Transit travel to/from India under the 'air bubble' agreements [ends 27 March 2022]
Feb 8, 2021, 2:54 pm
#707
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: EY
Posts: 852
Transiting on Emirates through Dubai on Emirates IS possible
Two more DPs showcasing that transit through Dubai on Emirates is possible and there is no need to stick to Air India or fly direct only from Delhi.
Two US Citzen OCIs and one Indian citizen permanent US resident flew from Trivandrum to Dubai on a one way PNR, stayed three days, and traveled on to the US on a separate PNR. No issues at any point.
One US citizen OCI traveled to Cochi with a standard, 2 hour transit in Dubai in early January. No issues at any point. She was scheduled to return on Feb 3 with a one day stopover in Dubai. She later decided to change her flight to Feb 6 with no stopover in Dubai. She was able to do this without issue, even asking about the air bubble/transit issue, and was told that new bookings could not fly like that, but existing bookings could be changed to have the straight same day flights. We tested this by attempting to make a separate, new same day booking from Trivandrum to Chicago but got an error online. We could make that booking as a multi city booking however, with a one day stop in Dubai. So a new booking couldn't do it, but a previously existing one could. She flew on the 6th without any issues or questions at any point.
This just goes to show, once again, that (answering the question of this thread) transit travel *IS* allowed. Either explicitly, or Emirates is ignoring the asinine rules from the Indian government and both sides are waving it away. Regardless, feel free to book your flights on Emirates, might need to have a one day stop going/coming, but otherwise it's perfectly fine to go through Dubai.
Two US Citzen OCIs and one Indian citizen permanent US resident flew from Trivandrum to Dubai on a one way PNR, stayed three days, and traveled on to the US on a separate PNR. No issues at any point.
One US citizen OCI traveled to Cochi with a standard, 2 hour transit in Dubai in early January. No issues at any point. She was scheduled to return on Feb 3 with a one day stopover in Dubai. She later decided to change her flight to Feb 6 with no stopover in Dubai. She was able to do this without issue, even asking about the air bubble/transit issue, and was told that new bookings could not fly like that, but existing bookings could be changed to have the straight same day flights. We tested this by attempting to make a separate, new same day booking from Trivandrum to Chicago but got an error online. We could make that booking as a multi city booking however, with a one day stop in Dubai. So a new booking couldn't do it, but a previously existing one could. She flew on the 6th without any issues or questions at any point.
This just goes to show, once again, that (answering the question of this thread) transit travel *IS* allowed. Either explicitly, or Emirates is ignoring the asinine rules from the Indian government and both sides are waving it away. Regardless, feel free to book your flights on Emirates, might need to have a one day stop going/coming, but otherwise it's perfectly fine to go through Dubai.
Feb 9, 2021, 1:21 am
#708
Join Date: Mar 2020
Posts: 50
Has anyone travelled from USA to Indian(Mumbai) with qatar airways?If yes do they put travellers from USA into institutional quarantine as all travellers from middle east are being put into institutional quarantine whereas USA based flyers are just transitting via middle east?
Feb 9, 2021, 4:49 pm
#709
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: AA 1M
Posts: 31,475
the only reason is the timing....ai lands at 8:15am & the earliest ua can get me there is 9:40am....i have an arbitration taking place near iad that starts at 11am so if i fly ua then i need to get there a day earlier which is a problem as i have a commitment that will be extremely hard to get out of....with ai i can risk getting in on the same day....
Feb 9, 2021, 10:26 pm
#710
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,678
i realise it is....but i can't leave a day earlier as that would mean missing a case here in delhi....
if the ai flight is on time (they have been landing on time on this route as of late) then with the help of global entry i would be out of the airport in 15-20 minutes....the hotel i am staying in is under 10 minutes from the airport so i should be in my room by 9am....that would give me 2 hours to get ready & walk over to the conference center in the same hotel for the arbitration....
if the flight is considerably late then i guess there is nothing i can do....
if the ai flight is on time (they have been landing on time on this route as of late) then with the help of global entry i would be out of the airport in 15-20 minutes....the hotel i am staying in is under 10 minutes from the airport so i should be in my room by 9am....that would give me 2 hours to get ready & walk over to the conference center in the same hotel for the arbitration....
if the flight is considerably late then i guess there is nothing i can do....
