India - USA-India Award Travel

i have enough US Airways DM for round trip to India from USA. (80K points). i want to book a trip in December (flexible dates).

i need to go to Ahemdabad. Anyone know where i can get a list of all airlines that fly in to AMD and from what cities? i need to see if a *A airline flies there.

Prefered dates: OB Dec 14 2012 - IB Dec 30 2012
Destination: PHL to AMD or BOM or DEL
Alternate airports: EWR to AMD or BOM or DEL
Alternate airports: JFK to AMD or BOM or DEL

Only SQ will fly to Ahemdabad. So you have to go first to Singapore.

Oh man. What if I flew to Bom or del then took a local flight? How much time what I need to get luggage, pass immigration, check in and be able to board?

Anyone know where i can get a list of all airlines that fly in to AMD and from what cities?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sardar_Vallabhbhai_Patel_International_Airport#Air lines_and_destinations

Oh man. What if I flew to Bom or del then took a local flight? How much time what I need to get luggage, pass immigration, check in and be able to board?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/india-based-airlines/1280562-connections-indian-airports.html

Oh man. What if I flew to Bom or del then took a local flight? How much time what I need to get luggage, pass immigration, check in and be able to board?

If you connect to DEL-AMD-DEL or BOM-AMD-BOM on an Air India flight starting with 0,1,2,3, or 9, you can do customs/immigration at final destination if the initial carrier allows interlines on separate tickets.

If those flights timings don't work for you, then I suggest connecting in DEL to any AI or 9W flight. You will have to do customs and immigration at DEL, and you should budget at least 3 hours for your connection.

Fly in on united to arrive Bom from ewr around 2100. At 0145 there is an air India flight from the same international terminal to amd.

For the way back, take ai 985 departing amd at 2000 arriving Bom at 2110. You have a 2310 departure on united to ewr. This flight also lands in international terminal so you won't have to change terminals and you should have about one and a half hours for the united flight catering for delays. Slightly tight but doable.

Only SQ will fly to Ahemdabad. So you have to go first to Singapore.

welcome to ft 2x4....looks like you waited a while before making your first post....:)

Oh man. What if I flew to Bom or del then took a local flight? How much time what I need to get luggage, pass immigration, check in and be able to board?

check out the thread hyderago mentioned....its very useful....avoid bom if you can....

also, keep in mind that none of the india based airlines is a member of star alliance so you won't get any benefit from flying domestically....however, jet is a partner airline with most of the american carriers so you can credit those miles to the airline of your choice....

Hey Guys, thanks for all the info...it turns out there are no award seats available in December with travel durations less than 48 hours :(

so i looked at prices for NYC-AMD-NYC and need your opinions

Option: 1
NYC-DEL-NYC - $1148 - Virgin Atlantic (2 free checked bags allowed)
DEL-AMD-DEL - $127 - Jet Airways (price for 2 checked bags???)
Total - $1275 + checked bags fee (duration approx 26 hrs - 2 stops)

Option 2:
NYC-AMD-NYC - $1605 - Air India (2 free checked bags) (duration approx 26hrs - 2 stops)

Questions:
1) how many bags can be checked in for free for domestic flights in india?
2) what would be the total cost for checking in (2) 23kg bags for jet airways domestic flight in india?
3) When looking at total cost, travel durations, and ease/worry-free travel....what option would you choose?

Questions:
1) how many bags can be checked in for free for domestic flights in india?
2) what would be the total cost for checking in (2) 23kg bags for jet airways domestic flight in india?
3) When looking at total cost, travel durations, and ease/worry-free travel....what option would you choose?

1)on separate tickets, all airlines* will charge for excess baggage... I believe the allowance on 9W is 20Kgs each way.
*SpiceJet claims they don't, but they charged me once and I've been fighting for a refund for almost a month now. Since I had an international connection, I could hardly afford to argue it out and miss the flight :(

2)It'll come out to a little less than $100 each way (Rs 200 per excess Kg)

3) From a convenience and product point of view, AI is probably the better choice - it's 1-stop, you don't have to worry about baggage, etc. However, if IRROPS hit, all bets are off.

