heterosapiens

i apologize in advance if i am overly cryptic in describing the candidate fare from which i'm looking to trim fat (this is my first post and i still haven't gotten the sense of how openly candidate fares can be discussed, so i'm erring on the side of less openness).

i have an upcoming trip to india, ex-C1. i can depart from/return to any of the 3 largest cities (by population) in the US or, if it's the only way to make things happen, from one of the two largest maple-y towns.

i have found fares on a couple of ST carriers that are over 60% fat, of which i am looking to shed all or part. i have managed to find and book a few dumps in the past just to get a sense of how the process works, but never on an ST airline (always *A), and i am having trouble locating a working 3x for my current needs.

i'd appreciate any hints anyone has (or a reference to earlier posts in this thread to read myself, or an indication that what i'm looking for doesn't exist so i can stop wasting my time).

to summarize, looking to trim C1-india-C1 on one of a few ST carriers using either a 3x or a 1x (i can probably position to and fly almost any domestic/northern neighbor-ly 1x, depending on whether the net savings justify it).

thanks in advance.