Feb 10, 2021, 1:41 pm
#711
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: AA 1M
Posts: 31,475
i realise it is....but i can't leave a day earlier as that would mean missing a case here in delhi....
if the ai flight is on time (they have been landing on time on this route as of late) then with the help of global entry i would be out of the airport in 15-20 minutes....the hotel i am staying in is under 10 minutes from the airport so i should be in my room by 9am....that would give me 2 hours to get ready & walk over to the conference center in the same hotel for the arbitration....
if the flight is considerably late then i guess there is nothing i can do....
if the ai flight is on time (they have been landing on time on this route as of late) then with the help of global entry i would be out of the airport in 15-20 minutes....the hotel i am staying in is under 10 minutes from the airport so i should be in my room by 9am....that would give me 2 hours to get ready & walk over to the conference center in the same hotel for the arbitration....
if the flight is considerably late then i guess there is nothing i can do....
Feb 11, 2021, 12:12 am
#713
Join Date: Jan 2021
Posts: 319
This just goes to show, once again, that (answering the question of this thread) transit travel *IS* allowed. Either explicitly, or Emirates is ignoring the asinine rules from the Indian government and both sides are waving it away. Regardless, feel free to book your flights on Emirates, might need to have a one day stop going/coming, but otherwise it's perfectly fine to go through Dubai.
Inbound there have largely been no restrictions for a while now.
Feb 11, 2021, 12:37 am
#714
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,678
they started offering membership to indian citizens in june 2017....you have to go through some really time consuming background checks in order to get approved....
India joins US Global Entry programme.
India joins US Global Entry programme.
Feb 11, 2021, 2:40 am
#715
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: BLR
Programs: AA - EXP, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, UK - Gold
Posts: 1,224
they started offering membership to indian citizens in june 2017....you have to go through some really time consuming background checks in order to get approved....
India joins US Global Entry programme.
India joins US Global Entry programme.
Feb 11, 2021, 2:42 am
#716
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Location: India
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Feb 11, 2021, 9:07 am
#717
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: EY
Posts: 852
The highlighted bit really is the key. Neither EK nor QR are selling direct transits from India at this point, and staying a day in Dubai adds 24 hours and additional costs (and risk of exposure) to the itinerary. Staying in Doha is not even possible. So on the outbound from India it is the non-stops (UA/AI) that make the most sense from a time/cost/convenience perspective. Of course if you want to add Dubai sightseeing to the mix that's a different story.
Inbound there have largely been no restrictions for a while now.
Inbound there have largely been no restrictions for a while now.
Anyone not going to directly between two major cities, ie Delhi, Mumbai, Chicago, NYC, will need to transit somewhere, eg Ahmedabad to Seattle. The question is do they want to transit in Delhi or Dubai or Doha. Wherever it is you'll be at risk of exposure, but the ME3 require a negative PCR Test for all flights, while Air India does not. Outbound to India on AI it's technically possible no one on the plane had a pcr test done (as India does not require it). While the return people will have them--due to the US requirement of one for entry--if you need an initial domestic connecting flight from another city in India, that flight likely will have people without tests done.
Timewise you could probably have it around the same total time, if you get lucky, especially in Delhi which has a more limited schedule to tier 2 or 3 cities (eg to Trivandrum, an 11 hour layover in Delhi would have been necessary when coming from Chicago).
There is a matter of potential additional luggage, which costs $146 for an extra bag on Emirates (prepaid online) vs $240 with Air India.
A big factor also to take into consideration is load factors and social distancing. My understanding is the AI flights are full as most people think that's their only option. But Emirates is practically empty both ways. There were only thirty (30) people in economy the last few times to and from Dubai to Chicago. So anyone can relax in their own personal rows instead of being crammed on Air India. That should also be taken into consideration regarding exposure.
