Chicago-London-Delhi travel, one tricky consideration

[Please leave rec.travel.air in the ng list, because that is where I'll
aceess the replies.]

I need to travel Chicago-London-Delhi-Chicago in February '07, with one
constraint: London-Delhi leg has to be a specific BA flight on which an
elderly relative will be traveling alone.

Except for that, I am free to take any airline and itinerary (stops or
nonstop).

The easiest would be to book on BA, but it may not be cheapest which is
what I'd like to find. I am assuming it would be possible to combine
with cheaper airlines BA codeshares with to arrive at a cheaper overall
ticket. However, I don't know how to do online search with a constraint
like one leg has to be BA. Any help would be apppreciated.

Second, when is a good time to look for cheap fares for Feb travel? Too
late they may be gone, too early they may not have been announced. How
far in advance do airlines announce their best fares?

"Kiran" wrote in message
...
[Please leave rec.travel.air in the ng list, because that is where I'll
aceess the replies.]

I need to travel Chicago-London-Delhi-Chicago in February '07, with one
constraint: London-Delhi leg has to be a specific BA flight on which an
elderly relative will be traveling alone.

Except for that, I am free to take any airline and itinerary (stops or
nonstop).

The easiest would be to book on BA, but it may not be cheapest which is
what I'd like to find. I am assuming it would be possible to combine
with cheaper airlines BA codeshares with to arrive at a cheaper overall
ticket. However, I don't know how to do online search with a constraint
like one leg has to be BA. Any help would be apppreciated.


You can do this Travelocity but in all honesty your best option is
a good travel agent. You can try pricing the journey on
the BA web site. It'll give you a sanity check at least.

At worst the airline you pick would have no interline agrrement and you'd
have to reclaim your bags in London.


Second, when is a good time to look for cheap fares for Feb travel? Too
late they may be gone, too early they may not have been announced. How
far in advance do airlines announce their best fares?


Usually about 6 months but fares on the transatlantic leg are
usually pretty low at that time of year and airlines often hold
seat sales , for some odd reason few people want to visit Chicago
in febuary

Personally I'd book the London Delhi leg early as that is your
bottleneck , there are a good many options for ORD to London

Keith



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Keith W wrote:

: You can do this Travelocity but in all honesty your best option is
: a good travel agent. You can try pricing the journey on
: the BA web site...At worst the airline you pick would have no interline
: agrrement and you'd have to reclaim your bags in London.

That part is no problem, I have to stop in London for a few days
any way.

: Personally I'd book the London Delhi leg early as that is your
: bottleneck , there are a good many options for ORD to London

Are you suggesting it is better to plan this as two round trips
(Chi-Lon, Lon-Delhi) rather than as Chi-Delhi round trip with stop in
London?

"Kiran" wrote in message
...
Keith W wrote:

: You can do this Travelocity but in all honesty your best option is
: a good travel agent. You can try pricing the journey on
: the BA web site...At worst the airline you pick would have no interline
: agrrement and you'd have to reclaim your bags in London.

That part is no problem, I have to stop in London for a few days
any way.

: Personally I'd book the London Delhi leg early as that is your
: bottleneck , there are a good many options for ORD to London

Are you suggesting it is better to plan this as two round trips
(Chi-Lon, Lon-Delhi) rather than as Chi-Delhi round trip with stop in
London?


Not necessarily, a good travel agent may be able to book it
as a single trip , Chicago - Delhi with a London stopover.

Its always better to get a single itinerary if possible, that way
if flight times are changed the airline has to fit you in

Keith



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Keith W wrote:

: Its always better to get a single itinerary if possible, that way
: if flight times are changed the airline has to fit you in

Thanks, that's an important pointI didn't consider. Also, with two
round-trips, I have to come back via London for no reason. In a single
trip, I might be able to find a cheaper/better Delhi-Chicago option. AA
nonstops come to mind.

About your earlier statement that good fares become available 6 months
earlier, we are now about 7.5 months before my travel. Would it be
better to wait a few weeks before looking into it?

Kiran wrote:
[Please leave rec.travel.air in the ng list, because that is where I'll
aceess the replies.]

I need to travel Chicago-London-Delhi-Chicago in February '07, with one
constraint: London-Delhi leg has to be a specific BA flight on which an
elderly relative will be traveling alone.

Some of the consolidators may be able to give you a good deal.
www.airtreks.com is sometimes lowest. You have to visit two overseas
countries to buy from them but that is what you are doing.

www.statravel.com does not sell online but has very good telephone
support (telephone number on the web site). STA bills itself as a
student travel service but they sell to anyone.

I have also got good prices from http://www.around-the-world.com/.

Consolidators often have contracts with specific airlines which yield
the best fares, but any of these will be able to put you on the BA
segment.

Larry at Morro Bay, California

"Kiran" wrote in message
...
Keith W wrote:

: Its always better to get a single itinerary if possible, that way
: if flight times are changed the airline has to fit you in

Thanks, that's an important pointI didn't consider. Also, with two
round-trips, I have to come back via London for no reason. In a single
trip, I might be able to find a cheaper/better Delhi-Chicago option. AA
nonstops come to mind.

About your earlier statement that good fares become available 6 months
earlier, we are now about 7.5 months before my travel. Would it be
better to wait a few weeks before looking into it?


I'd start looking now , you may find a good deal.

Keith



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"Kiran" wrote in message
...
[Please leave rec.travel.air in the ng list, because that is where I'll
aceess the replies.]

I need to travel Chicago-London-Delhi-Chicago in February '07, with one
constraint: London-Delhi leg has to be a specific BA flight on which an
elderly relative will be traveling alone.

Except for that, I am free to take any airline and itinerary (stops or
nonstop).

The easiest would be to book on BA, but it may not be cheapest which is
what I'd like to find. I am assuming it would be possible to combine
with cheaper airlines BA codeshares with to arrive at a cheaper overall
ticket. However, I don't know how to do online search with a constraint
like one leg has to be BA. Any help would be apppreciated.

Second, when is a good time to look for cheap fares for Feb travel? Too
late they may be gone, too early they may not have been announced. How
far in advance do airlines announce their best fares?

Personally, I'd phone BA tickets and reservations and let them book the
entire trip. It will probably end up costing less than a travel agent will
arrange. Travel agents are paid commissions, it's not in their best
interests to get you the lowest fares. KM
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Kiran wrote:

Thanks, that's an important pointI didn't consider. Also, with two
round-trips, I have to come back via London for no reason.

Assuming non-stop connections between all destinations, Delhi-Chicago
is 7484 miles, while Delhi-London + London-Delhi is 8143 miles, so it's
not that much more. Of course adding an extra connection will put some
extra hours on the total travel time.

"Alohacyberian" wrote:
Personally, I'd phone BA tickets and reservations and let them book the
entire trip. It will probably end up costing less than a travel agent will
arrange. Travel agents are paid commissions, it's not in their best
interests to get you the lowest fares. KM

These days most travel agents charge you a flat commission that doesn't
depend on the cost of the ticket.

If they want you to come back and pay the commission again they will do
a good job for you.

The airline is earning a 100% commission on the flight ticket; by your
reasoning what incentive would they have to offer you a low fare?

miguel
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