United Airlines will open its counters on July 17, for booking on its flights from Newark to Delhi. Sources from the industry said the airline will start selling the tickets from Friday night.
"The airline will start selling for flights starting from July 23 to July 28," a senior executive said.
The executive added that the airline is in the process of getting approvals for flights in August. The tickets, he added, will be available on the airline's site and its travel partners.
The development comes a day after Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said United has got approval to operate 18 flights. While Puri had mentioned that these flights will be between Delhi-Newark and Delhi-San Francisco, the bookings will right now open for the first route.
Apart from United, Air France and airlines from the UAE - Emirates and Etihad among others - have also got the go-ahead to operate these flights under what is being called as Air Bubbles.
Also read: What are Air Bubbles flights and how are they different from those operated under Vande Bharat
The government has indicated that talks with Germany and the UK are also on, and announcements are expected soon.
The United flights, like the repatriation service under Vande Bharat Mission, will be restricted and only Indian citizens and those with OCI cardholders will be allowed to travel.
Earlier, United flights were coming empty into India. And only Air India was flying in passengers from the US.
Prince Mathews Thomas heads the corporate bureau of Moneycontrol. He has been covering the business world for 16 years, having worked in The Hindu Business Line, Forbes India, Dow Jones Newswires, The Economic Times, Business Standard and The Week. A Chevening scholar, Prince has also authored The Consolidators, a book on second generation entrepreneurs.
