AI's direct service to CCU
 

I'm looking at the November schedule.

Previously, AI 102 was JFK / DEL / CCU. Now it is showing as JFK / DEL / BOM.

AI 140 is currently JFK / BOM / HYD. It is still showing as JFK / BOM / HYD.

I am not happy about this change at all. Now, ongoing pax to CCU will have to get a hotel room or sit around DEL or BOM for 6 hours until the morning. And here I was, touting the service and the ease of getting to CCU from the US in such a short amount of time. For alot of people, time is money... and my money will go straight to LH so I can save time and not have to sit around DEL or BOM for 6 hours rotting in the middle of the night.

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: :mad:

Oh wow well thanks for the heads up!

OT, I know, but that's the way many feel about AI itself !

AI is in the process of updating its Winter 2010 schedule, where it'll be launching a new strategy, route almost all international routes via DEL, dropping scissor hub in Frankfurt.

Planned routes, some not yet loaded in system:

BOM DEL JFK
BOM EWR
DEL FRA
DEL ORD
DEL YYZ

There should be some changes domestically accompanied by this new strategy.

maybe they don't have the load for the ccu leg....

i wouldn't be surprised if ai will again start offering this in the future....

Schedules has just been updated.

CCU DEL JFK is now becoming CCU DEL LHR

This is true. However, the LHR DEL CCU flight leaves DEL too early for the incoming pax from the n/s flights from US/Canada to connect to it...

THE JFK DEL flight reaches DEL at 5PM you can still connect to a later flight to CCU. You had to deplane and board again in any case

that's a good time time for the flight to be coming in....lots of time to connect before the next flight....

A little OT, but I would think LH is mostly more expensive than any other way to get from US to CCU.. And they only fly 3 days a week at present and hence our schedules need to be matched to that.. If u want a 1 stop connection, IMO EK should be a decent alternative.. ofcourse this would depend on the exact date of travel but EK flies 12 times a week from CCU compared to 3 for LH..
Time is money but for LH ur time needs to match their 3 flights a week to make the money :)

Agreed. Actually EK is better. Twice daily service to CCU (on the days I would typically fly), so I can either leave in the morning or in the evening. But if planned far enough in advance, I would probably still choose LH.

I think AI is still in the process of finalizing the late night connecting flights to other cities in India from its DEL hub. I had booked a ORD-CCU ticket on AI to travel on Nov 30. So originally I had the following connections:

Air India # 126
Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) to Delhi Indira Gandhi Intl (DEL)
Departure (ORD): November 30, 2:45 PM CST
Arrival (DEL): December 1, 5:00 PM IST

Air India # 102
Delhi Indira Gandhi Intl (DEL) to Kolkata Netaji Subhas Chandra (CCU)
Departure (DEL): December 1, 8:00 PM IST (evening)

As has been mentioned AI 102 from JFK does not continue to CCU any more.

But I had bought this ticket before this winter schedule mess showed up. Now, the interesting thing is AI hasn't yet cancelled my ticket. It's just my DEL-CCU leg now shows something like pending. So I think AI is still in the process of finalizing the DEL connections with other cities for passengers arriving on flights like AI 102, AI 126.

Yes, I guess they r still finalizing the same.. I am sure they will have some onward connection to CCU since CCU to US direct via delhi had a lot of pax.. and now if DEL has more non stops to US, then they would need feeder flights specially from a big metro like CCU which itself has few intl options from AI..

AI is working on the long-haul changes first, then it'll start adjusting domestic connections.

Yes, you guessed it right. One note of caution. I don't know if AI will do it, but even the same flight nu,ber could mean change of aircraft. For example AI 102 sold as a direct flight ORD-CCU would start in ORD on, say a B777, stop in DEL and flight 102 would continue on to CCU on a smaller aircraft, say A330 or even A 320 depending on loads in that market. This way, CCU bound pax arriving from other destinations could transfer on to the AI 102 in DEL. U.S. airlines do this all the time.