Questions and Answers

Hello…

Thanks for the amazing website, I really appreciate your entertaining reviews! I wanted to travel to India, and I had a few Qs related to it for business class travel (4 people travelling, March 2017 to April 2017) please:

1. I have a choice to fly from YYZ to DEL via China Southern for around $2800/person Canadian, vs Etihad for around $3400/person Canadian. Both are on B777s, Etihad is of course a shorter flight, but China Southern is a lot cheaper. Given that there are 4 travellers, that’s a savings of $2400, would you have a preference between the 2?

My concern with Etihad is of course that I would be flying over a war zone (Russian missiles firing from the Caspian Sea towards Syria through Iran, I do believe Emirates and Etihad fly right over this zone), and spending $2400 extra, and my concern with China Southern would be the extra 6 hours or travel time each way, going from Eastern North America westward through China to get to Delhi.

2. I really would like to take the KLM flight from YYZ to DEL, because I would love to fly on a 747 before it’s retired. The price right now to DEL from YYZ is $4600 Canadian per person. I know KLM and AF usually end up having a business class sale for the spring (for around $3200 Canadian round trip), would you recommend to wait for the KLM sale, or grab the Etihad/China Southern flights before their respective sales end?

3. Would you have any idea about when the KLM business class sales for the spring begin for North America to Asia?

Thank you in advance, sorry for the detailed questions…

I wouldnt be concerned with the route that EK and EY fly between North America and the Middle East. While they dont have many flights from Canada, there are plenty of daily flights from the US. Furthermore, flights from Europe to the Middle East may also fly over the regions you mentioned. If the war zone was an issue, it would have been addressed by the airlines already.

Sales are somewhat unpredictable. There’s no way of knowing when exactly they begin and what the sale terms may be. I’d book whatever youre comfortable flying and paying for. Personally, I’d pick Etihad/Emirates over China Southern but either option is fine.