cjstobbs

Does anyone have any recommended airlines for flights to India? Have you flown on a consolidator's flight? Cathay is about $1400 and I see a consolidators price for about $985 (from LA or SF to Delhi). Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Kathie

I've not used consolidators. Often, consolidator tickets do not allow advance seat selection and they often don't award frequent flier miles (if those things are important to you). Also, make sure you are comparing apples with apples: do both price quotes include all taxes and fees?

From SFO or LAX United may well have cheaper fares.

TracyB

I recently flew from Vancouver to Bombay using a company out of Vancouver for 1350 Canadian (not including taxes).with Cathay and got 100% frequent flyer points..I thought that was a good deal..But i guess that doesn't help you out of LA or SFO!! Also had great seat selection in the first 2 rows of economy class the whole way..

jacketwatch

We have used consolidators to India B4 w/o problems and have been awarded ffm's too. From the west coast (we are in Chi.) what about Singapore Air? They are hightly rated. BTW when do plan to go and where if I may ask? Why? Delhi, if that is your stop is broiling now. Temp today is 107!

cjstobbs

We are going in November. Fly into Delhi, see little then go to Jaipur and then do the Heritage on Wheels train, then Agra, then Safari in Bandhavgarh, then Varanasi, then home. I was looking at Singapore also. Heat doesn't bother me - it's been in the 90's here all week. We also see some 100 plus degrees in the summer.

jacketwatch

Its good you are going in Nov. The weather then is quite nice. However in India in the summer the heat is hotter, there is much less AC and even if there is the elec. goes out on a daily basis. Its very different from here. Glad you will not learn that the hard way. .
There is a ton to do in Delhi. Do try to see the Lotus temple and the home of Indira Gahndi, now a shrine to her life. Its quite moving. Also as you say "we" if there is someone male then I suggest getting clothes made. A tailor made suit can be had in India for a song, or consider shirts, pants, etc. The material there is excellent as well. As they say in India, namaste.

oceania

It would help to know where you're flying out. My family has used Air Canada, Cathay, Kuwait Airlines, KLM, they're all fine and price varies where you're flying out of and what time of year.

cjstobbs

We can fly out of Los Angeles of San Francisco, although LA is preferable.

ayakkadan

Having flown from India to US and back four times in the last year using different carriers, my vote is strongly for Singapore Airlines. Lufthansa is good too, but still is way behind what Singapore Airlines has to offer. Plus Lufthansa flies Trans-Atlantic, which means a longer trip for those on the west coast. Singapore Airlines on the other hand flies Trans-Pacific.

agtoau

Ayakkadan is mistaken. Lufthansa is probably the quickest means to get to India, certainly to Mumbai from SFO and LAX, Singapore Airlines among the slowest due to the long layover in Singapore. The SFO-FRA-BOM Lufthansa route has only a 1.5-2 hours layover in FRA. Another quick option is Korean Air but I haven't personally flown them.

rkkwan

Fastest way from LAX to DEL is on AI's one-stop via FRA. Under 20 hours. Fastest way from SFO is by LH through FRA or MUC. About 21 hours total to DEL. All via the Atlantic, of course.

CX via HKG has a 4.5 hour layover if you take the afternoon flight out of LAX (total around 24.5), more if you take the midnight one.

Coming back, China Eastern and Cathay Pacific are faster, at around 20hr, with connection in PVG or HKG. LH via FRA will take 1.5 hours more.

jacketwatch

Another possibility is to take AA from ORD which has a 15 hr. NS to Delhi. AC and Continental fly NS from Toronto and Newark respectively. With good connections you could be there in around 20 hrs.

rkkwan

AC no longer flies YYZ-DEL non-stop. It's now a one-stop service via Zurich.

flygirl

what do you think of Air France to Mumbai, or NWA?

ayakkadan

I've flown Air France from Chicago to Chennai, though not to Mumbai. Their trans-atlantic Chicago-Paris flight was quite good, with individual TV monitors behind each seat [though not the selection offerred by the likes of Singapore Airlines]. Service was quite good, much better than the Delta operated code-share flight from Paris to Chennai. However, a friend of mine was caught in Paris when the Air France staff apparently went on strike. You might want to consider that when choosing Air France.
An aside to the previous comment about me being wrong about Singapore Airlines ......I never did mention that it was the quickest way to get to India. However, as far as service is considered, it definitely is the best that flies to India [haven't flown Emirates yet, so may be I'm mistaken]. Also you do get a visa on arrival in Singapore and some free subway passes that you can use to see Singapore during the lay over.