> Increases the risk of using Russian airspace
Air India has always had a YOLO attitude to air traffic control. I'm somewhat surprised America doesn't restrict inbound and outbound flights from overflying Russia.
Air India has always had a YOLO attitude to air traffic control. I'm somewhat surprised America doesn't restrict inbound and outbound flights from overflying Russia.
What do you mean by this? Do you have some examples in mind. Also, the airline is a different entity now from a few years back.
> I'm somewhat surprised America doesn't restrict inbound and outbound flights from overflying Russia.
I am sure they would have but this might have been a concession few governments might have secured to keep flights economically viable.
AI 121 came to mind [1]. I've also been on domestic Air India flights where e.g. the plane never bothered leveling off. We just flew from Bombay to Delhi at a 30-degree angle.
[1] https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/2323889-air-india-flight-121
You mean a misunderstanding arising from a glitch in the app? https://twitter.com/QuebecTango/status/1496835604503576582
> We just flew from Bombay to Delhi at a 30-degree angle.
I didn't realise Avatar was commercially operational already. Someone should update the Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(spacecraft)
Air India has plenty of real issues worth criticising. There's no need to make up plainly nonsensical stuff.
That would make a lot of non-stops not viable. Russia is gigantic.
Between America and whom? The only places I'm imagining going nonviable are Central Asia. (China Airlines' New York <> Taipei is a 16-hour flight and doesn't overfly Russia.)
(It probably could be viable direct with limited passengers/cargo, but financially unviable).
https://onemileatatime.com/news/air-canada-london-mumbai-fli...
But if you fly this route on Air India, it's still non-stop, utilizing Russian airspace: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AIC188/history/20230610/...
UA867: https://www.flightera.net/en/flight/United+Airlines-San+Fran...
It would need quite a diversion to avoid russian airspace: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=sfo-del
Newark-Mumbai by United also cancelled: https://www.indianeagle.com/travelbeats/united-airlines-susp...
sfo-cts-del is 9.9% longer according to that website, that doesn't seem that much especially if its just cruising.
http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=sfo-Cts-del&MS=wls&DU=nm
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_787_Dreamliner
Add some winds, takeoffs/landings in the “wrong direction”, weather diversions and it probably needs a tech stop in at least one direction to do that routing. Maybe both.
777-200LR could do it easily, but United doesn’t operate any, and few others do
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boeing_777_orders_an...
Well, of course the Air India plane where this discussion started was one of those 777s
Sometimes it's easier/cheaper to avoid a country's airspace through a slight diversion than pay the overfly costs. Some country's ATC's can be kinda hostile/annoying/unprofessional/expensive. (I've heard China likes surprise military airspace restrictions that make flight planning annoying).
Plenty of routes that don't take shortest path for geo-political & artificial cost reasons (but you don't hear climate change activists raising issues with that much).