Skyteam airline Saudia has been offering, for the past few days, a Mumbai-New York JFK- Mumbai roundtrip fare on economy for ~550 – 600 Dollars. This fare is available for quite a few dates in 2013, all the way up to October 2013. This is clearly the cheapest flights to the USA could get.

Saudia flies Mumbai – Jeddah on a Boeing 777-200 (in a 2-5-2 config) and onwards Jeddah – New York JFK on a Boeing 777-300ER (in a 3-4-3 config). As per Saudia’s website, Economy seats have a seat pitch of 34″, and everyone gets an amenity kit as well.

There could be a 10-15 hour layover involved in Riyadh depending on the day you are flying. A Transit visa is not required if you are transiting for less than 18 hours, however, if you need one, please be aware that ladies will need to be accompanied by a male relative. Check the rules here.

For mileage runners, this fare earns full mileage on Skyteam’s Delta program as well as some others.

I am trying to see if flights are available from other cities as well, but even if they are not, you could arrive in Mumbai and start your trip and still find it cheaper than most other flights to the US. Please remember, this does not work the other way round (USA-India, no!)

You could book tickets using the Saudia website itself, or using Expedia, Travelocity or another travel agent as well.

If you have questions, drop me a line here, or send me an email. All the best planning your USA trip!

(H.T. Naren)

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