), Delta Comfort + and Main Cabin. The flight will have the following schedule:
| Departs | Arrives |
| JFK at 9:15 p.m. | BOM at 10:50 P.M. (next day) |
| BOM at 12:50 a.m. | JFK at 6:35 a.m |
A Not-So-Subtle Jab At Middle Eastern Carriers
Delta is quick to note that it used to offer direct service to Mumbai, but was forced to suspend service in 2009 as “illegally subsidized Middle East carriers made the route untenable.”
The press release even bends over backwards to praise the Trump administration for making this route possible…
“Subsidies pose a serious threat to American workers,” said Peter Carter, Delta’s Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer. “Every long-haul route lost or foregone to subsidized Middle East carrier competition costs more than 1,500 American jobs, so we are pleased to bring this route back into service thanks to landmark agreements the Trump administration reached with Qatar and the U.A.E.”
The Upshot
It’s fantastic that Delta is going to offer nonstop service to Mumbai from the U.S when it launches service from New York. However, I question the need for Delta to politicize the new route by spinning the attention against the Middle Eastern carriers.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
2 comments
Nice article, but United already flies a daily nonstop to BOM from EWR, so Delta is not the first to offer this flight from the US.
Thanks for catching that! (And Air India flies it too.) Fixed.