One other thing - Turkish Airlines has a good fare available for JFK-DEL-JFK for some days in December in Comfort Class (a little under $1800). If you want to splurge on a comfortable flight, that's definitely something you should take a look at. Availability isn't as good now as it was a few weeks ago, but you can find it if you look...

One other thing - Turkish Airlines has a good fare available for JFK-DEL-JFK for some days in December in Comfort Class (a little under $1800). If you want to splurge on a comfortable flight, that's definitely something you should take a look at. Availability isn't as good now as it was a few weeks ago, but you can find it if you look...

keep in mind that comfort class will only be offered on the jfk-ist-jfk route, not on the ist-del-ist route....

Ok so if I have 2 checked bags at 23kg each, I have to pay 23kg+3kg. The rate is $3.6 per kg. so I pay $96 each way????? That is crazy! That's more than USA!

UPDATE....

i called Jet airways to see if they would cancel baggage fees for international travelers. they said no way.

Then i called INDIGO in India and the customer rep said we have a deal where if you travel in our flights within 24hr of international flying then (2) 23kg bags can been checked for free. I asked if he could show this on their website. he tried to walk me through but he could not find it. then i asked if he could email me this and he said he could not. but he said this is a recorded conversation and i assure you this policy is in place.
Can anyone confirm if this is true?

UPDATE....

i called Jet airways to see if they would cancel baggage fees for international travelers. they said no way.

Then i called INDIGO in India and the customer rep said we have a deal where if you travel in our flights within 24hr of international flying then (2) 23kg bags can been checked for free. I asked if he could show this on their website. he tried to walk me through but he could not find it. then i asked if he could email me this and he said he could not. but he said this is a recorded conversation and i assure you this policy is in place.
Can anyone confirm if this is true?

It used to be true, but if you can't get it in writing, don't trust it. Heck, even if you can get it in writing, don't necessarily trust it, as my experience with SpiceJet illustrates.

Also keep in mind that to switch to SpiceJet or IndiGo, you will need to change terminals. This adds a lot of time to the connection.

is there not an AI flight for BOM/DEL-AMD that you can book? From anecdotal reports here, it seems check-in agents sometimes don't bother to enforce the 25 kg allowance.

Another option is to separate your tickets into NYC-LON-NYC and LON-AMD-LON. That way you would get 2 bags on all segments...

is there not an AI flight for BOM/DEL-AMD that you can book? From anecdotal reports here, it seems check-in agents sometimes don't bother to enforce the 25 kg allowance.Not my experience... They usually give leeway of 3-5Kg, but certainly not 25 Kg.

IB: Virgin Atlantic - EWR-DEL Arrive DEL: 11:50a - nov 24 IST
OB: Virgin Atlantic - EWR-DEL Depart DEL: 1:50p - dec 31 IST
Above is my international flight info.

Air india website says i can book the following:
IB: DEL-AMD Depart DEL: 5:20p - nov 24 IST
OB: AMD-DEL Arrive DEL: 9:30a - dec 31 IST

....are those times safe for transfer from virgin to air india flight? would i have to go to the old airport for the domestic flight?

IB: Virgin Atlantic - EWR-DEL Arrive DEL: 11:50a - nov 24 IST
OB: Virgin Atlantic - EWR-DEL Depart DEL: 1:50p - dec 31 IST
Above is my international flight info.

Air india website says i can book the following:
IB: DEL-AMD Depart DEL: 5:20p - nov 24 IST
OB: AMD-DEL Arrive DEL: 9:30a - dec 31 IST

....are those times safe for transfer from virgin to air india flight? would i have to go to the old airport for the domestic flight?

Those times are fine. No need to change terminals for the above connections.

IB: Virgin Atlantic - EWR-DEL Arrive DEL: 11:50a - nov 24 IST
OB: Virgin Atlantic - EWR-DEL Depart DEL: 1:50p - dec 31 IST
Above is my international flight info.

Air india website says i can book the following:
IB: DEL-AMD Depart DEL: 5:20p - nov 24 IST
OB: AMD-DEL Arrive DEL: 9:30a - dec 31 IST

....are those times safe for transfer from virgin to air india flight? would i have to go to the old airport for the domestic flight?

