Other Middle East and Africa Frequent Flyer Programs - DEL-CAI with the least hassle?

I will be flying DEL-CAI in mid-December and was hoping to get opinions from people who have flown that route on which airline is most likely to get me there with the fewest hassles, lost bags, delays etc. Also, does anyone know of routes that I've missed where I could earn CO EQMs? Right now my best option price and time-wise is looking like GF. If I were going purely on total time, it would Kuwait, with Qatar coming in a close second. Thoughts?

Many thanks!

Of course your dates will make all the difference as not all flights are daily. TK, QR and EK are decent options as well.

My dates are flexible--Dec 22-24 or so. I was also wondering about the wisdom of taking a short flight to BOM and taking the direct MS flight from there.

Right now my best option price and time-wise is looking like GF. If I were going purely on total time, it would Kuwait, with Qatar coming in a close second. Thoughts?

Purely on elapsed time nothing beats EY (Etihad) - they're also cheaper in Economy than KU or QR. GF is cheapest, but durations are so-so (choose your dates/flights carefully). I'd definitely investigate EY - particularly as you haven't mentioned them in your post.

MS flies the A332 (decent in Y and C) on the BOM-CAI route which I believe involves a late night/early morning departure (at 0100 am) and arrives into CAI at 0600. But since you're transiting anyway, other options are recommended.
I wouldn't recommend Kuwait especially if it's a tight connection.
EK looks good especially as it doesn't involve nasty arrival/departure times-you travel during the day.

Thanks for the suggestions--EY definitely amongst the shortest durations. Is 1:15 enough time to connect in AUH in your experience? I'm worried about the possibility of missing the flight altogether and being stuck there.

For an extra hour and a bit and a little extra $$ I could fly EK at normal times as directorguy points out. Will think through these options--thanks so much again for your suggestions!

I have been flying this route on a monthly basis for the past year, almost always on GF. The connections on my inbound, DEL-BAH-CAI, have always been excellent, as there is either a 1.5 or 2.5 hour connection in BAH depending on season. So far, I've never experienced delays on the DEL-BAH flight, but end-December is the fog season in DEL so you may want to factor that in to your choice. The BAH-CAI invariably departs an hour late, so don't plan on a tight onward connection from CAI.

Thanks, BoSox, that's really helpful information. As far as the infamous Delhi fog goes, am I better off leaving later in the morning (for example on the EK 10:45am flight)?

I had to fly DEL-CAI last year and researched just about every option out there (especially as this was the time when the GF 767s were grounded and finding other seats was hard!).

In the end flew with GF and was very happy. The fares in J and F class are exremely reasonable. Our flight left DEL and hour late cutting transit time in BAH to an immediate gate to gate transit.

regards
lme ff

Based on everyone's input and my schedule, I've decided to go with GF. I will of course report back after the trip. Thanks to all for your advice!