I did a search on India and related topics here and found a lot of useful info distributed/spread around. Being seen as an FF addict, I get a lot of requests for help from friends and family. Wanted to consolidate my knowledge and share it with others interested.

I am volunteering to kick-off of a low intensity efforts to pool info on India from various FT posts and hand it over to someone more motivated.

I am considering the following main themes:
- Premium travel to/from India (including RTW)
- Award travel to/from India
- Destination/misc travel info
- Deals, discounts, etc.
- Mileage runs for those involved with India (origin, destination, visas, etc.)

I do not plan to generate any new content, simply create a newbie FAQ type of info. Indogulf, Punki, etc. are a lot more knowledgeable on this topic so my only goal is to collect channel their wisdom and sage advice to the extent possible.

If there is any other effort underway, I would love to contribute and backoff from taking direct responsibility. I travel a lot and so find it hard to be in regular email touch though I do read FT regularly and catchup if I have long breaks.

Here are some basic fare/cost related links: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/004186.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/002478.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/002346.html

i am game

Have you looked at the FAQ (I gather in the past few months it has not been updated) http://cheiron.tzo.com/

B747-437B (Sean) has tons of info. Join him
at one of his layovers and he'll give you'll
enough info too.

Cheers

Akhullar, the link was great. Obviously, I did not list all the experts here and B747-437B (Sean) does seem to be a wise soul. Will try to get some dump from him when the opportunity arises.

drbala, I suggest we use this thread to summarize as much info as possible and hope that someone takes ownership and setsup permanently on a good site.

"dump" from him

I don't think he would be that grateful.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Bourne
Dump from whom

Yeah, who you calling a dump here? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

"dump" from B747.

It was a light hearted joke. Dump has a lot of meanings. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I was using the term from software - dump to mean image dump (get the lowdown). Not garbage dump http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Sorry if I offended anyone by inappropriately using techy language in a general forum.

i'd be happy to help out where possible. just let me know as things progress. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

and once more http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

[This message has been edited by indogulf (edited 05-15-2001).]

I can help you with the reward travel numbers for India. I made a chart for points required for travel from NA to India a while and could upload some information if you would like.

This becomes urgent. I read in Flyertalk technical problems that the bulletin board is closing on May 19

Drbala: I don't think so. There is some down time today due to a software upgrade but I haven't heard anything that says this board will be shut down May 19. Do you have a link?

Nah! Here's the message for today/tonight!!

This is to let everybody know that the FlyerTalk bulletin board system will be down for approximately 2 - 4 hours late this evening, Tuesday, May 15, 2001, for maintenance.
This period of downtime will commence at 11:00pm MST.

Thank you for your patince in this matter.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forumcgi/ubbmisc.cgi?action=getannounce&ForumNumber=109&Start=2452045.99&End=2452046&Session=2452045.0542

----

And soon, maybe 5/19/01, FT will move to a better neighborhood/server/format! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif Thats all! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif As far as I know! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Iread the following on FT technical problems
WebFlyer
Member
Posts: 91
From:Cascade, CO
Registered: Apr 99
posted 05-10-2001 09:50 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actually folks, it looks like those pages will be going away soon.
Urbanite, the company that provides the service, has decided to radically change their business model, in light of the changing internet economy. This change has made it impossible for WebFlyer to keep offering this service, even if we were to start charging for it (and we don't want to do that).

I was actually establishing a list of our homepage members in order to blast out a notice of this today when I came across this post. I'll still send that notice out today or early tomorrow, but consider this an advance warning.

Free services seem to be dropping like flies, and I apologize for this sudden notice, but we were informed late in the game.

We have been informed that our homepages will be turned off May 19th. The fact that their servers seem to be suddenly crawling makes me a little nervous that things are already going on behind the scenes.

I would advise looking for a new free home or at least archiving your pages on your computers in case the performance continues to degrade or outright fail.

IP: Logged

drballa -- this doesn't seem like that big a deal to me because lots of sites offer free web page hosting, probably even your isp.

moondog - i dont think he's trying to make a big deal out of it but rather warn peple to move their pages to another site so they dont lose the info

What is the result of the original question? I am interested in this topic, being of (East) Indian origin, who goes to India once every other year, and who has numberous friends and relatives who go to, or come from, India.

I am particularly interested in information on Air India, Indian Airlines, other domestic Indian airlines, and the Indian raliway system - esp the express or touristy services, that it offers.

I was interested in following up to this post. Has this information been complied else can we start doing so and how do you suggest going about with it.

Thanks.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by enjoystravel:
I did a search on India and related topics here and found a lot of useful info distributed/spread around. Being seen as an FF addict, I get a lot of requests for help from friends and family. Wanted to consolidate my knowledge and share it with others interested.

I am volunteering to kick-off of a low intensity efforts to pool info on India from various FT posts and hand it over to someone more motivated.

I am considering the following main themes:
- Premium travel to/from India (including RTW)
- Award travel to/from India
- Destination/misc travel info
- Deals, discounts, etc.
- Mileage runs for those involved with India (origin, destination, visas, etc.)

I do not plan to generate any new content, simply create a newbie FAQ type of info. Indogulf, Punki, etc. are a lot more knowledgeable on this topic so my only goal is to collect channel their wisdom and sage advice to the extent possible.

If there is any other effort underway, I would love to contribute and backoff from taking direct responsibility. I travel a lot and so find it hard to be in regular email touch though I do read FT regularly and catchup if I have long breaks.

Here are some basic fare/cost related links: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/004186.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/002478.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/002346.html </font>

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by swaghmar:
I was interested in following up to this post. Has this information been complied else can we start doing so and how do you suggest going about with it.

Thanks.

