How would you fly ATL - BLR - With Delta Bias
 

I am cross posting on airline forum for folks who like to chat about airlines, airports and the details of making a good journey............

We are considering trip to India in June and our head is spinning a bit.

We have been working hard to build Delta status but are disappointed that Delta has cut direct service to BOM (an alternate arrival city for us).

Delta's other options through Paris - an airport I have avoided for layovers and haven't heard the best with Air France although my research not thorough.

Delta seems to be posting that they fly 737 - Narrow Body jets on Flights to Dubai - I would need to do more research on this -but that doesn't seem like the nicest flight.

We'd be travelling with three small kids and consider a stop in Europe.

BA flights are running a few hundred less per ticket - and times 5 that adds up BUT I HATE to lose miles or not contribute to my status.

Was looking at routings with KLM that is part of Delta's alliance.

I know I have not done every bit of research on this but thought I would get an opinions.

DL flies the 777-LR to DXB, which is brand new and the flagship of the fleet. I'm guessing you would connect there to Kingfisher? If so, you will earn miles for DXB-BLR, but not status miles.

Should you want to go through Europe, then connecting with Air France is not that bad. CDG is not the best airport, but it isn't the nightmare many make it out to be. Anything over a 2 hour connection is plenty. Just be careful about the fare class for the CDG-BLR leg. You earn nothing for Air France L or N classes.

I guess I didn't commit to an answer...

I would probably go through Paris, assuming that I got miles for CDG-BLR. Otherwise, go through DXB. BA would be a nice option, except for the lousy FF program. Note: I am elite with both Delta and BA...

The new connection to BOM with Delta is through Amsterdam on KLM because of the merger between Delta and Northwest. You can fly many many different cities to AMS and connect there.

Thanks for thoughts - I did look in another search and saw that it is the 777 ATL -DBX so that helps.

Not sure if I'll want to go to BOM since BLR is our final destination and it adds more cost and bother. That said I love AMS and might add a day or two there if that were our routing.

at right now $400+ more per ticket (vs BA's good value) x 5 tickets =$2000 so we'll have to assess the value of miles and status is worth that much. I'd pay more for sure but that is a pretty big difference. With the BA routing and flights likely being of good quality.

I think if prices were equal we would do the ATL - DUBAI run to try out the longer flight as a better way to manage the pain of the journey. Maybe trying to stay the night on the outbound in order to arrive in BLR at a decent time. I'll keep an eye on things and see how it goes.

I assume you are going to India in June for a family purpose like a wedding, as otherwise it is the the hottest time of year there, and not a time I would recommend it as a good time travel as a tourist to the main tourist spots like Rajasthan, especially with children. Average daily temps in most of India are in the mid 90s F and usually over 100 F. Banglaore is probably the best of the lot, as it is elevated and misses the brunt of the heat, but you may still will find temps to be on the warm side; and of course while a lovely green city, there is very little for the tourist.

If your destination is Bangalore, then I would suggest you take Kingfisher Airlines, which has a non-stop flight from London to Banglaore about 5 times a week. Kingfisher is a partner with Delta. I believe you can get from Atalanta to London on a non-stop.

Also bear in mind that there is international service to Bangalore from Asian cities, like Hong Kong and Singapore. Delta is a partner with Singapore Airlines, Korean Airlines and Malaysian airlines. You might see if there are good routings via any of these airlines.

Delta is also a partner with Jet Airways, another excellent Indian private airline with international service. Jet Airways flies from JFK and Newark to Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai (via layovers of 2-3 hours in Brussels). You could connect to Bangalore from there.

Delta is also partner with Northwest Airlines, which has service to Mumbai and Delhi (via Amsterdam).

Dubai is perfectly fine for a transfer, as the airport is well organized and set up to work if you have to spend a few hours there. It will probably be in the middle of the night, but Dubai is not much to write home about in any event, IMO, so I would not spend any layover time there (and again not in June when it is really bloody hot. November and December are very pleasant.)

Thanks Cicerone! Yes all family reasons. It's either June or Christmas given kids holidays and we missed Christmas this year and not sure we can wait until next year. We'll likely hang out in Bangalore and try one trip to a cooler destination.

I'll check out routing through London. When I type into search engines - nothing comes up for Delta/kingfisher through London unless looked at separately and then it is super expensive. Will keep looking. I need to research if you can get MQM on Kingfisher or just miles.