India's Longest Nonstop Flights, Ranked
India now has some genuinely epic nonstop flights. A single hop from Bengaluru to the US west coast keeps you in the air for the better part of a day. Here are the longest nonstop routes you can fly from India right now, ranked by distance, with the time you would spend on board. Almost all of them are flown by Air India, which has built much of its long-haul network around these ultra-long routes; a couple are also served by US carriers.
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1
Bengaluru to San Francisco
India's longest nonstop, and one of the longest flights in the world. Air India flies it with a Boeing 777-200LR, the aircraft built specifically for ultra-long range. Depending on the day's winds it can route either west across the Atlantic and Europe or east across the Pacific, which is part of what makes it such a talked-about flight.
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2
Bengaluru to New York
Air India's second giant out of Bengaluru, linking India's tech capital straight to New York. Like the San Francisco route, it is a true ultra-long-haul that crosses the top of the globe.
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3
Mumbai to Newark
Mumbai's longest nonstop, into the New York area. Air India serves it, and United also connects Newark and Mumbai, so there is usually more than one way to fly it.
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4
Delhi to San Francisco
A workhorse between the capital and the US west coast, flown by both Air India and United. Westbound it often takes a polar route, arcing over the Arctic rather than across the Pacific.
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5
Delhi to Washington
Air India's nonstop to the Washington DC area, a useful single hop for the US east coast and onward connections.
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6
Delhi to Chicago
Air India links Delhi to Chicago O'Hare, one of the biggest hubs in the US and a common gateway for travellers heading deeper into North America.
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7
Delhi to New York
The classic Delhi to New York nonstop, among the busiest India to US routes, flown by Air India into both JFK and Newark.
How these were measured
The distances here are great-circle distances, the shortest path over a round Earth, worked out from each airport's coordinates. The on-board times are this site's nonstop estimates; the real flight is usually a little different because of winds and routing, and the eastbound and westbound legs are not the same length in time. Schedules and aircraft change too, so treat the operator notes as a current snapshot rather than a promise.
What an 18-hour flight is actually like
Seventeen or eighteen hours in a seat sounds brutal, and it is long, but these flights are built for it: two full meal services, a long dark cruise designed for sleeping, and modern cabins. Honestly, the hardest part is usually not the flight itself but the jet lag waiting at the other end, which is worth planning for. If you are flying one of these, our guide on beating jet lag, east versus west is the companion read.
See any of these for yourself
Want the exact distance, time and local arrival for one of these monsters, or for your own route? Open Bengaluru to San Francisco in the calculator and watch the arc climb over the pole, or type in any pair of airports.