HKG-DEL options
 

Not familiar with HKG-DEL route and would appreciate some help. A casual check at ITA shows rt prices around $700 for November. However, do any of the Asian LCC's fly it, 'cos they wont show up in these searches?

If you mean nonstop, no nobody else flies it. Obviously, LCCs aren't great for connections (no automatic luggage transfers, no coordinated schedules).

$700 isn't a bad fare at all, although AI might go even lower.

ai is actually higher....

if you go the lcc route then you can take air asia first from hong kong - kuala lumpur & then from kuala lumpur to delhi....this should set you back about $450....

Air Asia indeed would be the only LCC option to HKG.. out of SIN, Jetstar also operates to HKG..

Im looking for a little bit of help figuring out which carrier to use on this route in a month or so. The reason Im not going with 9W straight away is that Im not too much a fan of herringbone seats. Ive flown on the AC J seat that is fairly similar to 9W and found it narrow around the shoulders when lying down. Is the 9W seat any different? My other options are IT J (I used to be an IT fan, but, their reputation is in the pits recently) or AI F. Any recommendations?

Agree with you on IT - very unreliable at this point, I would avoid them till the get their act together. I would go with 9W from a seat standpoint. It is a herringbone, but wider than AC/VS at the shoulders, and also unlike AC/VC the seat goes down all the way to make the flat bed, rather than needing to get up and flip it over.
AI first is the best seat, but unreliable on service, and I've heard stories of seat malfunctioning and the crew being unaware how to reset it correctly...

I would go for the AI F over ITJ or 9W J.. I believe they treat F pax like a maharaja in the air.. yes there are some problems but I would still take AI F if given a choice ..

once in the air, ai f is a fantastic product....

AI operates a 777 on this route..?

CX J is not bad either
 

CX has lie flat beds on this route. Narrower than 9W J but CX often discounts J aggressively through travel agents and consolidators.

Yes, brand new plane - quite nice even in economy (new seats with PTV). Extremely cheap too. Go for it.

OP here. For a variety of reasons I ended up doing a J award ticket:

HKG-(CX)-ICN-(JL)-NRT-(JL)-DEL-(CX)-BKK-(CX)-HKG

and am currently in DEL.

However, I am following this discussion with great interest as I expect to travel HKG-DEL, BKK-DEL, SIN-DEL, etc., in future as well.