Pegasus08

Greetings all! I’ve been a long-time lurker on FT and have finally come to you for some sage advice. I’m a SkyTeam Elite (Delta Silver now, Gold soon) and am planning a trip to Delhi over Christmas. I’ve been watching air fares bounce around over the past few weeks on Kayak and have yet to see a SkyTeam airline come down to a competitive price. The most reasonable prices seem to be on BA, or some kind of UA/9W/AI combo. The multi-airline itineraries with layovers in DXB, BRU or LHR kinda scare me as it leaves an opportunity for a missed connection/IROPS and no-one accountable other than me. So my questions are as follows:

1) As a SkyTeam Elite are the benefits of mileage accrual, dedicated check-in and preferred seating on CO or KLM worth the additional hundred dollars premium the flight would cost over BA? Does anyone have experience flying SkyTeam to DEL?

2) Am I nuts to be wary of a multi carrier itinerary booked on Orbitz that seems to be a hodgepodge of one-way tickets?

3) Aeroflot seems to be a cheap option but I’m not too sure about the Ilyushin IL96 they fly on the SVO-DEL sector as well as a long layover at SVO. Not to mention the current US-Russia political ‘chill’. From what I can tell SU offers very few perks for ST Elites Anyone have any thoughts on this?

I’m looking to fly WAS-DEL on 12/18 and return on 1/1. I’m paying for the trip out of my own pocket so I’m looking to do this as economically as possible (in coach). Any help you can offer would be appreciated. Thanks

dechil

You should look at
http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/
I found an (almost) direct flight (WAS-EWR-DEL) on Continental around 2175$ AI (15646 EQM)
from 12/17 to 1/1..., a bit more on 12/18
What's the BA price? and the transfers and the time of inbound (3.30AM on the 1st of january...)

mecabq

I flew IAD-DEL via CDG on AF. It worked out well (granted, I was in business class). You're right -- you don't get much from being merely SkyTeam Elite. The most valuable benefit may be the redeemable mileage bonus. Additionally, dedicated check-in (featuring a much shorter line) in the chaos that is DEL on the return will be nice.

Only you can assess how much you value the miles compared to cash, but $100 for 16,000 miles or so (not including bonus) should be well worth it; that's two-thirds of the mileage needed to redeem for a domestic round-trip flight right there. Plus an 8,000 start in EQM for 2009 before the end of January 1!

I haven't flown BA long-haul, but I would imagine that the experience would be a bit nicer than KL or AF. I don't know about CO, but I would personally rather break the trip up in Europe than sit straight from EWR-DEL in economy. But that's just my own preference. Others probably have the opposite preference.

I share your concern about a connection involving airlines that are not partners. There's always a risk. I wouldn't want to have to count on, for example, AI's customer service at LHR.

For SU, you might want to check whether you would need a visa to transit SVO. I would assume that that experience would be pretty grim (the airport certainly is).

Pegasus08

Dechil and mecabq, thanks for your responses. At the moment the cost differential is $501.00

$1656.80 for a multi-airline itn through BRU on UA and 9W
$2157.00 for a very nice CO itin though EWR

I’m not sure that I can convince my travel companion $501.00 is a worthwhile price to pay to satisfy my MQM (mini)obsession. The BA itin seems to be a happy medium as it skirts the non-partner airlines issue. Any shot at an upgrade on CO or should I just forget about that?

Also, I’m very much aware that these prices seem to change on a daily basis so I’ll just continue to watch and hope for a KLM, AF or CO fare sale. Mecabq thanks for your thoughts on the value of miles, I realize that’s a personal thing but also just wanted to see what other FT had to say. Sometimes I need a little reality check.

graraps

No way!! 31 inches of pitch and, on the 744 I flew, not even a coat hook!
25% miles and a LHR transfer make it an all the more ridiculous option.
BA may be one of the better airlines when you fly point-to-point in longhaul biz (or F), and (marginally) above average in both classes within Europe, but longhaul WHY with a transfer...stay well away...