Timings are more than enough... You do not have to change terminals.

That said, standard warnings about booking on seperate tickets - if AI or VS is delayed/cancelled, you're out of a ticket.

And even with AI, excess baggage will hit you with ~$75 each way.

is there not an AI flight for BOM/DEL-AMD that you can book? From anecdotal reports here, it seems check-in agents sometimes don't bother to enforce the 25 kg allowance.

Another option is to separate your tickets into NYC-LON-NYC and LON-AMD-LON. That way you would get 2 bags on all segments...

1 - this is more expensive
2 - i believe any flight to LHR has max 1 bag policy (i could be wrong)

Not my experience... They usually give leeway of 3-5Kg, but certainly not 25 Kg.

Perhaps if OP is able to have his bags interlined in NYC... they might not bother to check :p

Perhaps if OP is able to have his bags interlined in NYC... they might not bother to check :p
True. When I interline on seperate carriers, the second rarely bothers to check the weight.

1 - this is more expensive
2 - i believe any flight to LHR has max 1 bag policy (i could be wrong)

Yea that's true. But the cost of checking a second bag TATL will probably be cheaper than booking an extra 26 kg domestic in India. Weird but true. :confused:

I don't know the current prices, but sometimes this is cheaper, all things considered. Probably not anymore with the UK APD hikes.

Timings are more than enough... You do not have to change terminals.

That said, standard warnings about booking on seperate tickets - if AI or VS is delayed/cancelled, you're out of a ticket.

And even with AI, excess baggage will hit you with ~$75 each way.

thanks...man this is tough....if no luggage fee then its $1410 with VS or $1510 AI. i wish these airlines would come up with a policy and stick with it so there is not confusion. i don't know what to do :(

thanks...man this is tough....if no luggage fee then its $1410 with VS or $1510 AI. i wish these airlines would come up with a policy and stick with it so there is not confusion. i don't know what to do :(

What is the exact itinerary? Do either of these choices involve transiting BOM?

VS option is the following, with an additional domestic flight DEL-AMD-DEL

Fri Nov 23 / Fri Nov 23
Virgin Atlantic 18 / Virgin Atlantic 300
Duration: 7 hrs Nonstop / Duration: 8:30 hrs Nonstop
Newark (EWR): 8:00 AM / London (LHR): 9:50 PM
London (LHR): 8:00 PM / Delhi (DEL): 11:50 AM
Cabin: Economy (O) / Cabin: Economy (O)
==============================================
Mon Dec 31 / Mon Dec 31
Virgin Atlantic 301 / Virgin Atlantic 17
Duration: 9:35 hrs Nonstop / Duration: 8:15 hrs Nonstop
Delhi (DEL): 1:50 PM / London (LHR): 8:10 PM
London (LHR): 5:55 PM / Newark (EWR): 11:25 PM
Cabin: Economy (N) / Cabin: Economy (N)

Airfare quoted amount: $ 475.00 USD
Taxes and fees: $ 702.78 USD
Total Estimated Cost: $ 1,177.78 USD

AI option....

Thu Nov 22 / Sat Nov 24
AI 144 / AI 12
Duration: 14:35 hrs Nonstop / Duration: 1 hrs Nonstop
Newark (EWR): 4:25 PM / Mumbai (BOM): 1:45 AM
Mumbai (BOM): 5:30 PM / Ahmedabad (AMD): 2:50 AM
Cabin: Economy (V) / Cabin: Economy (V)
===================
Mon Dec 31 / Tue Jan 1
AI 985 / AI 191
Duration: 1 hrs Nonstop / Duration: 16:15 hrs Nonstop
Ahmedabad (AMD): 10:00 PM / Mumbai (BOM): 1:30 AM
Mumbai (BOM): 11:00 PM / Newark (EWR): 7:15 AM
Cabin: Economy (V) / Cabin: Economy (V)

Base fare per traveller USD 954.00
Total taxes per traveller USD 57.90
Total charges and fees per traveller USD 495.86
Total per traveller USD 1,507.76

Hmm... It's a tough decision.

If you choose the VS route, make sure you have the necessary visa to transit through London.