Best Ways to Book Air India Business Class with Points and Miles

The flag carrier of India and the country’s largest airline, Air India operates nonstop routes between its hub in Delhi and airports all over the world, including North American cities such as New York, Toronto, Washington D.C., Chicago and more. So, if you’re planning a trip to India in the near future, there’s a good chance you’ll be traveling with Air India.

Unfortunately, Air India doesn’t have a reputation for providing a luxurious experience. Nonetheless, Air India’s business-class product includes some premium amenities on transatlantic flights, including lie-flat beds, gourmet meals accompanied by complimentary wine and liquor, entertainment systems offering over 3,000 hours of media, complimentary in-flight Wi-Fi (available on select aircraft/routes), airport lounge access and more.

So, if you’re interested in flying to India in business class and keeping your out-of-pocket costs low, the cheapest way to book Air India business-class tickets is with points or miles. And, since Air India is a member of Star Alliance, there are several frequent flyer programs through which you can book these Air India business-class flights.

In this article, we’re going to explain some of the best ways to book Air India business-class flights with points and miles. We’ll also include what you can expect when flying in Air India business class.

What to Expect in Air India Business Class

The Air India fleet consists of several different kinds of aircraft, each of which offers a different experience in the business-class cabin.

The best business class in the Air India fleet is found aboard its Airbus A350 aircraft, which Air India uses to operate long-haul flights (including flights to North America). The business-class cabin on these aircraft includes a 79-inch lie-flat bed, privacy doors, a 21-inch HD personal entertainment system with noise-canceling headphones, a universal AC charging port and USB power outlets.

The next-best business-class products in the Air India fleet are found on Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 777-200LR aircraft, which are also used for long-haul flights. Both aircraft types have 35 business-class seats in a 2-3-2 configuration in their business-class cabin. They also both feature 76-inch lie-flat seats and 15.4-inch personal entertainment systems. You’ll also have in-seat AC charging ports and USB power outlets.

The Air India fleet also includes Boeing 787-9, Boeing 787-8, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A321, Airbus A320neo, Airbus A320 and Airbus A319. Nearly all Air India flights offer business-class service. However, on regional flights, domestic flights within India and medium haul-flights, business-class seats are similar to economy-class seats with more legroom and a greater width. For the purposes of this article, we’ll only focus on Air India’s long-haul business-class product.

Business-class passengers on international flights will receive one major meal on flights of 6 hours or less, one major meal and one minor meal on flights between 6 and 8 hours, two major meals on flights between 8 and 10 hours and two major meals and one minor meal on flights of 10 hours or more. A major meal includes breakfast, lunch or dinner. A minor meal could be a continental breakfast or handheld snack (such as a wrap or roll).

When dining in Air India business class, you’ll typically be able to choose from both Indian and international options. There’s also always a delicious vegetarian option (as India has a very large vegetarian population). For example, for a dinner service, your meal options might include chicken curry, lamb tomato curry, shahi paneer and scialatelli pasta, the last two of which are vegetarian.

Of course, business-class passengers on Air India flights are also entitled to complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, including wine, spirits, beer, coffee, tea, juice and more. You can request a drink or a snack from the on-board staff at any time during your flight.

Business-class passengers on Air India long-haul flights will also receive an amenity kit, which was designed in collaboration with Italian fashion house Ferragamo. This kit includes body lotion, hand cream, lip balm, socks, an eye mask and a Maharaja charm (an homage to India’s rich heritage). The amenity kit bag that houses all of these items is inspired by luxury dust bags and features a mandala and lotus design, another nod to Indian culture.

You’ll also receive a pair of velour carpet slippers and a loungewear set designed by TUMI to wear throughout the flight.

Of course, the Air India business-class experience begins before you even board the aircraft. Business-class passengers on Air India will receive priority check-in, priority boarding and priority baggage handling. And, with an Air India business-class ticket, you’ll get complimentary access to Air India Maharaja Lounges around the world.

And, because Air India is a member of Star Alliance, passengers ticketed in Air India business class can access lounges operated by Star Alliance partner airlines. To see if there’s a Star Alliance lounge in a specific airport, you can use the Lounge Finder tool in our My10x web application.

Your baggage allowance when flying in Air India business class depends on whether you purchased a Classic or Flex fare, as well as your departure and arrival region. To see a full breakdown of baggage allowance on Air India flights, visit the Baggage Guidelines page on the Air India website.

Best Programs Through Which You Can Book Air India Business Class

As mentioned above, Air India is a member of Star Alliance (which currently comprises 25 airlines), which means that there are several partner frequent flyer programs through which you can book Air India business-class award flights.

