For all of the ribbing targeted towards national carrier Air India, the carrier appears to have finally provided some good value, with some very good deals on offer for travel within its entire network. Of course, in typical Air India fashion, they’ve made it very hard for passengers to find out about these upgrades; I’ve seen mazes that are easier to navigate than Air India’s website. So we’ve decided to summarize the offerings in the table below.
Segment | Price to Upgrade to Business/Executive Class | Price to Upgrade to First Class | Remarks |
Domestic | INR 4000 for flts up to 750km INR 6000 for all flights beyond this distance | Only applicable when flight is boarded at the following airports: Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jammu, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai, Patna, Portblair, Thiruvananthapuram, Varanasi | |
India-London | US $300 | US $450 (From Business Class) | Valid for passengers originating at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata |
Chennai/Delhi-Paris | US $300 | US $450 (From Business Class) | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Delhi-Frankfurt | US $300 | US $450 (From Business Class) | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Amritsar/Delhi-Toronto | US $300 | US $450 (From Business Class) | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Chennai-Singapore | US $75 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Mumbai/Delhi-Singapore | US $150 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Mumbai/Delhi-Bangkok | US $75 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Mumbai/Delhi-Shanghai | US $175 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Mumbai/Delhi- Hong Kong | US $175 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Mumbai/Delhi-Seoul | US $190 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Mumbai/Delhi-Tokyo/Osaka | US $350 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Kolkata-Yangon | US $75 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
India-Saudi Arabia | US $90 | Only applicable on non-stop or direct flights | |
India-UAE | US $85 | Only applicable on non-stop or direct flights | |
India-Oman | US $85 | Only applicable on non-stop or direct flights | |
India-Kuwait | US $85 | Only applicable on non-stop or direct flights | |
Chennai-Colombo | US $75 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Colombo-Chennai | US $75 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Bengaluru/Trivandrum-Male | US $75 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Male-Bengaluru/Trivandrum | US $75 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Delhi-Kabul | US $75 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Kabul-Delhi | US $75 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Delhi/Kolkata-Kathmandu | US $75 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
Kathmandu-Delhi/Kolkata | US $75 | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category | |
London-India | GBP 200 | GBP 500 (with business class ticket) | Only Applicable when destination Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Amritsar, Kolkata |
Mumbai/Delhi-New York | US $700 | US $1200 (from business class) | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Mumbai/Ahmedabad-Newark | US $700 | US $1200 (from business class) | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Hyderabad/Delhi-Chicago | US $700 | US $1200 (from business class) | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Hong Kong-India | US $193 | US $257 (from business class) | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Osaka-Delhi/Mumbai | US $768 | US $1536 (from business class) | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Seoul-India | US $200 | US $310 (from business class) | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Singapore-Chennai | US $80 | US $103 (from business class) | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Singapore-Mumbai/Delhi | US $180 | US $230 (from business class) | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Shanghai-Mumbai/Delhi | US $158/ US $237 | US $315 (from business class) | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Tokyo-Delhi | US $384/US $640 | US $768/US $1280 (from business class) | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Seoul-Hong Kong | US $142 | US $190 (from business class | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Osaka-Hong Kong | US $384 | US $768 (from business class | Only applicable when originate at points listed in Segment category |
Saudi Arabia-India | SAR 400 | Only applicable on non-stop or direct flights | |
UAE-India | AED 400 | Only applicable on non-stop or direct flights | |
Oman-India | OMR 40 | Only applicable on non-stop or direct flights | |
Kuwait-India | KWD 30 | Only applicable on non-stop or direct flights |
The following rules apply to this offering:
- This Upgrade on Seat Available basis will be valid for travel with immediate effect till 15 th December 2011 .
- No two schemes can be combined. e.g.Passengers availing of Companion Free Scheme will not be entitled to avail of this Airport Upgrade scheme.
- No two schemes can be combined. e.g.Passengers availing of Companion Free Scheme will not be entitled to avail of this Airport Upgrade scheme.
- Baggage Allowance will be as per the original booking of the passenger. (No enhanced baggage allowance of the higher class of travel)
- Frequent Flyer Miles will be as per original class of travel. – e.g. Passengers holding Economy Class ticket, availing of Airport Upgrade will get FFP accrual of miles of Economy Class
- When Passengers are through checked in with Immigration / Customs cleared at Board Point – but the flight number changes –
- i)The MCO can be redeemed against the Airport Upgrade if seats available on the Gateway point to Destination. and Upgrade will be granted from Gateway point to Destination. (eg. AI 614 / AI 957 Ahmedabad – Mumbai – Dubai). If Passenger is through checked from Ahmedabad to Dubai, Airport Upgrade Scheme will be available only for the Mumbai to Dubai leg.
- However, if passengers are travelling on AI 985 Ex Ahmedabad, e.g. Ahmedabad – Mumbai – Muscat, can avail of the Airport Upgrade Scheme for the entire journey from Ahmedabad as it is the same flight number.
- The above upgrade offer is not valid on AD / ID tickets
This is a very solid offering from Air India; even with spotty product quality, it’s always a treat to fly business/first classes on most carriers. One interesting thing to note is that upgrades to Tokyo and Osaka are priced very high, which lends credence to the rumor that these are Air India’s most profitable routes.