Finding a good fare to India -- 2005

Mike Cork · Jun 19th, 2009, 03:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by gw5458

Booked return flights for two adults with Gulf Air yesterday. London-Delhi via Bahrain. Fly out late July, return late August. Long transfer (6 hours) but very cheap at £287 per person. Found the same prices through Travelocity and kayak.co.uk

£281.30 flying with gulfair
£274 Austrian

There are lots of offers out there

palerider · Jun 19th, 2009, 16:57

Well, I had to cancel the last flight. I got another one with Malaysian Airlines, for 900 dollars.
And only 1 hour stopover in Kuala lumpur.

akak · Aug 1st, 2009, 00:51

Hi, I'm new to the forum, planning a trip to Delhi (flying out of Los Angeles). The best fares for my travel dates (end Sept-mid-Oct) are on Asiana Airlines (South Korean). Wondering if anyone has any feedback on it?

zsonia2993 · Aug 1st, 2009, 01:47

Korean Air is very good. Seoul airport is awesome too.

oops.. I thought you said Asian airline Korea !! Didnt read Asiana !! Sorry.

zsonia2993 · Aug 1st, 2009, 01:56

Hi,

Booked our tickets Detroit to Bombay via Frankfurt (Lufthansa) for December-January.
We got a fare of USD 1372 per ticket ..looked on kayak. Lufthansa had same for >USD 2000, orbitz >USD 1500.

It has good flight times for Detroit, leave for detroit airport in the evening after work.... arrive detroit airport around mid day on the way back with enough time to make sense of your surroundings and to go to work the next day.
Mumbai times arent too great - lands in mumbai at 1.30am !! But whatev.

alouise · Aug 1st, 2009, 02:19

Malaysia airlines was recently rated as third best airline in the world, in terms of several criteria which included "financial health". In fourth place Qantas, first place Singapore airlines and second place went I think to a Turkish airline. Thai and British airways not even in the top 10.

What do these top airlines have in common? Well, don't know about the Turkish airline (don't even know its name), but there are two things connecting Singapore and Malaysia. Both lost heavily on derivatives investments, and were in a precarious situation early this year trying to get access to credit to fund operations, what with the credit squeeze. What did they do? They immediately started selling discounted flight tickets. Plus I think there's a greater ability to do this when the government runs the airline?

For example, Malaysia's been selling tickets at 60-80% discount and you end up paying lots more in taxes than the fare. Even so, even with all the taxes, it's now cheaper to fly to India than it was in the 1990s. Hell, it's cheaper to fly to Malaysia than it is to fly to many places within Australia.

In fact, I almost wish they'd stop these discounts. I mean, how many tickets to India can a person buy in a year! Great bargains, and slowly going broke!

akak · Aug 1st, 2009, 11:17

No problem. I've been looking up reviews via google, and they all tend to be positive. Only iffy aspect is the food.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zsonia2993

Korean Air is very good. Seoul airport is awesome too.

oops.. I thought you said Asian airline Korea !! Didnt read Asiana !! Sorry.

nycank · Aug 2nd, 2009, 09:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by akak

No problem. I've been looking up reviews via google, and they all tend to be positive. Only iffy aspect is the food.

Forget g*le go to skytrax or flyertalk. read reviews on the latter site for the airline of your choice. If you like korean food, ask for bimpbap for breakfast

and drink soju all the way. ICN airport is a calm and well organized place to relax during layovers.

zsonia2993 · Aug 2nd, 2009, 21:06

bibim bap??

nycank · Aug 3rd, 2009, 04:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by zsonia2993

bibim bap??

Slippery fingers

somari · Aug 3rd, 2009, 07:08

For travelling from US to India, travel agents offer the best prices most of the times. From my experience, NorthWest and Air France has good fares on their websites, and the agents' fares too are around the same. However, for other airlines, it pays to check with a travel agent once. Sometime back, I was looking for an airfare from US to India on British airways, and the websites quoted around $1700. However, the agent was able to get it to me for around $1550.

You will also not get good fares on websites for asian airlines like Singapore, Cathay pacific, Malaysian, Air India, Korean Air, Asiana etc from websites. Travel agents are the best bet for these airlines. Same is true for British, Lufthansa etc.

vir · Aug 3rd, 2009, 08:02

My wife took Asiana Airlines flight from Los Angeles to New Delhi last month. Its a good airline. It was US $990 round trip.

Quote:

Originally Posted by akak

Hi, I'm new to the forum, planning a trip to Delhi (flying out of Los Angeles). The best fares for my travel dates (end Sept-mid-Oct) are on Asiana Airlines (South Korean). Wondering if anyone has any feedback on it?

nycank · Aug 3rd, 2009, 09:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by somari

For travelling from US to India, travel agents offer the best prices most of the times. From my experience, NorthWest and Air France has good fares on their websites, and the agents' fares too are around the same. However, for other airlines, it pays to check with a travel agent once. Sometime back, I was looking for an airfare from US to India on British airways, and the websites quoted around $1700. However, the agent was able to get it to me for around $1550.

