“Anything you can do, we can do better,” appears to be the mantra at Air India. Just weeks after Emirates announced the world’s longest non-stop commercial flight, the Indian airline has upped the ante with a new Boeing 777-200 offering.

Air India is about to claim the record for operating the world’s longest non-stop commercial flight, having announced a new 18-hour route from Bangalore to San Francisco. That’s a whopping 14,000 km halfway-around-the-world journey, which bests Qantas’ service between Sydney and Dallas Fort Worth – 13,370 km.

Dubai-based airline Emirates announced plans to link Dubai and Panama City next year, which is a lengthy 13,760 km, lasting 17 hours and 35 minutes. That still may be the longest daily service, albeit briefly, which is kicks off February 1, 2016.

The Air India route, which may possibly be based out of New Delhi, is announced at a time when the Indian population of Silicon Valley is booming, as other news outlets have highlighted. Notably, Microsoft and Google are now led by Indian CEOs – Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai, respectively.

Bangalore is also poised to welcome the Shangri-La Hotel Bengaluru. The palatial 19-storey hotel sits in a leafy blue ribbon suburb on Palace Road, high above the city’s skyline, with rooms starting at a minimum of 41 square metres, featuring executive desks, window-side sofa and locally sourced New Gold Vein marble bathrooms.