India - need help please with advice buying a business class ticket to india

hello everyone..

new to flyertalk, first post. i am hoping someone coulld kindly help me. i can finally afford to fly business class with my family due to a work paid benefit. i am planning on travelling from toronto to new delhi, india for the whole month of november 2012. for 2 adults, 1 child, and one infant in lap (hoping to get an extra open seat), so far teh best i have found, total price, including taxes, for all 4 of us is:

yyz to del
klm: canadian $14400 (4600 each or so for adults)
turkish canadian $11700 (3800 each for adults)
jet airways: canadian $13300 (4000 each for adults)

my questions for you guys are:

1. should i purchase now or wait for a business class sale? since none of the prices above were sale prices, they were, however, all from travel agents.
2. should i purchase a seat for my infant, or gamble on an extra seat being open in business class?
3. any recommendations on best place to find cheap business class seats?

thank you all very kindly for your responses..

Crystal ball sez if you really want your infant in a seat you should pay for the seat.

Oh, welcome to FT.:)

2. should i purchase a seat for my infant, or gamble on an extra seat being open in business class?

Not only is the FA going to frown on this (and most likely won't be allowed), but this is extremely poor etiquette.

Not only is the FA going to frown on this (and most likely won't be allowed), but this is extremely poor etiquette.
Huh? What won't be allowed and why?

Taking over an empty seat in J to offload their offspring.

Welcome to FlyerTalk.

Most of the time, we'd probably have an idea of which airline to use and have htis posted n an airline forum. In this instance, as the OP has not fixed on any airline at all, it will be left in a destination forum, but has been relocated to the India forum for member convenience.
OP, you might want to check the airlines you are considering for rules on fees that could be required for a "lap child" or "infant" before you decide the infant will fly free; you could be in for an expensive surprise at the airport in some cases.

JDiver, Senior Moderator

1. should i purchase now or wait for a business class sale? since none of the prices above were sale prices, they were, however, all from travel agents.
2. should i purchase a seat for my infant, or gamble on an extra seat being open in business class?
3. any recommendations on best place to find cheap business class seats?

thank you all very kindly for your responses..

1 and 3. Check http://www.farebuzz.com (note that the prices reported in the matrix are average per ticket and so you want to multiply that # by the # of tickets you intend to purchase).

2. I'd roll the dice, but do some homework first. Find out what the loads are going out/returning to see how frequently J cabins go less than completely full. On that score, I think you'd have better luck if you don't fly airlines that have a stopover at major European hubs (AMS/LHR) since those are more likely to be full than others (at any rate, that's a hypothesis not a fact).

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First of all, $3800 for a business class ticket for the trip is an excellent price. I have seen sales in Business Class to Europe im the low season on many US and European airlines, but not to India at the same level of discount.
KLM will not be as low as THY.
Nov is high season for India. If you want to be sure of seciring a seat for your infant, buy a ticket. I wouldn't count on a vacant seat next to yours in Nov. If coach is overbooked, business class will accomodate some of the overflow.

Huh? What won't be allowed and why?

Taking over an empty seat in J to offload their offspring.

I am interested to know as well. Why is not allowed or bad etiquette to take an empty seat?

The vacant seat might not be next to the OP and the passenger seated next to the OP might not be willing to move. I doubt that an FA will force a person in business class to a seat they don;t want to move to.
I don;t think it's against any etiquette. It's just that some people don't like having infants in business class.
When travelling with an infant, it's better to have two seats in economy than one seat in business class. If the loads are light, some GA's don't mind keeping the middle seat unoccupied if you have window (aisle). No one is going to "save" a business class seat for you and suggesting that the GAT do that for you would be preposterous.

thank you kindly guys. i will purchase a seat for the infant. i am getting $16300 canadian for jet airways for all 4 of us in seats, and 17368 for klm/air france, for all 4 of us.

my question for you guys is, if anyone kindly knows, does jet service from yyz to new delhi use the 'herringbone/slanted pod' configuration, or forward facing seats?

i called jet airways, one gentleman said they were herringbone, but he said his colleague thought they were front facing (there are 2 versions of airbus a 330-220 seating as per seatguru, showing both configurations).

