Really !!! is it factual or ... Have you even checked the prices for next month... figure it out.. you will find BA at 56K vs AA at 55K i.e. cheapest after Qatar Airways

Yes, the UK is famous for their arrival/departure fees - they are why I always avoid BD on awards - you still have to pay the fees!

If you are connecting, see if you can take the 9AM LH flight DEL-MUC (munich) and connect to EWR from MUC.

MUC is probably one of the best airports in that part of the world for a
connection.
EWR is better for immigration/customs compared to JFK.

An advantage of this is that its all daytime. Will be a lot easier on your mother to not wake up at 1Am to catch a flight.

Here is the option:
Delhi (DEL) to Munich (MUC) -
Lufthansa 763 Dep: 9:40am Arr: 1:35pm 8h 25m Airbus A340

Layover in MUC 1h 50m

Lufthansa Munich (MUC) to Newark (EWR) -
Lufthansa 412 Dep: 3:25pm Arr: 6:35pm 9h 10m Airbus A340

Award travel... yes 100% agree

i have checked the prices....next month ba is still more expensive than 9w....here is the deal, whether its $1 or $100, it does not make a difference....expensive means more, doesn't matter by how much....

lhr is notorious for its stupid fee & transit visa....in general its a good idea to avoid them....you gave the op your advice & i gave the op mine....you trying to prove a non-existing point to me is not going to get you anywhere....call it a day....you have your opinion & i have mine....

back to the OP (though i must say the OT was very entertaining).

i agree with PVD on ZRH and MUC - love those airports - a breeze to transit through

a couple of things you want to consider
1) is your mother more comfortable in a non stop 15 / 16 hour flight or prefer a break in between
2) meals - from all otehr accounts it seems like AI will offer better Indian options - on a Eurpean carrier while you will get Indian options on the first leg, you must specifically request special meals for the second leg if your mother is particular

you also asked in AI - seat selection can be done at the time of booking on the AI site (even before making the payment - so in case you dont like available seats, cancel before reaching the payment page)

One comment: AI is selling seats at ridiculously low prices to try to stimulate demand. I highly doubt that you won't be able to find a seat.
and if so, where in the NYC area? (JFK is much better for someone who lives in CT, while EWR for someone in NJ...)

I personally like IST and VIE better than ZRH and MUC - ZRH and MUC are just too clean and organized for an Indian :D

I love IST - the airport is very culturally familiar with me, and I really like that... VIE is similar, and OS has good meals.

Did you consider flying TK in Comfort Class through IST? Relative to Business, it is very affordable, and I'd think that your mother would appreciate it...

good suggestion....i have a trip coming up to istanbul early next year....i was considering flying comfort class....

have you flown comfort class on this route????the booking screen shows all segments (del-ist-jfk-ist-del) in 'premium economy' but the del-ist & ist-del sectors are on the a330-300....i didn't know these aircrafts had a comfort class section....

No, I flew PVD-IAD-IST on TK and IST-DXB-HYD on EK. I didn't realize that the smaller aircraft may not have Comfort Class...

will call tk tomorrow to try & get a definitive answer....

Ohh - one other thing. The day I flew, there was an equipment swap to a 777. Usually, there is a smaller bird flying the route IIRC... I got an op-up because of my *G status ^

TK clearly knew what they were doing - they made a fanboy out of me :P

Some clarification regarding LHR tax. The item that is real expensive is the UK air passenger duty and that can approach $300. However that is not charged if you are merely connecting at LHR. That is only charged on journeys that depart UK or have stopover in UK.

If you are merely transiting LHR then you will simply pay LHR airport tax which is about $50. It is a little higher than BRU but about the same as French or German airports.

If you are booking BA then you may see huge taxes and fees but that is BA fuel surcharge. That money is going into BA's pocket not to the UK gov't.

I would say JFK is nicer, but YMMV.

For connections (my personal choice):

DEL-HKG-JFK
DEL-ORD-LGA/JFK/EWR
DEL-ZRH-JFK
DEL-VIE-JFK
DEL-BRU-JFK

Avoid BOM, LHR, FRA

That depends on the accommodation that i get.. I have been given three options Jersey City, Manhattan and Brooklyn.. I wud prefer Jersey or Manhattan depending on the budget