Best option for award LHR-CCU?
 

I want to make an award ticket for my father in F from LHR-CCU but am just wondering who I can use, I've never done a redemption with BD before, I'm guessing I wouldnt be able to use any of the Asian airlines since there would be backtracking involved, so that would just leave LH and swiss?

I'd be surprised if you have any problem with SQ or TG through SIN or BKK. Availability is likely to be your main issue.

so its ok to use them with the backtracking?

-and whats the F situation with SG? Isnt it tripple miles or something?

After the recent tightening up on back-tracking, I'd be surprised if they did allow this. Unlike the odd (we all know where...) zone 10 destination that cannot be done except via SIN or BKK, CCU is available via europe on LH or LX. LH tends to have a lot of availability on FRA-CCU in J and F, so if you don't mind paying full miles, then that is probably the most straight forward redemption.

That's not to say that the OP wouldn't get an agent who didn't enforce it, but I suspect that more often than not the ICC wouldn't allow it even if SQ or TG availability came up.

CCU is Calcutta in India for anybody else, who like me had no idea where it was!

I don't think that LX even fly to CCU (but would be happy to be proven wrong ;)), so the only choice seems to be LH on Weds, Fri, Sat & Sun. Quite what you would be offered on other days of the week, well who knows?

damn, just as I posted that second post I came across the no more miles and cash redemptions in LH F.

This is not good :mad:

Why not just buy the extra miles?

Good point, I was mistaking Delhi for Calcutta. (Or Kolkata)

In the case of the non-LH days, then there might be an argument for going via BKK on Thai. (SQ via SIN doesn't appear to come up in the Star Alliance timetable for the weeks I tried) However then finding F availability on Thai on non-LH days might be a stretch. It will probably depend on planets aligning and keeping fingers well crossed.

I have enough miles, but I wouldnt mind keeping a few in the bank. Though looking at the options for purchasing miles I'm a little confused by this paragraph:

Does this mean that I can get a friend to buy me 80,000 miles whereas I could only buy myself 20k?

The limit is 80k total per year whether that be via a gift of up to 80,000 miles from friends, or a combination of 20,000 purchased for yourself and 60k gifted from friends.

very strange that they would limit you to purchasing 20k a year though when they are happy to have effectively unlimited miles purchased for you!

Either way, it seems this is going to be a very tough award to pull off!

I guess the only way to find out is to ring up and ask.

AI will obviously add more options once they join *A but this shows that the subcontinent is really poorly served at the moment.

Or one could put it this way:

That LH dominates the Indian destinations and will not allow many other *A carriers (ex-Europe) to enter...

SK should have gone for BOM long ago - but they chose DEL, and are now *again* trying their luck on ridiculous departure timings ex-DEL! :eek:

Amazingly AI are stopping all direct LHR-CCU flights from mid november, leaving only BA from London. Connections via Delhi are terrible since the international and domestic terminals are an hour away from each other across the city!