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Best way to book one way BOM-JAI and JAI-DEL?

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Best way to book one way BOM-JAI and JAI-DEL?

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Old Oct 23, 2016, 5:21 pm
  #1  
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Best way to book one way BOM-JAI and JAI-DEL?

The 3 of us (myself, my wife, my 20 yr old daughter) are travelling to BOM from Canada and returning to Canada from DEL during the holiday season.

We are travelling on a AC issued (heavily discounted) business class ticket - arriving in BOM on LX and departing DEL on AC about 12 days later. We will spend at least 2 full days in Mumbai, and at least 6 days in Delhi, and at least 48 hours in Jaipur (I guess that AC first class train is out of the question on either sector?- I believe the cost of the the first class train ticket may be competitive with the economy class air ticket - but the duration of the train trip may be prohibitive with our limited time in the 3 cities?).

My wife and I both have Star Alliance Gold status with Air Canada.

The question is what is the most economical and most beneficial way of getting economy class seating for the 2 one-way flights.

With AI, we would get Star Alliance Gold benefits - including free luggage (we would be carrying at most 1 checked piece of luggage for the 3 of us; so the 2 of us with Star Alliance Gold benefits would get free luggage allowance for the 3 bags). We would get lounge access in BOM. Is there any AI lounge in JAI?

I guess the other options are Jet Airways, or other private airlines. They may be cheaper? Do I get free luggage. Obviously, no lounge benefits.

How does AI compare to the other airlines in terms of offering snacks?
How is the customer service on AI vs the other airlines?
How is the on-time performance (of flight departures) of AI vs the other airlines?

Putting all of this together, what would you recommend?

Does Air India or Jet Airways offers an India flight pass- might it be economical, even for 2 flights?
FlyerGoldII is offline  
Old Oct 24, 2016, 5:40 am
  #2  
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Originally Posted by FlyerGoldII
Is there any AI lounge in JAI?
they opened up a lounge a few months ago but i believe its in the international terminal....

Originally Posted by FlyerGoldII
I guess the other options are Jet Airways, or other private airlines. They may be cheaper? Do I get free luggage. Obviously, no lounge benefits.
the llc airlines will be cheaper but not by much....you get free baggage allowance with all airlines....

Originally Posted by FlyerGoldII
How does AI compare to the other airlines in terms of offering snacks?
besides ai, the only other airlines in india that offer free meals are jet airways & vistara....all 3 are almost the same in this regard....

Originally Posted by FlyerGoldII
How is the customer service on AI vs the other airlines?
in the air its pretty much the same....on the ground i would rank it among the worst....

Originally Posted by FlyerGoldII
How is the on-time performance (of flight departures) of AI vs the other airlines?
again, i would rank ai pretty poorly here....ai flights are often delayed but in general the delays are not very long....

Originally Posted by FlyerGoldII
Putting all of this together, what would you recommend?
for such short flights i would go with whichever flight is cheaper or if you really want star alliance benefits & the miles then go with ai....

Originally Posted by FlyerGoldII
Does Air India or Jet Airways offers an India flight pass- might it be economical, even for 2 flights?
they do offer it but for 2 flights its not worth it....you will end up spending a lot more....
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Old Oct 24, 2016, 4:37 pm
  #3  
 
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Originally Posted by FlyerGoldII
How is the on-time performance (of flight departures) of AI vs the other airlines?
This isn't a comment about AI directly, but I will say if you you are going into/out of DEL in winter, be prepared for fog delays in the morning. It's not guaranteed, but still something to bear in mind.
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Old Oct 24, 2016, 6:24 pm
  #4  
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[QUOTE=Keyser;27385801]they opened up a lounge a few months ago but i believe its in the international terminal....



QUOTE]


Jaipur airport has an lounge in the international terminal! I did not realize that JAI services international flights!
FlyerGoldII is offline  
Old Oct 25, 2016, 12:43 am
  #5  
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Originally Posted by FlyerGoldII
Jaipur airport has an lounge in the international terminal! I did not realize that JAI services international flights!
yes it does....there are a lot of smaller airports in india that serve a handful of international destinations close by....
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