Air India announced plans to commence flights from the financial centre to New York, Frankfurt, and Paris early next year as well as the inauguration of a direct flight between Mumbai and San Francisco on Thursday.

Jyotiraditya Scindia, the minister of civil aviation, officially launched the Mumbai-San Francisco route, which would run three times a week, virtually from the city.

The newly introduced Boeing 777-200LR aircraft will fly the route three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. According to a release, this will increase the airline's frequency between India and the US to 40 non-stop flights each week.

The airline launched its three times weekly route between Bengaluru and San Francisco on December 2.

Air India currently offers non-stop service between Mumbai and Newark, Delhi and San Francisco, Bengaluru and Chicago, and New York, Newark, Washington D.C., and Washington D.C. from Mumbai.

Mumbai is still being developed by Air India to become a key hub for both domestic and international traffic. The routes between Mumbai and San Francisco will be followed by those between Mumbai and New York City (JFK), Frankfurt, and Paris. There will also be more domestic flights departing from Mumbai, as stated by the announcement..

After launching the flight, Scindia declared that the nation's civil aviation industry is poised for a boom and revolution.

The minister remarked, "We need to push further, stronger, faster…”

Ministers and officials joined virtually from Delhi and Mumbai for the ceremony.

The Mumbai-San Francisco service, according to Air India Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Campbell Wilson, is a significant advancement in the development of the new Air India. "Restoring a substantial Air India long-haul hub in the city of Mumbai is a big milestone." At 14:30, the first flight AI 179 from Mumbai to San Francisco departed without delay.

Early in 2023, non-stop service from Mumbai to New York, Paris, and Frankfurt will begin, according to the head of Air India.

Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, stated that the state is working on airport expansion and has plans to build helipads in each taluka to improve air connectivity.

Additionally, he stated that on December 10, 1,50,988 passengers passed through Mumbai Airport in a 24-hour period.

While Scindia and other officials were in the capital, Wilson and Shinde virtually attended the function from Mumbai.

The Tata company acquired the loss-making Air India in January of this year, and since then, the airline has been working to increase its fleet and service offerings.

Wilson announced last month that the airline would grow its market share on both domestic and foreign routes to 30%.