Delta Returns to Mumbai After U.S. Pact on Persian Gulf Airlines

(Bloomberg) -- Delta Air Lines Inc. will resume flights to Mumbai, following an agreement between the U.S. and two Persian Gulf countries over government subsidies to their state-owned carriers.

The India service would begin next year, subject to government approval, Delta said in a statement Thursday. The Atlanta-based airline didn’t disclose what U.S. cities would get the nonstop flights.

Delta is the first U.S. carrier to announce new service since Qatar and the United Arab Emirates agreed to increase financial transparency at their airlines. U.S. carriers had said they were forced out of India and other foreign markets by the growth of subsidized Middle Eastern airlines.

Delta said it would expand a marketing alliance with Jet Airways India Ltd. so that passengers on the U.S.-to-Mumbai flight could connect to other cities within the country.

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