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Emily: Daraius had booked us on a United business class flight home for 60,000 United miles per person. It only took us about 25 minutes to get to the airport from the Hyatt Regency hotel.
On Our Way Back to the US
- Introduction & Planning
- Kansas City to Chicago
- American Airlines Flagship Lounge
- American Airlines Flagship Service From Chicago To London
- British Airways First Class from London to Mumbai
- Shopping in Bombay
- Eating in Bombay
- Sights in Bombay
- Park Hyatt Goa Resort & Spa
- Park Hyatt Goa, Park Suite
- Park Hyatt Goa, Park King
- Park Hyatt Goa, Park Hyatt Goa Activities
- Eating In & Around the Park Hyatt Goa
- Radisson Blu, Agra
- A Day in Agra
- Hyatt Regency Delhi
- 2 Days in Delhi
- Eating in Delhi
- United Business Class Back to the US
- Conclusion and Blog Giveaway
The Delhi airport is very nice. It is very modern and clean & reinforces the cliche that India is a land of stark contrasts.
Outside Delhi Airport
There is lots of space to move around, and there are free carts to wheel your luggage. In contrast, we had to pay for a cart at Newark airport!
Delhi Airport
It took us a few minutes to figure out where we needed to go, but eventually we found the way.
Pushing Our Stuff
The airport had a few shops before check-in which include an ATM.
Delhi Airport
There were two large browse elephant statues, and the little fellow looked so cute!
Elephants
Daraius stopped at the Citi ATM to get some rupees before we left. He knew he’d probably need them the next time we went to India!
After that, we ventured to the lounge. My mom and Aunt Judi preferred some last minute shopping. See, not everyone is enthralled by airline lounges!
Outside the Lounge
We took the elevator up to the lounge. Since we were traveling on a United Business class ticket we could enter the lounge for free and help ourselves to the complimentary food and drinks.
Airport Lounge
The inside was like a regular US lounge.
Emily in the Lounge
There was a small office with laptop computers to use.
Computers
It also had an open bar.
Open Bar
The lounge had an okay selection of food (hot and cold).
Salad
There were sandwiches.
Sandwiches
And there was a coffee and tea bar.
Coffee & Tea
There was even a massage room, but you had to pay for the massages.
Massage Room
But I did not see any attendants, and there was only a massage chair in a darkly lit room.
No Thanks!
So we quickly left the lounge and went back outside. The airport had lots of shops and the seating looked pretty comfortable, too.
Delhi Airport Seating
We stocked up on some souvenirs.
Souvenirs
I loved the little auto rickshaws, the three wheelers that are popular in India.
Little Auto Rickshaws
There was also a duty free shop.
Duty Free Shop
After shopping, we made our way to the gate, and went through another round of security. Since this was a flight to the US, we had to go through a secondary screening.
Secondary Screening
We were happy to finally get on the flight! We took a non-stop United flight from Delhi to Newark. This was my first time on a non-stop flight from India to the US. I was so excited!
Getting Ready to Leave
The United cabin was comfortable, and the seats looked new. But the seats weren’t as big as a First Class seat. But they did fully recline which was a big plus!
United Business First
It was a 14.5 hour flight, and I liked how we did not have a layover anywhere.
United BusinessFirst Seat
There was an outlet to charge your laptop, so Daraius could do work.
Power Outlet
And storage space to put your things.
Storage Space
There was a small fold out tray.
Fold Out Tray
And the seat converted to a lie flat bed.
Lie Flat Bed
The chair reclined into a bed and I enjoyed relaxing in it.
Emily Getting Ready to Relax
However, we did not get pajamas or slippers like we did in First Class or in business class on other airlines. So we made sure to bring our own beforehand.
Emily Getting Ready for Bed
Daraius wore his new American Airlines pajamas. He had a big grin at the thought of wearing American Airlines pajama on a United flight. He’s such a boy sometimes!
American Airlines Pajamas on a United Flight
The amenity kits contained socks, an eyemask, earplugs, lotion, a comb, a pen, a toothbrush, toothpaste, flossers, and a mint.
United Business Class Amenity Kit
United Amenity Kit
In the kit were nice Philosophy brand cosmetics.
United Business Class Review
Soon enough, it was time for dinner. For the main course, I got chicken with garlic mashed potatoes, red peppers, and squash. The chicken was pretty good. I liked the garlic mashed potatoes the best.
Chicken with Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Daraius got Indian food for dinner.
Indian Dinner
They served only three types of bread: bland stale white rolls, naan, and another type of bread.
After finishing our dinner, we had cheese and dessert.
Cheese & Fruit
The dessert was really good.
Sundae
After dinner, I laid down to get some sleep. Because it was 14 hour flight, I had plenty of time to sleep without feeling rushed through dinner.
I also managed to watch a movie, The Social Network, during my flight. My mom and Aunt Judi watched Brave, about a redheaded Irish girl. There were lots of movies to choose from!
Before we arrived, we had a snack that consisted of fruit and yogurt.
Fruit & Yogurt
Daraius got some Indian breakfast and a croissant.
