Hi Sahil, I have been flying US-India for 25+ years and still cannot guess with any accuracy which airline is going to offer the cheapest fare just once a few months from now, let alone for several years in a row.

The best you can do is join a program which is a member of an alliance. One of the Star Alliance (*A) airlines should serve you well. Then fly a *A carrier each time - see staralliance.com for a list - whenever possible and credit the miles to your primary program.

Sometimes it will happen that the cheapest fare is not from star alliance: the cheapest *A fare could be $1000, but Etihad might be offering $800. In this case you'll have to choose between benefits of program loyalty and saving money. All of us have to make such calls every now and then. However, absent huge savings, I see no reason to prefer a stand-alone airline like Etihad or Jet.

Good luck. Let us know what you decide.

Yeah. I meant DEL. Why fly via the Pacific? That will add an extra stopover and won't that also cost extra money? UA MP? What's that?
What LCC's fly from DEL to JFK?

AC Aeroplan? Never heard of it...
*A flights to Aeroplan? Do you mean Star Alliance flights?
Yeah I guess I won't join JetPrivilege..
Air India isn't that great but they are joining the Star Allaince!

I want to stick to one alliance whether it is $200 more expensive or not.

So Star Alliance is the best?

Therefore.. I should fly from DEL to JFK via Lufthansa?

Yes, it's a much longer routing to get to NYC.
Air Canada Aeroplan - that's Air Canada's Frequent Flyer Program (actually there are two aspects to it; one for status and one for awards, but that's another story).
Yes. It's a commonly used abbreviation on FT.
That remains to be seen (IMO) :p
Well, I can't speak for aktchi, but *A have the most options for the type of itinerary you're looking for - a mid-way halt between DEL and NYC. You can fly LH and LX, then AI if they ever join. There is also Turkish via Istanbul, Austrian via Vienna, Egyptair through Cairo, etc. And if you need to fly a non-stop for whatever reason, there is always CO.
oneworld have BA and AY flights, but don't expect to earn much miles from flying in discount coach. BA will only give you 25% of the miles, for example.
SkyTeam have KLM and AF; I don't really know all much about ST FFPs, though; but what I've seen was not impressive enough to switch me away (DL and AF/KL seem to have pretty stingy programs for longhaul awards).

*A does seem well-suited your situation. However, it is not just Lufthansa. It is huge alliance and a large number of them will be able to fly DEL-NYC with one stop (or Continental nonstop). Mr. Bean has pointed out a few. You can combine them, eg, Lufthansa to FRA, then United to NYC. So there will be many options to choose form, based on the fare, schedule, miles earned, need or no need for visa at some transit point, or some other consideration.

If you need help with choosing a specific airline program within *A, maybe you will get better expertise at the *A forum.

So you are saying then I should just go with *A?

So to go from DEL-JFK, what would be the best route and flight on *A?

Crazysah,

As others have pointed before , * alliance will suit you the best. Don't think too much about it, they are talking from their experience and knowledge. The best route and flights may be subjective terms. Will be you be willing to spend extra $'s to get a particular route? Best flight doesn't really translate to what you will need? Best flight doesn't really mean Best airline program to collect miles into.

Since you will be traveling 3 times, you will get ample opportunity to test yourself and see which one is best.

If you want to do some spade work look at airlines flying to delhi from NYC and see where they connect. Search on any search engine like kayak.com and see connections.

I think you are being unnecessarily impatient. We can help you find the cheapest flight (if we knew exact dates), or the shortest connection, or the longest one (for most miles), or the one that employs/avoids a specific connecting city, etc...but to declare something to be the best, you need preferences, and for that you need experience, of which you seem to have very little at present.

For example, how many 15-hour non-stop flights have you flown? If none, you can't know if you'd love it or hate it.

How many times have you connected in London, Frankfurt, Amman, or Singapore? If none or very few you can't know which one you'd choose and which one you'd want to avoid, for whatever reason.

As someone who is just becoming aware of FF programs, you can't possibly know if you would really like to fly extra (eg, DEL-FRA-LAX-NYC instead of DEL-FRA-NYC) just to earn more miles, as some in this forum love to do?

It takes experience to discover all this about yourself and you can't substitute theoretical thinking for that.

In general - first book your first flight and than decide on the FF program. Why put the cart before the horse?

Okay.

So if I fly *A 3 times a year for the next four years.. I will get a lot of miles right and enough for upgrades and free flights?

Secondly, what is the best *A route to get from DEL to JFK?

Getting free flights and upgrades depends on many factors such as:
your status with the airline.
How upgrades work with the airline you choose.
and etc, etc.

You have the question: "which is the best Star A DEL to JFK"? you have actually asked this question several times and people have given you detailed answers.

I suggest you do some homework:
Read about Star Alliance.
read about the frequent flier programs of different airlines that you may choose.
Then, ask specific questions.

Its hard for anyone to give you an answer for a general question like:
"I want to fly A to B, which is best?".

Because, what is best for you may not be the best for me.

I think you are a little confused about the *A program.
"*A DOES NOT RUN ANY FFP"
It is just a grouping of airlines for marketing purposes.
You have to join one of *A members to collect miles by joining one of the member's FFP, in order to collect miles/points for redeeming awards (RDM) or (EQM) for getting perks from the airline it self or other *A members.

You may join, say BMI's DC and collect miles for flying Turkish Airline from DEL-IST-JFK. This is the whole idea of joining an airline that is a member of an alliance like *A. Why someone suggests a route like DEL-FRA-LAX-NYC or DEL-SIN-NRT-SFO-JFK, is to collect more miles than flying DEL-EWR and paying much less than the direct flight. The reason you are joining the FFP is to get a LOT of free flights, so flying a longer route to collect those miles a the main hobby of a lot folks in this forum!!

Let's try a different track, to figure out what may be best for you.

Would you prefer a nonstop 15-16 hour flight, or do you want a mid-journey stop, to "stretch legs" and shop etc for a few hours?

Even if you want a stop, would you like to connect as efficiently as possible (for maximum comfort) or zig-zag around the world as much as possible (for maximum miles)?

Would you like to connect in a big airport (hassle with excitement), or a small one (peaceful)?

Would you like to avoid connecting in countries that may require a transit visa even to change planes at the airport? (Not sure which ones do for you case, but it will be a consideration. Getting a visa costs time and money.)

You might also want to consider what credit cards either you already have or want to have or can qualify for. Check out the credit card forum for deals; you often get nice bonuses for signing up for certain cards.

I would prefer a stop. No non-stop flights for me. I like to get off at airports.
Either is fine for me as far as the airport goes. Big or small doesn't make a difference.

I have a US passport so for most countries, visa is not a problem. So I don't think that will matter.

Well I don't have any credit cards at the moment but am planning on getting one. I know Lufthansa has one right?

Crazysah

So do I. But I have not found that the specific airline or alliance helps meet that preference in any way.