Direct flight from Amritsar to New York

From September 11, fly Amritsar to New York
The Indian Express reports that from 9/11, you can fly from Amritsar to New York
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=252396
Express News Service
Chandigarh, August 22: To cater to the huge number of NRIs in the state, Air India (AI) has decided to launch direct flight between Amritsar and New York (NY) from September 11.
Air India's B-777 aircraft would be the carrier of the direct Amritsar-Delhi-London-New York flight, which would take off four times a week from Amritsar and no extra fare will be charged if a passenger boards the flight from the Holy City.
Within five years, AI would get 111 new aircrafts to cover 100 destinations, said AI General Manager North India Rohita Jaidka here today in a press conference.
She said Amritsar-New York aircraft would have three classes, comprising eight seats in first class, 21 in business class and 263 in economy class. Notably, AI had launched three direct flights on Amritsar-Delhi-Birmingham-Toronto route in 2005.
She added that seamless transfer of baggage would also be introduced wherein two boarding passages would be issued to a passenger.
She said the connecting bus service to catch the flight would start from Jalandhar for no extra charge.
"AI generates around Rs 600 crore annually from this region while the contribution of Punjab is over Rs 100 crore," she said, adding that the market share in this region was 18 per cent and that Air India was also considering starting its services on the Amritsar-Delhi-San Francisco route. By 2012, AI would have a total fleet of 119 aircrafts, of which 111 would be new, she said.