Indian Breakfast
I enjoyed being able to sleep for a long time, but the service on the flight was poor. Many times we asked what was being served, and the service staff kept saying “I don’t know” and “I have no idea” when we asked for descriptions of the food. In contrast, the crew on all other flights have been able to tell us the the ingredients of the meals.
After informing them about my fish allergy, I was still served with a salad that had unknown fried pieces of food. We didn’t know if it was fried bread, or fish, or something else, and neither did the server. I played it safe and did not eat any of the salad.
There was also “self-service” cleanup. The flight attendant came around with a tray and we had to load our dishes onto the tray. They also had a hard time remembering who ordered what, and walked around with wine glasses and asked people if they ordered wine. They did the same thing for the main course—they walked around and offered the dishes instead of remembering what the cabin had ordered!
But I was very thankful to be able to sleep – Business Class, no less! – on the flight and to visit India. Soon we arrived in Newark, cleared immigration, and went to the United Lounge.
United Club in Newark
We grabbed some coffee and had our breakfast.
In the United Lounge
We then waited a few hours for our next flight, which was a non-stop flight to Kansas City (yay!) It was a wonderful trip, and India is a great place to visit because of the mix of history, culture, and outdoor activities. I can’t wait to go back!
United Planes
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I have earned and redeemed millions of airline miles and hotel points to travel the world for free. Now I'm blogging to help more people do the same! 
very cute wearing theAA pj’s on United…ur trip looked great lots of pics… hope u got some really good souvenirs
too bad the service sucked. it ruins a big part of the experience.
recently on UA flights, in biz class, i feel the FAs are just going through the motions… perhaps first class worth a go? yeah, ive got some serious #firstworldproblems
@tri No need to apologise for “first world problems”. This is a first world airline, charging first world prices, whether in cash or miles. When UA charges that premium for Business Class, it’s only resonable that the person who paid it expects a level of service beyond what was described here.
Any reason you didn’t go to the Lufthansa lounge with a United Business ticket?
My husband and I are booked on a united business class flight from chicago to berlin via london. You mentioned that since you had business class tickets you had free entry into the lounge. Does that mean we will not have to use our 2 free lounge passes that came with our new United explorer card. How long are the lounge passes good for? If I don’t need them for this flight, I may want to sell them before they expire. How would I do that?
@Hilde – sounds like you are flying United Business from Chicago to London, then London to Berlin on Lufthansa European Business. You will have lounge access included in your ticket — at the United Club in Chicago and the Star Alliance lounge in London Heathrow.
Hah, my wife also couldn’t care less for lounges and would rather shop in the airport. Did y’all prefer the long nonstop to US followed by a domestic connection, or if it had been an option and you didn’t live in Kansas, would you rather have done something like ORD-LHR-DEL with the two shorter legs instead of one super long one?
I already really miss Team Connie and Judy
for some of readers who are planes buff, would you let us know what kind of aircraft of each segment. thanks
@dotti cahill – We did get some nice souvenirs and there may be some up for grabs soon!
@Amol (@PointsToPointB) - We didn’t know about the lounge until we were by the elevators since the check-in staff didn’t tell us about the Lufthansa lounge. It was also getting late and we wanted to find Connie and Judi and take them to the gate, so we didn’t have time to go there.
@Hilde - I believe the passes are valid for 1 year and your business class ticket should get you access to the Star Alliance lounges.
@DBest - I prefer minimizing my connections when I’m traveling with others, so more non-stop flights are better.
@Laurel – Perhaps one of them will be back soon!
@choi – It was a 777 from Delhi and a regional jet from Newark to Kansas.
Only 1 meal + fruit and yogurt on a India-US flight in business class? Yikes, United…
In any case, I enjoyed this trip report, and I hope in the future you and Emily will keep splitting TR duties–always appreciate a female perspective since it helps plan trips for myself + the gf (since the chances of her reading a TR and/or helping plan are basically zilch).
60,000 miles can buy a business class from India to United States? I spent 50,000 miles to buy a economy seat from LAX ,CA to JFK, NY. I booked them few month before the departure date…. Other airline companies are same way,too. Is LAX to NY specially expensive? How can I spend less miles and get good seat? Please advice.
@ MMS — I wonder why United sends people to the contract lounge. Maybe they don’t want to pay Lufthansa … they do the same in Mumbai, although with easy Star Gold, I’ve always just gone straight to the Lufty lounge.
@ nobuko — MMS paid 60,000 miles for a ONE-WAY business class ticket from India to the USA at the saver level. You paid 50,000 miles for a ROUND-TRIP economy class ticket from LA to NYC and back, and most likely at the standard level, which is 2x the price of the saver level. Getting a trip at the saver level depends on which miles you use.
United is so lame to not even give slippers in business class for a 14 1/2 hour flight. Service like that is why all of my United miles are used for booking flights on better Star Alliance partners, and I wouldn’t ever consider purchasing a United revenue ticket.
Great trip report, guys!
On a fashion note, Emily I love the purple top you are wearing in this entry’s shots. Where did you get it?
Cran
I can’t believe how much the DEL airport has changed in the past 5 years…it looks AMAZING
I’ll have to go back just to see it – and my friends over there too of course!
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@ Cranberry- Thanks! Glad you enjoyed them. I got the purple top at the Banana Republic outlet store about 8 years ago.