Airfare to/from India

[jilliannep 13]

After looking about, I saw that the last thread about buying airline tickets to/from India was from 2010. I thought it would be helpful to start an updated/dedicated thread for India travel. (side note: the cheaper the better. I know that if I have to hang on to the plane's wing and have a 30 hour layover, it would be worth it if the fare was next to free.)

So, what do we think? What's your favorite site?

[Brian&Larissa 73]

I like Kayak. They access multiple sites including airline websites. Be careful with consolidator tickets. Due to the fact that your point of departure is outside the States, be careful with anything online unless you trust. Also, try sites overseas as you ticketing would be outside the States and that means there could be different pricing points. Does not hurt but no guarantees prices will be different. There is always an outside chance.

[jilliannep 13]

I like Kayak. They access multiple sites including airline websites. Be careful with consolidator tickets. Due to the fact that your point of departure is outside the States, be careful with anything online unless you trust. Also, try sites overseas as you ticketing would be outside the States and that means there could be different pricing points. Does not hurt but no guarantees prices will be different. There is always an outside chance.

(SN: I'm buying the ticket but it's for my husband). When I buy tickets, I tend not to trust sites like Orbitz, Kayak Travelocity. I buy the tickets directly from the airline. But, I can't help but wonder if this is an efficient and inexpensive way to travel. Probably not. I decided to put my skepticism about these sites aside and try it.

I remember using a consolidator site traveling outside the country before. I was sure to look up the terms and conditions. So, when I did want to change my plan, it was no surprise to me the penalties that came with it and was overall happy. I certainly wouldn't use the same service again though.

[Brian&Larissa 73]

Kayak is not the site you are actually purchasing the ticket from. Kayak is pricing all fares from different sites and displaying them for you to see. you then have the ability to select the fare you like. That fare could actually be from the airline's website. Kayak will direct you to that site when you decide to purchase. It cuts down on searching and searching multiple sites.

[AKSinghSingh79 143]

I love both of these apps: on the fly and airbnb. Both were highly recommended from an Indian traveler blog. The on the fly app allows you to search multiple airports, different date ranges, and displays all available airlines all in organized, easy to read and compare tables.

[dirk_diggler 107]

i've used cheapoair with some success

[vkrishn 97]

Use this tool to research on the fares. Sometimes even agents get good deals and are better than what you find online.

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

[jilliannep 13]

Moderators, maybe we can make this a pinned topic in the India forum and update it as new sites come out/old sites shut down?