Feb 11, 2021, 8:35 pm
#718
Join Date: May 2009
Programs: AA EXP HH GOLD EY GOLD
Posts: 340
Qatar in fact is booking transit flights in both directions from the beginning at the time of booking, just like pre 2020. Emirates allows it on the inbound. You might be able to maneuver the outbound from India though like I did, by booking it with a one day stopover, then calling in and changing the second flight to leave on the same day.
Anyone not going to directly between two major cities, ie Delhi, Mumbai, Chicago, NYC, will need to transit somewhere, eg Ahmedabad to Seattle. The question is do they want to transit in Delhi or Dubai or Doha. Wherever it is you'll be at risk of exposure, but the ME3 require a negative PCR Test for all flights, while Air India does not. Outbound to India on AI it's technically possible no one on the plane had a pcr test done (as India does not require it). While the return people will have them--due to the US requirement of one for entry--if you need an initial domestic connecting flight from another city in India, that flight likely will have people without tests done.
Timewise you could probably have it around the same total time, if you get lucky, especially in Delhi which has a more limited schedule to tier 2 or 3 cities (eg to Trivandrum, an 11 hour layover in Delhi would have been necessary when coming from Chicago).
There is a matter of potential additional luggage, which costs $146 for an extra bag on Emirates (prepaid online) vs $240 with Air India.
A big factor also to take into consideration is load factors and social distancing. My understanding is the AI flights are full as most people think that's their only option. But Emirates is practically empty both ways. There were only thirty (30) people in economy the last few times to and from Dubai to Chicago. So anyone can relax in their own personal rows instead of being crammed on Air India. That should also be taken into consideration regarding exposure.
Anyone not going to directly between two major cities, ie Delhi, Mumbai, Chicago, NYC, will need to transit somewhere, eg Ahmedabad to Seattle. The question is do they want to transit in Delhi or Dubai or Doha. Wherever it is you'll be at risk of exposure, but the ME3 require a negative PCR Test for all flights, while Air India does not. Outbound to India on AI it's technically possible no one on the plane had a pcr test done (as India does not require it). While the return people will have them--due to the US requirement of one for entry--if you need an initial domestic connecting flight from another city in India, that flight likely will have people without tests done.
Timewise you could probably have it around the same total time, if you get lucky, especially in Delhi which has a more limited schedule to tier 2 or 3 cities (eg to Trivandrum, an 11 hour layover in Delhi would have been necessary when coming from Chicago).
There is a matter of potential additional luggage, which costs $146 for an extra bag on Emirates (prepaid online) vs $240 with Air India.
A big factor also to take into consideration is load factors and social distancing. My understanding is the AI flights are full as most people think that's their only option. But Emirates is practically empty both ways. There were only thirty (30) people in economy the last few times to and from Dubai to Chicago. So anyone can relax in their own personal rows instead of being crammed on Air India. That should also be taken into consideration regarding exposure.
Feb 12, 2021, 1:12 am
#719
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,184
There is no end in sight for the bubble trouble... they just signed another agreement with Russia. Initially they indicated that normal bilaterals will resume with the summer schedule 2021, which starts at the end of March...
Puri-ji seems to have greater ambitions. Recently he started tweeting about how bad the WTO is, lets hope he gets promoted into another ministry and a new minister comes in who respects multilaterilsm. I know... hope springs eternal.
Puri-ji seems to have greater ambitions. Recently he started tweeting about how bad the WTO is, lets hope he gets promoted into another ministry and a new minister comes in who respects multilaterilsm. I know... hope springs eternal.
Feb 12, 2021, 6:14 am
#720
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: EY
Posts: 852
Are you planning to go to India for just 24 hours? In any case as per the wording of the rule the pcr test should be taken in the last place you had a layover. So if you need to check in at the airport desk in India, bring a test from India.