Tips for flying to India from NYC?
 

I've flown NYC to Tokyo, but this is my first really long haul flight. I'm trying to figure out if it makes sense to do a straight 24 hour flight (with one stop) or, to fly to Europe/Hong Kong/elsewhere, spend the night, and then carry on. I'm also curious to hear people's favorite airlines for this long of a trip. And, any other tips?

Totally grateful in advance!

Thanks!

Straight 24 hour flight? Where in India is your final destination? Nonstop NYC-BOM is under 15 hours with a late afternoon-evening arrival. Nonstop DEL is 14 hour or under with early afternoon or evening arrivals. Connections from other airlines can allow for avoiding domestic travel.

Yes, JFK-DEL is only 9% farther than JFK-NRT. In fact, AIC102 has averaged 12:59 over the last 5 days, ANA9 12:50, both 777s.

Fwiw, I've always taken Emirates, and have enjoyed both a few hours in the airport/lounge and a few days in the city. HKG would seem to be the long way around, 1500 extra miles over DXB.

(Fwiw, Wikipedia calls NYC-Tokyo an ultra-long-haul flight, being >12 hours)

I stand corrected! :)

I'm flying to Chennai and I feel like most of the flights I'm seeing are 24 hours, with one stop. Is there a better way? If so, I'd love to know!

I just came back from Chennai last month. I flew on Emirates JFK->DXB -> MAA. Quick layover. Just enough time to get from one gate to another. First time on Emirates (or India for that matter). Good experience.

Flight New York, NY (JFK) to Dubai (DXB)
Emirates Air 208
Departure: 04:30 PM
Seat:16E (Confirmed)
John F Kennedy Intl (JFK)
Terminal:4
Duration: 12 hours, 50 minutes
Nonstop
Arrival: 01:20 PM
Dubai Intl Arpt (DXB)

Flight Dubai (DXB) to Chennai (MAA)
Emirates Air 546
Departure: 02:45 PM
Seat:09A (Confirmed)
Dubai Intl Arpt (DXB)
Terminal:3
Duration: 4 hours, 15 minutes
Nonstop
Arrival: 08:30 PM
Meenambarkkam (MAA)
Terminal:T4 - INTERNATIONAL

Thanks! Good to know - I wonder why all the sites I'm searching on are showing me longer, 24 hour routes? What platform did you use to book your flight?

I assume most are showing total travel time. NYC-Europe-India can nominally be two 7-8 hour flights with a 3-5 hour layover between, so that can be 20+ hours total.

On many websites, the flight options are ranked by ticket cost, and if there are multiple flights from NYC to the connection point, earlier departures from NYC might be cheaper than later ones, hence you're seeing 24-hour trips high up on the list.

Could some of those options also involve arrival into BOM or DEL with an onward leg to MAA with same flight number? That will add some hours as well but might not show up as an additional flight leg.

I'd use either EK, EY, or QR to get to India from JFK. All are going to offer a decent product and a quick/easy routing and transfer experience.

I have done this several times, with one stop in the Middle East or Europe. All of them should take less than 24 hours.
My personal preference if to fly through Europe (Frankfurt or London) to reach Chennai.
Another option is to fly non-stop to Delhi and then on to Chennai, but connections can be difficult on the way in, better on the return journey.

No non-stops, so it will be longer than 13, but there are still 18-20h options. Kayak shows Emirates, JFK through DXB; Qatar, JFK through DOH; Lufthansa, JFK through FRA; Air India, EWR through BOM (wouldn't recommend this), at under 19h; and Etihad/Jet, JFK through AUH, at under 20.

I've been quite happy with Emirates on the A380, but I've been fortunate to be in Business.

i fly this route 8-10 times a year but generally stick to delta/klm/air france....

it doesn't make sense to me to do a stop over to spend the night....i would just take the shortest flying time with the stopover....