Can someone recommend the best airline to India (Delhi or Mumbai) from the New York City area?
I'm looking for a relatively comfortable seat in economy class, or Premium Economy (for under $1,800).
I did some research last night, and I had it narrowed down to 2 airlines: Air India or Turkish Airlines.
Air India has spacious seats and decent pitch in economy ($1,433), and the flight is non-stop. However, it isn't clear to me if they have those hideous no-recline seats in a fixed shell that CX has, where it only slides down and forward, and not back. On a long-haul flight it is torture to be seated on one of these things.
Turkish has Comfort Class for $1,800, which looks really great, but there are two downsides: 1) the flight requires a connection in Istanbul, Turkey 2) the flight leaves late and arrives in India 2 days later, instead of 1 day later, like Air India does. I can't afford to lose a day, because I only have 13 days for my vacation, and I have a lot of ground to cover, then I have to return home to work.
The reason I have left out European carriers is because I don't want to purchase Premium Economy on one of them for only a relatively short flight to Europe, after which I will be required to deplane and connect to another (longer) flight to India that will not be in Premium Economy. I would rather fly as close as possible to India in comfort, then connect and be in economy class for a shorter flight.
Anyone have any other suggestions?
BA will fly you premium economy all the way with a stop in London. Don't know about the price though.
Just for fun, I checked BA's website for Premium Economy to India. The lowest price I could find for this flight is a whopping $6,164.
Are these people drunk???
Can someone recommend the best airline to India (Delhi or Mumbai) from the New York City area?
I'm looking for a relatively comfortable seat in economy class, or Premium Economy (for under $1,800).
I did some research last night, and I had it narrowed down to 2 airlines: Air India or Turkish Airlines.
Air India has spacious seats and decent pitch in economy ($1,433), and the flight is non-stop. However, it isn't clear to me if they have those hideous no-recline seats in a fixed shell that CX has, where it only slides down and forward, and not back. On a long-haul flight it is torture to be seated on one of these things.
Turkish has Comfort Class for $1,800, which looks really great, but there are two downsides: 1) the flight requires a connection in Istanbul, Turkey 2) the flight leaves late and arrives in India 2 days later, instead of 1 day later, like Air India does. I can't afford to lose a day, because I only have 13 days for my vacation, and I have a lot of ground to cover, then I have to return home to work.
The reason I have left out European carriers is because I don't want to purchase Premium Economy on one of them for only a relatively short flight to Europe, after which I will be required to deplane and connect to another (longer) flight to India that will not be in Premium Economy. I would rather fly as close as possible to India in comfort, then connect and be in economy class for a shorter flight.
Anyone have any other suggestions?
I flew Air India to Delhi from CLE (not sure of the connection) a few yrs. ago and it was very spacious. I had an exit row. I don't remember anything bad about the flight at all.
Try United economy plus. No Air India. You never know when they'll go on a strike. United flies direct to both Delhi and Mumbai from EWR. Also Emirates or Etihad are both really good from JFK.
Try United economy plus. No Air India. You never know when they'll go on a strike. United flies direct to both Delhi and Mumbai from EWR. Also Emirates or Etihad are both really good from JFK.
Emirates is a nightmare in economy class. Their 773's have a cramped 3-4-3 seating configuration, instead of the standard 3-3-3 abreast of most other airlines. They are about the last airline I would chose if there were no other seats available anywhere else.
Etihad has the same problem as Turkish does, it arrives in India 2 days later, instead of 1. If that wasn't an issue for me, I would immediately book Turkish Comfort Class, and I wouldn't think twice about it.
United is just really expensive for what you get. I just can't stomach paying about the same fare, or more, in their lousy Economy Class (even if it's Economy Plus) than Turkish Airlines' Comfort Class, which is nearly as good as some airlines' Business Class product.
It's too bad I now have another thing to consider about Air India-- them going on strike and ruining my vacation.
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If door-to-door time is of highest importance to you, and you'll looking for an affordance E+ option, United seems like a no brainer. You can go into DEL and out of BOM (or vice versa) and you have 35-36" with a "traditional" recline.
Unless something's changed, you should be able to buy the ticket and the confirmed E+ seat at a modest upcharge at booking time.
Going through Europe or an Asian hub will add quite a few hours to your trip. Nobody has a great soft product in Y anyway...I'd just eat a good meal before boarding and enjoy the fact that you're going nonstop both ways, leaving maximum time on the ground in India.
I would avoid Air India if at all possible. If they decide to stop operating for whatever reason (which apparently happens semi-often), it may be quite difficult to rebook on United or some other carrier.
I know on Flyertalk we have a lot of threads about how awful Y for 16 hours is, but it does beat the alternatives of (a) having the trip canceled entirely or (b) spending an extra day in transit with connections. That said, I personally would be tempted to use the Turkish routing one direction and spend a couple days checking out Istanbul, but it sounds like you'd prefer the whole time in India.
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If you're considering CX
CX has gotten rid of the shell seats on all flights to JFK. As for flights to Delhi and Mumbai, majority of the flights now have the new cabins. While the stop in Bangkok has the regional product. (The current regional product does not have the shell seats,)
If door-to-door time is of highest importance to you, and you'll looking for an affordance E+ option, United seems like a no brainer. You can go into DEL and out of BOM (or vice versa) and you have 35-36" with a "traditional" recline.
Unless something's changed, you should be able to buy the ticket and the confirmed E+ seat at a modest upcharge at booking time.
Going through Europe or an Asian hub will add quite a few hours to your trip. Nobody has a great soft product in Y anyway...I'd just eat a good meal before boarding and enjoy the fact that you're going nonstop both ways, leaving maximum time on the ground in India.
I would avoid Air India if at all possible. If they decide to stop operating for whatever reason (which apparently happens semi-often), it may be quite difficult to rebook on United or some other carrier.
I know on Flyertalk we have a lot of threads about how awful Y for 16 hours is, but it does beat the alternatives of (a) having the trip canceled entirely or (b) spending an extra day in transit with connections. That said, I personally would be tempted to use the Turkish routing one direction and spend a couple days checking out Istanbul, but it sounds like you'd prefer the whole time in India.
The issue I have with United is, like I mentioned before, the cost. I would hate to spend as much as, or more, on a United E+ seat than I would on Turkish Comfort Class, which is a vastly superior product.
Also, there is the issue that United leaves Newark late, almost as late as Turkish does. I would be arriving in Delhi so late, that it might as well be the next day. I am strongly leaning towards Turkish right now.
I, too, would love to stop in Istanbul on my way to India. Unfortunately, that is not an option because my layover time there would only be 3 to 4 hours. Not only that, but I barely have enough time in my vacation to see all that I want to see in India, let alone include another country. If I was retired, it would be a different story, as I would not be limited to the 2 weeks that my employer allots me.
CX has gotten rid of the shell seats on all flights to JFK. As for flights to Delhi and Mumbai, majority of the flights now have the new cabins. While the stop in Bangkok has the regional product. (The current regional product does not have the shell seats,)
Go with united for all the reasons mentioned above. Getting there is most important
It's a shame that I have to pass over Air India. I found a few seats towards the back of economy class that has 35 inches of seat pitch, and I would not pay a penny more for them. Add the fact that seats on Air India's economy are 18" wide, and for only $1,433 this deal seems to beat the pants off of United Economy plus.
The only thing that changes is 5" of recline, which, as you can imagine will make the trip a nightmare if someone if front of me decides to lean back. If I decide to lean back, I will make someone else trip a nightmare. All this for about $1,750. No, thanks.
United are really bottom-feeders.