However, each frequent flyer prices award flights slightly differently. This means that the same Air India business-class award flight may require more miles through one program than through another. Another important consideration is that some frequent flyer programs are significantly easier to earn miles with because they allow transfers from major U.S. credit card rewards programs.

So, considering these differences, let’s take a look at some of the best programs through which to book Air India business-class awards.

Air Canada Aeroplan

One of the best programs through which to book Air India business-class awards is the Air Canada Aeroplan program. This program makes searching for award flights easy, and Air India award flights are priced according to fixed award charts, which means you can often find outsized value for these redemptions (meaning you’ll get more than 1 cent per point in value).

For example, we found a round-trip Air India business-class award itinerary between Chicago (ORD) and Delhi (DEL) for 180,000 Aeroplan points plus about 175 Canadian Dollars (about $127) in taxes and fees.

If you were to book the same flights on the same dates with cash through the Air India website, it would cost you about $6,612.

So, by booking this flight with Aeroplan points instead of cash, you’d get a redemption value of about 3.6 cents per point (accounting for the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight), which is outstanding.

You can find a decent amount of high-value redemptions for Air India business-class awards like the example above through the Aeroplan program. Plus, the Aeroplan program is a 1:1 transfer partner of many of the major U.S. credit card rewards programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. So, for instance, you can transfer 100,000 Capital One Miles to this program and have 100,000 Aeroplan points in your account within minutes.

Avianca LifeMiles

Another great Star Alliance program through which to book Air India award flights is the Avianca LifeMiles program. This program is also fairly easy to navigate and although pricing can vary by route, you can often find Air India business-class award flights at favorable rates offering good value.

For example, we found a round-trip Air India business-class itinerary between Chicago (ORD) and Delhi (DEL) for 180,000 Avianca miles and about $86 in taxes and fees.

If you were to book these same flights on the same dates with cash through the Air India website, it would cost you about $5,612.

Thus, factoring in the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 3.1 cents per mile, which is great.

The Avianca LifeMiles program is also a transfer partner of many of the major U.S. credit card rewards programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Wells Fargo Rewards. So, if you have a credit card from any of these issuers, you can transfer your rewards points to the Avianca LifeMiles program at a 1:1 ratio.

Air India Maharaja Club

Perhaps the best available rates for Air India business-class award flights are found through Air India’s own Maharaja Club frequent flyer program. Unfortunately, the major drawback of this program is that it’s not a transfer partner of any of the major U.S. credit card rewards programs.

This means that, in order to earn a significant amount of Air India Maharaja Points, you’ll most likely need to credit Star Alliance flights to the Maharaja Club program. And, unless you fly with Air India often (perhaps if you take business trips to India or you have family in India), you’re probably better off crediting your Star Alliance flights to a different Star Alliance frequent flyer program (such as Air Canada Aeroplan or United MileagePlus).

Nonetheless, if you are able to save up a balance of Maharaja Points, you can find Air India business-class awards at excellent rates through the Maharaja Club program.

For example, we found a round-trip Air India business-class itinerary between Washington D.C. (IAD) and Delhi (DEL) for 136,000 points. Unfortunately, the Air India website doesn’t state the taxes and fees until the checkout page, which we were unable to access without having the required points in our account.

However, if you were to book these same flights on the same dates with cash instead of points through the Air India website, it would cost you about $4,174.

Thus, excluding the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 3.1 cents per point, which is excellent. Of course, the taxes and fees could have a significant effect on that value.

Once again, though, unless you use the Maharaja Club program as your primary Star Alliance frequent flyer program (which you won’t want to do unless you consistently fly with Air India), you probably won’t be able to save up enough points for an award flight through this program as it doesn’t allow transfers from major U.S. credit card rewards programs.

The Bottom Line

Overall, Air India’s business class doesn’t rank among the top business-class products in the airline industry. Nonetheless, if you’re planning a trip to India and you want a more luxurious flying experience, Air India business class features premium amenities, including lie-flat seats, gourmet in-flight meals, complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, Ferragamo-designed amenity kits, loungewear sets, airport lounge access and more.

Of course, the best way to experience Air India business class while keeping your out-of-pocket costs low is to book your flight with points or miles. And, since Air India is a member of Star Alliance, there are several partner frequent flyer programs through which you can book Air India business-class awards.

In general, the best programs through which to book these awards are Air Canada Aeroplan and Avianca LifeMiles. Both of these programs are transfer partners of most of the major U.S. credit card rewards programs, meaning it’s easy to earn points or miles with these programs.

You may also be able to find even lower redemption rates through Air India’s own Maharaja Club frequent flyer program. However, earning points with this program is difficult since it’s not a transfer partner of any of the major U.S. credit card rewards programs.