You will also not get good fares on websites for asian airlines like Singapore, Cathay pacific, Malaysian, Air India, Korean Air, Asiana etc from websites. Travel agents are the best bet for these airlines. Same is true for British, Lufthansa etc.

Ethnic Travel Agents in major markets sell from inventory that is reserved for bulk, and/or unpublished fare categories. These have restrictions, and some give reduced or no miles.

BA and Singapore (SQ) are quite well known to be doing this. Remember, TAs do not get any commission on selling published fare tickets alone. A value proposition has to exist.

If someone is an occasional or once in two year traveler to India, then miles/points/upgrades/DBC all do not matter, Cheapest fare will do... Ever flown Borat Airways via Khazakstan ?

akak · Aug 8th, 2009, 06:28

thanks. I did check with a travel agent. At first they quoted me a little more than what airfare.com was showing ($1020 for adult) and then shaved off a few dollars... only about $90 for the four tickets combined.

Quote:

Originally Posted by somari

For travelling from US to India, travel agents offer the best prices most of the times. From my experience, NorthWest and Air France has good fares on their websites, and the agents' fares too are around the same. However, for other airlines, it pays to check with a travel agent once. Sometime back, I was looking for an airfare from US to India on British airways, and the websites quoted around $1700. However, the agent was able to get it to me for around $1550.

You will also not get good fares on websites for asian airlines like Singapore, Cathay pacific, Malaysian, Air India, Korean Air, Asiana etc from websites. Travel agents are the best bet for these airlines. Same is true for British, Lufthansa etc.

nycank · Aug 8th, 2009, 12:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by akak

thanks. I did check with a travel agent. At first they quoted me a little more than what airfare.com was showing ($1020 for adult) and then shaved off a few dollars... only about $90 for the four tickets combined.

It is pretty good. I have not seen a sub1000 USD ticket ex-LAX for Delhi during the dussera/diwali season.

Jun 19th, 2009, 16:57	#197
palerider this is Brad. He's cute Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Armidale, N.S.W., Australia Posts: 2,226	Well, I had to cancel the last flight. I got another one with Malaysian Airlines, for 900 dollars. And only 1 hour stopover in Kuala lumpur. __________________ I always wanted to be someone when I grew up, I realise now that I should have been more specific.

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Aug 1st, 2009, 00:51	#198
akak Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: California Posts: 14	Hi, I'm new to the forum, planning a trip to Delhi (flying out of Los Angeles). The best fares for my travel dates (end Sept-mid-Oct) are on Asiana Airlines (South Korean). Wondering if anyone has any feedback on it?

Aug 1st, 2009, 01:47	#199
zsonia2993 Who/what made me a senior member? Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 139	Korean Air is very good. Seoul airport is awesome too. oops.. I thought you said Asian airline Korea !! Didnt read Asiana !! Sorry.

Aug 1st, 2009, 01:56	#200
zsonia2993 Who/what made me a senior member? Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 139	Hi, Booked our tickets Detroit to Bombay via Frankfurt (Lufthansa) for December-January. We got a fare of USD 1372 per ticket ..looked on kayak. Lufthansa had same for >USD 2000, orbitz >USD 1500. It has good flight times for Detroit, leave for detroit airport in the evening after work.... arrive detroit airport around mid day on the way back with enough time to make sense of your surroundings and to go to work the next day. Mumbai times arent too great - lands in mumbai at 1.30am !! But whatev.

Aug 1st, 2009, 02:19	#201
alouise Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: sydney Posts: 798	Malaysia airlines was recently rated as third best airline in the world, in terms of several criteria which included "financial health". In fourth place Qantas, first place Singapore airlines and second place went I think to a Turkish airline. Thai and British airways not even in the top 10. What do these top airlines have in common? Well, don't know about the Turkish airline (don't even know its name), but there are two things connecting Singapore and Malaysia. Both lost heavily on derivatives investments, and were in a precarious situation early this year trying to get access to credit to fund operations, what with the credit squeeze. What did they do? They immediately started selling discounted flight tickets. Plus I think there's a greater ability to do this when the government runs the airline? For example, Malaysia's been selling tickets at 60-80% discount and you end up paying lots more in taxes than the fare. Even so, even with all the taxes, it's now cheaper to fly to India than it was in the 1990s. Hell, it's cheaper to fly to Malaysia than it is to fly to many places within Australia. In fact, I almost wish they'd stop these discounts. I mean, how many tickets to India can a person buy in a year! Great bargains, and slowly going broke!

Aug 2nd, 2009, 21:06	#204
zsonia2993 Who/what made me a senior member? Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 139	bibim bap??

Aug 3rd, 2009, 07:08	#206
somari Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: USA Posts: 66	For travelling from US to India, travel agents offer the best prices most of the times. From my experience, NorthWest and Air France has good fares on their websites, and the agents' fares too are around the same. However, for other airlines, it pays to check with a travel agent once. Sometime back, I was looking for an airfare from US to India on British airways, and the websites quoted around $1700. However, the agent was able to get it to me for around $1550. You will also not get good fares on websites for asian airlines like Singapore, Cathay pacific, Malaysian, Air India, Korean Air, Asiana etc from websites. Travel agents are the best bet for these airlines. Same is true for British, Lufthansa etc.