[iraghava]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Ishan, take Lufthansa. Nothing spectacular about their service, but generally nothing yucky either.

Originally Posted by mjothi

Perfect choice. I too usually prefer this LH. The only problem is we miss those in seat video in those SQ ones.

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

My vote too, goes for LH. Remember the old 'fill it, shut it, forget it' ad for HH. Well, LH is something like that. FRA of course is a maze (with a very formidable security apparatus), but not worse than Indian roads.

Thanks guys! I've flown Lufthansa before and yes though they are reliable, the experience isn't that great. I can't say why but the whole experience has always left me feeling a bit cold.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Despite leaving me naked in SFO, BA ain't bad. The seat space is good and if you ae quick to check iin on line, you get the right seat.

T5 is good. Baggage gremlins have been sorted - just ensure weather is good else sysem breaks down when rerouting crisis happens

DXB is another option but you need to queue for a dump in DXB airport

Thank Ajit. I've flown BA a bunch of times to NY and preferred it because I didn't have to pay extra to stay over in London over the return leg.

I was apprehensive because I had been hearing horror stories recently and despite my good experiences with them over the years, it left me a little apprehensive.

And yeah, don't wanna fly EK primarily because one, they don't fly to Boston & two because the DXB-NY flight is going to be quite long.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I probably said this before, but no, I don't think BA is that bad! But I have no choice, for a direct flight to London from Chennai, so I haven't tried another for a while.

If you can raise the money, and it is a fairly substantial increase, fly BA's "World Traveller Plus". The extra seven inches of legroom, and slightly wider seats, really makes a difference.

Yes, T5 is great now. Much better than T4 was. Even boarding seemed relaxed.

Thanks Thad. I've flown World Traveller Plus a few times before and it is definitely a marked difference on the cattle class! Let's see how much the difference is & if it isn't too significant, then I'll go Plus class again.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

id vote for ba since you want to stop over in london and meet your friends. they arent that bad and havent lost any luggage of mine the couple of times ive flown with them. and i agree with thad fly world traveller plus, its not as good as business but is much more comfortable than economy for the almost 9hr flight to london. ba does have a flight from london to boston. it is 6.5hrs.

another option is to fly jet to london and then fly onwards to boston on american airlines or ba.

Yeah, I too was rooting for BA but wanted to confirm if it's ok or not. And no man, I don't wanna switch airlines, prefer to keep it simple & straight forward.

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Supposedly there is a law which says that if you are flying into Europe via LHR, you need a transit visa. But if you are flying elsewhere, you dont need one. This doesnt make sense at all.

Can someone clarify? Thad?

I''ve heard that now even for transit from LHR, you need a visa.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by iraghava

Yeah, I too was rooting for BA but wanted to confirm if it's ok or not. And no man, I don't wanna switch airlines, prefer to keep it simple & straight forward.

in which case stick to ba. ive flown mumbai-lhr-boston on ba all they way through and on ba till lhr and then on aa till boston. ba all the way through is better.

[sk456]

or you can try flyng retro i.e Air India where everthing according to me belongs to the 70's.

[iraghava]

AI is a no go. One they only have direct flights to and two they fly to NY.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Upgrade to World Traveller Plus on BA

You can upgrade on way only, so the possibility is there to upgrade the longer and suffer the shorter. Chennai -> LHR is almost an hour longer than LHR -> Chennai.

Another advantage: you get twice the booked-in luggage allowance in WT+, and, even if you only upgrade one way, you still get the allowance for both trips --- nice of them not to expect you to leave half your luggage behind!

[prashanthyr]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Supposedly there is a law which says that if you are flying into Europe via LHR, you need a transit visa. But if you are flying elsewhere, you dont need one. This doesnt make sense at all.

Can someone clarify? Thad?

Do I need a visa?

