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How Early We Should Book Flight Tickets To India? Any Inputs?

Discussion in 'General Discussions - USA & Canada' started by gknew, Jan 3, 2019.

  1. gknew

    gknew Gold IL'ite

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    Hi all,
    I moved to US 2 years back. I didn't travel to India in these 2 years and planning for a trip this Summer.
    So, I have few questions about booking flight tickets to India.
    1.How early should I book tickets to India?
    2. When can I find the cheap price? Any specific days/month?
    3. I am planning for the month of May/june . So, when can I book my tickets?
    4. I fly from East coast. Any specific airlines which are cheaper?
    Any airlines offer the refundable amount, i.e..when we book tickets at a higher price and then the price goes down and can we get the amount refund?
    Sorry for many questions. Since this is the first time booking, I have many questions.

    Please share ur inputs and experience.
    Thank you!!
     
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  2. gknew

    gknew Gold IL'ite

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    Hi all,
    I moved to US 2 years back. I didn't travel to India in these 2 years and planning for a trip this Summer.
    So, I have few questions about booking flight tickets to India.
    1.How early should I book tickets to India?
    2. When can I find the cheap price? Any specific days/month?
    3. I am planning for the month of May/june . So, when can I book my tickets?
    4. I fly from East coast. Any specific airlines which are cheaper?
    Any airlines offer the refundable amount, i.e..when we book tickets at a higher price and then the price goes down and can we get the amount refund?
    Sorry for many questions. Since this is the first time booking, I have many questions.

    Please share ur inputs and experience.
    Thank you!!
     
  3. MalStrom

    MalStrom IL Hall of Fame

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    If you are booking for May-June that is the peak season. If you have your dates confirmed you can start looking for fares and buy soon. Emirates and Etihad have newer planes than the European and American carriers if you can stomach the 15 hour leg. I would ask your desi friends and colleagues if they have any travel agents they recommend. They might be able to get you better prices and also make changes more easily.
     
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  4. gknew

    gknew Gold IL'ite

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    Thank you so much for your reply.
    I don't know any travel agents. I will check with friends.
     
  5. Laks09

    Laks09 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Now! Summer is peak season. You won’t get good rates if you don’t book pronto. Qatar airways is the best(if Qatar flies from your destination). Emirates and Etihad I give them only two stars these days. Terrible inflight service.
     
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  6. gknew

    gknew Gold IL'ite

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    Thank you so much..
    Yeah...Qatar flies from my destination..I will check it out..I thought Emirates was better in the flight service.
     
  7. Laks09

    Laks09 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    They used to be. Things have changed lately. They don’t seem to care.
     
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  8. gknew

    gknew Gold IL'ite

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    Oh ok..I haven't traveled in any of the airlines except British airways. I will look into Qatar then..
     
  9. MalStrom

    MalStrom IL Hall of Fame

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    I just flew Etihad for the first time last month and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of flight service even in cattle class. Polite and friendly attendants even in the long flights. Definitely nicer than the Western carriers. Finishing US customs clearance in Abu Dhabi is a also a big plus.
     
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  10. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    No refund if price goes down.

    About cancellation - by law, airlines have to give a full refund if you cancel ticket within 24 hours of payment. This is for flights from USA.

    Change of date charge - if you want to keep return date flexible, look into any charges for change.

    If your dates are flexible, go to expedia.com or individual airlines sites, keep searching fares for all dates in May and early June, and see at what date summer rates kick in. It is usually when schools close for summer. Then, you can book the latest date at the before-summer price. This is one of the most fun parts of India trip for me. : )

    Travel agent - use them for booking if it presents an advantage. My friend uses travel agent. When she needs change of return date or any thing related to ticket while in India, it is night in India when day in USA. Precious India trip time goes in chasing travel agent. And some travel agents are not prompt in service for date-change kind of things.
     
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