I'm looking at a $3600 or so fare, ORD-FRA-ORD on AI in first. This is the cheapest by far. LH, Swiss are $13,000+. Even business on UA, LH, AA etc. is around $5,000+. I think these are the new B77W planes with the lie flat first sections.

Why is this so cheap? What am I missing? When something is too good to be true, I usually think it is...

TIA.

They are desperate for money.

The fare you've quoted seems to be correct. I think the low fare is possibly because of a variety of reasons, that need to be considered together.

1. Other than AA and LH, only AI offers you a direct ORD-FRA connection - others will involve an extra stop.
2. You'll find very few non-Indians fly AI out of choice (which you get in F!). Since Indians are otherwise the principal customer base for AI, ORD-FRA is likely to be a light flight in F.
3. Except for connections that originate in India, the demand for ORD-FRA is quite small (virtually nil).

There may be more and finer reasons, but I think a combination of the 3 principal ones above should answer your question on the lower fare compared to other airlines. But then, AI isn't exactly the most passenger-friendly airline, though I think on purely international sectors and that too in F, their reputation has generally been good. I'd say go for it!

LOL! True to an extent, but this seems to be the normative fare for AI on that sector.

Premium cabins on AI to Europe have always been cheap. JFK-LHR was similarly priced. They just can't attract the passengers. The truth is, though, that with the 777s, the first class seats are actually quite nice, and AI has always been known for it's catering in first. The downside is that you can't earn star alliance miles on them yet.

The AI F pricing policy appears to apply to more than just ORD -- FRA, or even EWR -- FRA. There are special F fares valid only on AI 126/127 and AI144/191 (numbers change 10/25, but the routes remain generally the same -- the Chicago flight goes to BOM instead of DEL).

These F fares are 'way lower than even AA's DUPIND fares -- as, for example, US$4056 all in one way from ORD to either BOM or DEL. Cheaper still on a round trip basis.

So, the question OP asks -- which bears repeating -- is quite right: is there a catch? Or is the service in F actually significantly better than in, say, Y, where reports on Skytrax generally give AI really negative marks?

There are very, very few reports on any forums or blogs about AI service in F...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...ess-class.html

here is a review of AI new premium class cabin from nothing other than our own FT board

generally premium class service on new planes is fine. main issue with AI is its timeliness and its service if something goes wrong.

thats a decent choice though ... a much much cheaper premium product with the risk of poor service in irrops.

question is. Is better service (during irrops) worth thousands more to you?

Have flown the ORD-FRA-BOM/DEL route a few times in J. A few points.

1. Only four seats in F on the 77W. Usually they give a F seat to another pilot / crew. Last time we flew the only passenger in F was an expat captain for AI who upgraded from J by the expat captain piloting the flight. He was going to BOM to sign some paper work. He did J in FRA-BOM as the captain for that sector did not upgrade him (Indian captain).

2. Only difference between J and F is the seats are lie flat. My wife tried that on a sector once but there was no difference in Menu or IFE options.

3. F pax have their own bathroom which is usually shared by crew.


We've done J in FRA-ORD a few times when AI used to fly the 747 on that route (J in uppr deck) for our office employees. For 1500 euros it was worth it.

Hope that helps.

Also forgot to mention, if you belong to miles and more save your boarding passes and mail them into the MNM service center. Nothing beats 3X award miles. We regularly give our MNM number to AI but miles never get credited. Hence send the boarding pass to MNM service center and get miles awarded.