</font>

Not really - Start a new topic - i.e Currency exchange,Hotel choices etc. and someone will provide feedback.

bump..

------------------
Visit FlyerTalk Dining http://flyertalk.com/diningfr.shtml

Any info on discounted Biz Class Tickets to the subcontinent?

I have not been able to follow-up effectively and apologize to FTers for that. Someday, I will get a chance to post my archives here (from the various loose notes, spreadsheets and links I have archived).

Award travel to India has changed a lot. There is long thread on Buzz regarding OW awards.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/009294.html

The following is a US west coast centric summary. US East COast is actually easier to get much better deals (work with reputable TAs in NYC, CHI or DTT).

The toughest challenge is during peak time (Dec-Feb and mid-June-early Sep). Other times, 1stair.net gives you a good idea of the biz class fares about $3K-$4K RT in business class. Travel agents can get you fares from $1700 (China Airlines, etc.) to $3000 (most airlines) in business class.

Here are some promotions that specialists in India travel are/were offering during Nov/Dec 2003:

Lufthansa: Business class seats for about $4K adult price and get a confirmed upgrade to First Class. LH has biz fares from various cities to MAA or select gateways in India for $3.5K-$4K. LH has many unpublished promotions with TAs. LH is flying 28 flts a week to India in Jan-Feb 04 and is very aggressive in filling its seats using TAs.

TG: LAX-MAA in business class for $2,800 for adult. This is again a special fare available only through TAs. They also offer similar fare to DEL (didn't check BOM, CCU). They will be offering direct flts to BLR in 2004.

AA/BA: In conjunction with the now expired business class fare sales to Europe (AA offered $900-$1100 in business I class to Europe from many gateways for travel JDec23-Dec 30 returning by Jan 2). BA offered OK fares from LHR-India. AA code shares to BKK and you can get others from there. Business class via Pacific is much easier to interline as most Pacific based carriers service biz pax fairly well during reservations and ground services.

NW/KLM: They had a 2 for 1 to Europe for trips between Dec 23-Jan2 which some TAs were combining with onward travel to India for reasonable fares. They do offer promos with TAs but these seem hard to find (NW upgraded $2300 RT Y fare to BF at the time of booking through some TAs).

DL/AF: AF had a lot of business class specials to India in 2003. DL worked with some of them. I don't fly them much so I can't recall the details.

VS: They increased frequency to 3 times a week during part of Jan/Feb 2004 from LON (they use AI's rights). One of the few airlines you can redeem awards using AMEX rewards.

Most Airlines: Offer great fares to BKK. BKK-India used to be very limited availability in the past (TG, IA/AI, CX) but now there is significantly improved availability (BKK direct or via SIN, KUL, etc.). You can get many RT fares to India in the $2300-$3000 during peak time and about $500 less during non-peak travel. ANA, UA, JAL, etc.

AC: AC now has a non-stop polar route flt YYZ-DEL. They have not been discounting J much through the TAs I work with, but I will checkout when I am in Toronto next qtr. It is very convenient for those going to DEL.

AI: Has 2 for 1 deals in F/J but it is based on IATA fares which is high. The discounted fare offered by TAs is not really a steal ($3K-$4K for Biz) but with the introduction of improved seating, new aircraft, 24-hr call center, some of the FTers have been pleased with this option. They fly from ORD, JFK, EWR and plan to start to west coast in 2004. They code share with SQ and MH out of LAX and dump low fare biz class if the load factor is low (I saw one for $2200 RT LAX-BLR on MH codeshare during non-peak months).

SQ: The published fares are among the highest (almost the same as US, European carriers). They do offer specials but very targeted. 1stair.net is one decent source. Many TAs have access during off peak time though peak time they quote high rates.

CMB Routing: India has significantly opened up the CMB-India route. You find great RTW fares from CMB and great OW biz pricing West Coast-BKK-CMB. CMB connectivity to most Indian metros should grow high double digits in 2004 and later. I find no problems getting J/D seats from CMB at decent rates (I usually fly to BLR or MAA For $300 RT). CX has decent availabilty on BKK-CMB in J/D.

2nd tier carriers: China Airlines, Eva Air, etc. have great promotions through agents. CI had low cost upgrades from coach for several quarters in 2003 and have similar promotions through TAs. I have posted elsewhere that I consider CI business pretty much enhanced economy. TPE-DEL is better as it is usually empty (there were 4 of us in a fairly busy season once while the coach is practically FULL). Eva is a little better in business but definitely not comparable to CX, SQ or even MH. I have not checked out Aerofloat, etc that do offer a lot of deals and one stop connectivity to North America (772/767 craft).

AMEX 2-for-1 Platinum is a good deal if you route through BKK (for example ANA offers $4300 RT for 2 to BKK and you can get BKK to India on TG for about $600 RT discounted).

None of these are available through Travelocity/Expedia/Orbitz but only through any seasoned travel agent specializing in India. Some of the TAs I have mentioned in other posts are Pan Air Travels (310-915-0088) in LA area, Future Travels (Suraj 630 424 1060 EXT 104) in Detroit Area, International Travels (or some such variation) in the LA area. I look for at least 8 to 10 years in business, no BBB complaints as a minimum or a strong personal reference.

There seems to be a revival of business class travel to India both from the corporate side and leisure side. I find biz class in India very full on a variety of airlines but with some of the ideas mentioned above have always been able to get something even with a short notice.

[This message has been edited by enjoystravel (edited Dec 11, 2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by MSP2000:
Any info on discounted Biz Class Tickets to the subcontinent?</font>

You should look for some consolidators. Airlines that sell to consolidators are LH,Emirates,Swiss amongst the majors. Check some of the Urls posted earlier in this hread.

i love my india