I wouldn't hesitate to fly SU and the Ilyushin, though admittedly SVO is an armpit of an airport where I can't imagine surviving without lounge access (not that the lounge is fabulous, mind).

If you can get a good NW/KL fare via AMS, I would choose that as it's an altogether more efficient airport, especially so for transit pax in WHY (though food&bev is normally a bit better on AF than KL).

Since you'll be flying during high season, I would say that, even with a silver card, an upgrade on at least one of the sectors should not be totally out of the bounds of probability (but don't be disappointed if you don't get one!).

mecabq

I stand corrected! I must say that I found the economy class of AF and KL quite decent from IAD; I am surprised that BA is inferior. Plus, good point about the mileage.

A DL silver getting an upgrade on a CO international itinerary? No way! AF or KL is even less likely.

$501 is borderline in my opinion. About 24,000 RDM (you get a 50% premium for being DL silver, right?). I am assuming that the extra 8,000 EQM in 2008 will be useless (i.e., not get you to another level)? It also depends on whether you will need the 8,000 for 2009. Especially if not, then I wouldn't feel horrible sacrificing the miles for $501, especially if I could at least earn something on another carrier, e.g., UA/LH. (By the way, Jet Airways earns miles on Northwest for some fare classes, but not Delta.) Obviously, if you have a travel companion who won't benefit, then all the more reason not to fret.

Plus the flight on Jet might be kind of a nice experience. . .

graraps

I was talking about a possible oversold situation here...Skyteam Elite will get upgraded (after "native" airline Elite and Elite Plus but) before a general member or someone not belonging to an FFP. My guess would be that the VFR-heavy flights from/to India over Christmas are likely to be full but unlikely to have a lot of elites sitting in the back.

Pegasus08

Thank you for all of your thoughts! I am already resigned to coach given that I haven’t really been able to discern a particularly desirable whY product I’ve been focusing on ST mileage. I’ve flown EK in the past and could potentially do it again on the A380 from JFK, but that just adds an extra stop and more time. A coat hanger isn’t a deal breaker for me but 35’ pitch is worth thinking about. I also read on these forums that folks have had a hard time getting seat assignments on KLM so it sounds like if I stick with them I can kiss any hopes of an exit row goodbye!

Mecabq, I hadn’t realized that Jet can accrue miles on NW! That’s really good to know and may help in my rationalization process. Given the pending Delta/NW merger, I’ll gladly put miles into a WorldPerks account.

I also recently learned that UA and Jet will be launching a code-share agreement in November which might explain the near perfect connections of 9W and UA flights in DXB and BRU. Perhaps the schedules have already been aligned in preparation of the codeshare agreement. J’ ne sais pas. I read a bit about BRU and is sounds like a transfer there won’t be TOO bad as they don’t require pax to clear customs and it seems UA and 9W use the same terminal.

I typically avoid consolidators like the plague but are there any worth looking into for this trip?

asar

Greetings from Chennai India

I flew in here CDG-MAA direct with AF on Y. It was expensive and not really worth the hassle: the plane left over 3 hours left (strike in the airport), check in is a true chaos (they treat flights to the developing world apallingly differently). Lunch was OK but no choice at all; the second dinner was inedible. Service aloft and useless. The 777 showing the passage of time. I'm happy I did it because I could fly connection-less, but now that I know Indian airports I wouldn't be too afraid of connecting (with A LOOOOT of time).

Don't worry about the BRU connection. It's going to be a nice, peaceful airport. Jet Airways's #1 sales point here is its professionalism and attitude, it'll all be fine. If you can do through check in (and I think you might, check jetairways.com) from WAS your connection should be protected.

A friend of mine is flying to Spain from Chennai doing the same thing on Jet, and was booked by our (large Indian IT) company travel agent (we send hundreds if not thousands of Indians to America every year on short assignments). It'll be fine.