Desicow.com blog

Recently my mom was scheduled to travel to Mumbai from San Francisco on Lufthansa flight. I was looking for some companion on same flight. Someone to stop by her seat a couple of times during the flight and make sure that she is being taken care of. She doesn’t speak English, which creates a big challenge for her to get to correct gate on transit.

I tried all sorts of options to find companion:

1) Asked all friends to check if someone was traveling by same Airlines.
2) Registered with Travel companion websites like:  sulekha.com, safarsaathi.com, humrahi.net.
3) As a backup I requested wheelchair option although my mom is fit & fine.
4) Posted emails on mailing list at work place and local temple community.

Nothing worked for me.

My mom was stressed out whole month before flight since she was nervous to travel alone. I was worried too, however I kept saying to my mom that “It cools! You will be OK!”

On the day of flight we went to airport early and waited close to Check in queue. As soon as we see some Desi guy or family, we would smile, go next to them and ask “Are you guys heading for Mumbai?”

Third person we spoke to turned out to be a couple with a 3 year old kid who were there to fly Mumbai. We explained our situation and requested if they would help us by making sure that Mom gets some company. They were more than happy to help my Mom.

This couple was of big help, next day I spoke to Mom after she reached Mumbai and she told me about how helpful that couple was.

I promised myself next time when I am traveling to India, I will look around for Parents, smile and just check with them if they needed any help.

Last blog we wrote about the Star Alliance Frequent Flyer of the month. This month we introduce you to the Frequent Flyer Program of Emirates.

In the past quarter or so Emirates has started service from major airports in US to the most of the big cities in India, if it did not have one already existing. So as traveller to India, you are more likely to choose Emirates over other airlines, given that this airline gives good deals on air tickets to India.

Emirates Frequent Flyer program is called SkyWards. Its got 3 tiers, starts with Blue, then as you accumulate miles you upgrade to Silver, and subsequently to the Gold Tier. The Skywards miles can be redeemed not only for Emirates Flights, but also partner airlines of Emirates like

- Continental Airlines,
- Japan Airlines,
- Kingfisher Airlines,
- Korean Air,
- South African Airways,
- United Airlines
- Virgin Blue.

A roundtrip flight from India to USA consists of 15,000 to 16,000 miles depending on starting and ending points, for a family of 2 adults and 1 or more children this can add up to around 40-50,000 miles. These miles can be used in India to fly local with Jet Airways or Kingfisher Airlines, or you can redeem these when you come back to US, while flying with Continental / United. So next time plan to buy tickets to India,  don’t forget to ask your travel agent about getting yourself enrolled in the Emirates SkyWards program.

In the days since you downloaded the DesiCow.com we have updated the US-India Travel kit, adding printable labels for your bags. Just print the label, write your name, address and phone numbers and stick them on to your bags. Happy Flying!!!

If a typical Desi family of 2 adults and 1 or more kids fly to India, every year, they accumulate a lot of miles. If you only spend a short time to learn about earning and consolidating frequent flyer (or buyer) miles, who knows you can earn atleast one ticket free every 2-3 year or so…

We will talk briefly about some Frequent Flyer programs… this time we start with Star Alliance. Star Alliance is the world’s first and largest airline alliance. It was founded in 1997, with 5 members; it has since grown to 21 participating airlines.

The advantage of flying through Star Alliance is that you can redeem miles that you accumulated from any Star Alliance member airline for any Star Alliance member flights. So you can redeem your Airline miles from say Singapore Airlines, in a flight operated by United Airlines, because both these airlines are part of Star Alliance.

Some of the participating airlines in Star Alliance are:

1. Singapore Airlines
2. United Airlines
3. US Airways
4. Air Canada
5. Lufthansa
6. Air India was scheduled to be a full member by mid-2009
7. Continental Airlines is scheduled to be a full member by September 2009

According to the Star Alliance Website, this is what you need to do to get your frequent flyer miles.

1. Quote your frequent flyer number every time you book with any Star Alliance member airline or travel provider. Your number appears on your membership card.
2. Show your membership card when you check in for any flight to ensure you earn your miles or points.
3. Save your passenger receipts and boarding passes. If your miles or points do not appear on your account, send your tickets and boarding passes to your frequent flyer programme service centre and have them credited to your account. Allow six to eight weeks from the date of request.

We will write more about Frequent Flyer Programs of airlines in subsequent newsletters… Till then… fly smart.

Best regards from The DesiCow.com Team.