Indian passport holders typically need a transit visa except under certain conditions. These are

Passengers exempt from the DATV requirement
Holders of certain documents are, regardless of nationality, exempt from the requirement to hold a Direct Airside Transit Visa when transiting the UK.
A transit passenger is not required to hold a transit visa if he holds or a person with whom he arrives in the United Kingdom holds on his behalf:
A valid visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America and a valid airline ticket for travel via the United Kingdom as part of a journey from another country or territory to the country in respect of which the visa is held;
A valid visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America and a valid airline ticket for travel via the United Kingdom as part of a journey from the country in respect of which the visa is held to another country or territory;
A valid airline ticket for travel via the United Kingdom as part of a journey from Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America to another country or territory, provided that the transit passenger does not seek to transit the United Kingdom on a date more than six months from the date on which he last entered Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America with a valid visa for entry to that country;
A valid USA I-551 Permanent Resident Card issued on or after 21st April 1998;
A valid Canadian Permanent Resident Card issued on or after 28th June 2002;
A valid common format Category D visa for entry to an EEA State;
A valid common format residence permit issued by an EEA State pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No. 1030/2002;
A diplomatic or service passport issued by the People’s Republic of China; or
A diplomatic or official passport issued by India; or,
A diplomatic or official passport issued by Vietnam.

[sk456]

Originally Posted by iraghava

AI is a no go. One they only have direct flights to and two they fly to NY.

Ishan I was kiddin about AI. If I was paying for my ticket i'd never travel AI. It sucks rotten.

[anekho]

guys, I warmly recommend Jet Airways for international flights. I regular their Brussels - Chennai route and absolutely love it.
The Aircraft has so far always been timely and is equipped nicely even in economy; each seat gets it's own touch screen display allowing you to choose what you want to watch or listen to from the huge collection. The 9-hour flight feels like a blink of an eye.
The Air-hostesses always serve with a smile, and the aircraft is impeccably clean.
So far I have had no issues with loss of luggage or similar.
Dammit, even the food is delicious (for vegy like me this is rare on flights)!
5/5 from side to Jet's International Flights (Atleast Brussels-Chennai-Brussels route)

cheers

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by sk456

Ishan I was kiddin about AI. If I was paying for my ticket i'd never travel AI. It sucks rotten.

Point taken Saurabh!

[isldhn]

Hey everyone. Anybody tried Continental airlines recently. Getting a good fare for LA. But the problem is that it is a direct flight from Del to Newark. Also getting a good fare from KLM. BTW which agent or online site would give me a thorough comparison between all airlines. Have already tried the usual like- Make my trip, Yatra, Clear trip etc.

[Fountainheader]

Originally Posted by isldhn

Hey everyone. Anybody tried Continental airlines recently. Getting a good fare for LA. But the problem is that it is a direct flight from Del to Newark. Also getting a good fare from KLM. BTW which agent or online site would give me a thorough comparison between all airlines. Have already tried the usual like- Make my trip, Yatra, Clear trip etc.

You can try International sites such as Kayak, Expedia, Priceline.

[isldhn]

Guys,
Out of KLM,Lufthansa and Continental, which one would you suggest for a 55yr old Lady travelling from Del-LA. I guess it will all come down to the maximum passenger comfort and better veg. food available. The layover times for all of them are almost the same like 2-3 hrs. One more thing which can decide the airline will be better duty free shopping experience at the respective airports . I guess my list is not that long but availability of the cheapest (2 pc. limit) thing in the duty free area will tilt the favour towards that respective airline.

[anekho]

what are the long-term (1 week) parking facilities at Chennai airport?
someone please answer

cheers

[Thad E Ginathom]

I've wondered that myself. Sometimes I think that, if I'm going away for a week, I'd rather drive to the airport, and have my car there for when I get back.

I have the impression though, that there are no long-term facilities, only daily charging. I'd be interested to know if that is correct.

I did see something in the newspaper within the last couple of days about traffic choas at the airport due to work-in-progress, with all the cabs displaced from their usual place --- so what facilities there are there may be reduced just now anyway.

[anekho]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I've wondered that myself. Sometimes I think that, if I'm going away for a week, I'd rather drive to the airport, and have my car there for when I get back.

I have the impression though, that there are no long-term facilities, only daily charging. I'd be interested to know if that is correct.

I did see something in the newspaper within the last couple of days about traffic choas at the airport due to work-in-progress, with all the cabs displaced from their usual place --- so what facilities there are there may be reduced just now anyway.

same! I'll be out for roughly a week and would prefer avoiding the hassle of taxi's. I also read in some paper that along with expansion plans, a four storey parking house is going to be built. It'll be awesome

cheers