Houston and Dallas are engaged in an aerial dogfight to determine which city will land the national airline of India.

 

Now, after more than a year of economic maneuvers, recent developments indicate that Air India Ltd. is poised for a final approach into the Texas metropolis selected to provide the state's first nonstop service to India.

 

The Lone Star rivals are playing for sky-high stakes.

 

Houston aviation officials estimate that bringing Air India to Bush Intercontinental Airport would generate at least $200 million in economic benefits to the area.
 

The North Texas pilots see twice the potential, claiming the India deal would have an economic impact of $400 million on the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

"Right now, there are no definite plans," says John Massey, manager of Air India's marketing program in New York City. "There are no formal decisions that have been arrived at yet, but factors for deciding will include assessment of traffic potential, revenue potential and demographics -- which will be a major determinant."

TWith 120,000 residents of Indian descent, Houston clearly has an advantage in demographics.

The 2000 Census showed 49,669 Indians in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but Metroplex boosters now say that number has risen to at least 80,000.

Dallas has been most active behind the scenes ever since Air India taxied the possibility of a Texas route onto the runway.

And with the carrier's acquisition last month of 50 aircraft from Chicago-based Boeing Inc. for $6.8 billion, both Lone Star cities are accelerating their efforts to become the destination of choice.

But one local Indo-American business figure fears Houston may be doing too little, too late.
 

"The airport authority and city can do more," says Dr. Randhir Sinha, a Clear Lake-based neurosurgeon who also serves as the president of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston.

 

"Dallas is a lot more aggressive than we are. Houston needs to take it to the next level," Sinha says.

Delayed takeoff for Houston

Air India has made an on-ground hub in the Texas market a key component of the carrier's expansion plan.

Under current conditions, Texas travelers must first fly to existing Air India hubs in New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles or Europe when connecting to India.

Dallas has followed the most active flight plan since Air India first made eyes at Texas.

Last year, a delegation of top airport and elected officials visited India as the Texas route started to take shape.

The Metroplex flight crew met specifically with India Minister of Civil Aviation Rajiv Pratap Rudy to plead their case. Included in the delegation U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who stressed the need for "this new link" between Texas and India.

A second Dallas delegation flew back in February of this year to meet with Air India.

"We are all working hard," notes Dallas businessman A.K. Mago, a former board member of the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, who made the inaugural trip in 2004.

Mago, president of a commercial real estate investment firm, says the Metroplex is a more preferable choice because D/FW Airport offers better facilities and less competition for Air India.
 

"I have lived in Dallas for 30-plus years," says Mago. "From my personal perspective I would like to have Dallas be chosen, but again it will be up to Air India to decide."

A local contingent will play catch-up with a trip to India in the next few weeks.

But Houston Airport System spokesman Genaro Pena won't name a date, passenger list or agenda, saying that a leak of such classified information would give Dallas an advantage.

"It's a very competitive fight," says, Pena who is charged with marketing the airport for new business.

At this point, the City of Houston does not have any incentives on the table to offer Air India and no plans to bring high-level elected officials into the bargaining process, says Pena.

Public incentives should be considered as a bargaining chip, suggests Jagdip Ahluwalia, executive director of Houston's Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.

"The City of Houston could look at offering incentives to Air India," Ahluwalia says. "At the end of the day it's a question of two equals, and the city with the best incentives will be better positioned. I wish the city had incentives to give them."

While both cities gear up for trips to India to meet with airline representatives, another stateside representative of the carrier remains tight-lipped about U.S. expansion plans.

"It's premature to comment on whether we are looking at either Houston or Dallas," says P.K. Gupta, regional director for Air India in New York.

"When that deal has matured we will definitely let everybody know," Gupta says.