the reason i ask is because it would be hard to have my children sit in a herringbone 'pod', rather than in an open front facing seat next to me and my wife.

also, would you guys chance it with jet, hoping for forward facing seats, or just go ahead and spend the extra for klm/air france, which i know are forward facing?


sorry for the obnoxious questions, my work is making me goto india, and covering most (but not all ) of the cost of tickets. thanks again for your time...

hello everyone..

new to flyertalk, first post. i am hoping someone coulld kindly help me. i can finally afford to fly business class with my family due to a work paid benefit. i am planning on travelling from toronto to new delhi, india for the whole month of november 2012. for 2 adults, 1 child, and one infant in lap (hoping to get an extra open seat), so far teh best i have found, total price, including taxes, for all 4 of us is:

yyz to del
klm: canadian $14400 (4600 each or so for adults)
turkish canadian $11700 (3800 each for adults)
jet airways: canadian $13300 (4000 each for adults)

my questions for you guys are:

1. should i purchase now or wait for a business class sale? since none of the prices above were sale prices, they were, however, all from travel agents.
2. should i purchase a seat for my infant, or gamble on an extra seat being open in business class?
3. any recommendations on best place to find cheap business class seats?

thank you all very kindly for your responses..

i have flown klm & jet airways between india & north america & i prefer jet out of the two....

i don't think you will find a cheaper fare....$4k is a pretty decent business class fare....

i would recommend purchasing the seat for the infant....you don't want to take a chance for such a long flight....

thanks, if anyone knows about jet airways configuration from YYZ to delhi, whether it uses herringbone seat configuration or forward facing seat configuration, please do let me know, thanks kindly, ill make anothe rposting about this on the Jet Subforum...

thanks, if anyone knows about jet airways configuration from YYZ to delhi, whether it uses herringbone seat configuration or forward facing seat configuration, please do let me know, thanks kindly, ill make anothe rposting about this on the Jet Subforum...This appears to be their only plane that can make that flight (direct):

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Jet_Airways/Jet_Airways_Boeing_777-300ER.php

This appears to be their only plane that can make that flight (direct):

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Jet_Airways/Jet_Airways_Boeing_777-300ER.php

its not a direct flight....stops in bru....

This appears to be their only plane that can make that flight (direct):

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Jet_Airways/Jet_Airways_Boeing_777-300ER.php
Only AI flies direct from YYZ to DEL.

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If you want to be sure that you will not be stuck in a cabinn with a private and more preferred arrangement, SeeBuyFly via AMS on KLM

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If you want to be sure that you will not be stuck in a cabinn with a private and more preferred arrangement, SeeBuyFly via AMS on KLM

Is there a thread or article which compares the business class seats among the airlines? I could not find a frequent flyer ticket and was looking to purchase. Among the cheaper options were Jet Airways, Air Canada, Lufthansa (routed through Canada), and Swiss, Continental (routed through Newark).

Is there a thread or article which compares the business class seats among the airlines? I could not find a frequent flyer ticket and was looking to purchase. Among the cheaper options were Jet Airways, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Swiss (routed through Canada), and Continental (routed through Newark).

having flown all these airlines, my pick would be either swiss or jet....

having flown all these airlines, my pick would be either swiss or jet....

Great, thanks. seatguru.com was also helpful though the booking sites do not make it easy to figure out the aircraft type. I am leaning towards Swiss (outbound, connecting through Zurich) and United/Continetal (return, Delhi-Newark nonstop). As far as I can tell both have lie flat seats.

Great, thanks. seatguru.com was also helpful though the booking sites do not make it easy to figure out the aircraft type. I am leaning towards Swiss (outbound, connecting through Zurich) and United/Continetal (return, Delhi-Newark nonstop). As far as I can tell both have lie flat seats.

Yes, both LX and CO are lie-flat.

Yes, both LX and CO are lie-flat.

Thanks. How are the seats in Turkish airline? Their business class is even cheaper than the ones I mentioned. I noticed you gave them positive comments in another thread.

Thanks. How are the seats in Turkish airline? Their business class is even cheaper than the ones I mentioned. I noticed you gave them positive comments in another thread.

Not lie-flat, but still comfortable, and the food is better.

Lounge in IST is also fantastic.