Travelling to India by air from North America

Flying from North America to India can be a tiresome experience for most travelers.  Flights lasting almost 17 hours are not easy to endure. As it is, travelling by air is no longer the pleasant experience even for short flights as  airlines keep cutting services to extreme levels.    

So if you are toying with the idea of what airline to use when traveling to India from the United States or Canada.  You may want to read on.

I have travelled to India several times from North America by most of the popular airlines such as Air Canada, Lufthansa and British Airways.  I find the flights long and demanding.  Airlines today have made economy class travel almost unbearable by cutting services under the guise of cost cutting to extreme levels.  Leg room seems to get less and less every time you get on an airplane and occupy an economy seat. Courteous service from flight attendants is a thing of the past.  

BRITISH AIRWAYS - TORONTO - MUBAI FLIGHT REVIEW While shopping online for a flight to Mumbai from Toronto, I found the best deal with British Airways. Their price incidentally turned out to be around $250 cheaper than Jet Airways. I will be flying to Mumbai, India in June 2008 from Toronto Canada on British Airways and will post a review of the flight on this page.

REVIEW - FLYING BY JET AIRWAYS

In February 2007 I traveled to New Delhi by Air Canada from Toronto via Zurich. When an opportunity came to visit India in September 2007 I decided to try out Jet Airways new Toronto to Delhi flight that was introduced on September 5, 2007. Jet had been advertising ergonomic seating that intrigued me and I decided to fly on Jet Airways.

When it came to price, Jet Airlines was higher than Air India but slightly cheaper than some of the other airlines such as Air Canada, Lufthansa, United and British Airways. 

On September 17, 2007 I flew to New Delhi from Toronto on Jet Airlines.  

This was one flight that I did enjoy.

√ Seats in the economy class were quite
   comfortable and most of all appeared to
   have more leg room. When the seat is reclined
   it actually tilts slightly upward and I found it quite
   comfortable specially when watching in flight
   entertainment programs.

√ Hot towels were given out in economy class that 
   were actually hot towels and not the paper
   towels that other airlines hand out to their economy class passengers.

√ While first class passengers on most airlines get a glass of champagne as a
   welcome aboard gesture. Economy class passengers usually wait for the
   refreshment cart to come by for their choice of soft drink. This can  
   sometimes take over half an hour depending on where you are seated. On
   my Jet Airlines flight within minutes a tray was passed around for passengers
   to pick up their choice of a glass of orange, apple or pineapple juice.

√ Every economy class passenger was given a welcome aboard gift of a smart
   pack containing a tooth brush, tooth paste, eye shade and a pair of socks. 
   An excellent way to tell passengers we appreciate your business.  Made me
   remember flights in the seventies.

√ Economy class passengers were given menu cards  
   during our flight. Choice of not only vegetarian or 
   non-vegetarian meals but passengers could also 
   choose from an international selection.

   I have travelled on airplanes since 1970 but can’t
   remember when economy class passengers were
   offered a menu card to choose meals from. 

   Food presentation was also superior to other airlines,
   Real glass for wine instead of the typical plastic 
   offered by other airlines to economy class
   passengers.

   Real cutlery instead of plastic with diner. 

   May be Jet Airlines will start a trend other airlines
   can follow.

√ Choice of in-flight movies from Hollywood and Bollywood, as well as a great
   mix of musical entertainment was available to all economy class passengers.
   Even their head phones were superior to what other airlines offer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the flight. We flew out from Toronto on schedule and arrived almost an hour early in Brussels due to favorable tail winds. 

On arrival at Brussels, despite an announcement for Delhi passengers to see ground staff. I found no one in the corridor from Jet Airlines. Several passengers wondered around trying to find out where to go. I spotted a Jet airlines staff member after clearing the security check at one of Jet Airlines Mumbai flight desk and inquired about the gate where the flight for Delhi would be leaving from. She gave me the wrong gate number. However this turned out to be only a minor inconvenience.   

The second sector of the flight from Brussels to Delhi arrived half an hour early and service was excellent. The flight attendants were very courteous. The yellow jackets actually stand out and indeed look sharp. Whoever designed these uniforms for Jet has done a superb job. 

Jet Airlines indeed has a winner here if they can keep up their service. 

If you are planning to fly from New Jersey or Toronto to Delhi or Mumbai then Jet airlines is the way to go. In case you are wondering, Jet Airlines is not paying a dime for this recommendation and none of my friends or relatives work for Jet Airlines.

I flew from Toronto to Delhi on February 7, 2007 by Air Canada and would give them three points out of ten when it comes to overall service. For my recent flight from Toronto to Delhi on September 17, 2007 by Jet Airlines flight number 0225 I would give them an eight out of ten.

I would go further and say that Jets economy class service on this flight was way beyond economy class service of any other airline. Just hope they can maintain this level. 

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Airlines spend millions of dollars on advertising their services, if only they spend a small fraction of this on good customer service.

Word of mouth advertisement from their passengers would certainly spread and they would profit in the long run.

Passenger recommendations is not only cheapest form of advertising but also one of the most effective.

On February 20, 2007 I will be traveling to Brussels by Jet Airlines from Mumbai. Hopefully they will continue to maintain the standard of service they have started with on their introductory flights to India from New Jersey and Toronto. Will update this page after my flight.

Jet Airlines also offers first and business class seating. I think they call their business class seats 'Premier Class'. Almost all airlines offer superior service to their first class passengers and since I have not travelled on Jets Premier or first class seats I am not in a position to comment on their service.

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