[ghodlur]

Folks,

My cousin is travelling to Kitchener Canada for pursuing MS. She sought my help for the route of travel and since I was clueless what better place than BHPians to ask for advice.
1. Cheapest air fare. If possible discounted airfare?
2. Any scholarship she can get help from for pursuing foreign education?

I checked the travel portals and the approx cost for the one way trip is around 2L. My cousin has 2 options:
1. Change of flight outside India - Eithad offers this.
2. Direct flight from India - Air Canada from Delhi direct to Toronto and then a connecting flight to Kitchener

The travel is in the first or second week of August. She is travelling alone and its first international flight.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

She sought my help for the route of travel a
1. Cheapest air fare. If possible discounted airfare?

Since she is a first-time traveller, I will suggest going with AirCanada. One-way trips are priced very high these days; check return trips with the maximum date allowed, use the airline website, and you can book via an agent or directly.

2. Any scholarship she can get help from for pursuing foreign education?

No clue, but she should be able to get a job quickly to cover her expenses.

1. Change of flight outside India - Eithad offers this.

Multiple airlines now, almost all European as well as the Middle East, use Kayak to check cheapest. Don't go beyond one-stop if you find the direct connection expensive; check Covid/ Visa requirements. If in doubt, ask a travel agent or post here.

Direct flight from India - Air Canada from Delhi direct to Toronto and then a connecting flight to Kitchener

Direct is preferred; both AirIndia and AirCanada do. Toronto and Kitchener are very close; you don't need to book a connecting flight. There will be road/ train connections. I will ask someone to suggest and update you.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Toronto and Kitchener are very close, you don't need to book a connecting flight. There will be road/ train connections. I will ask someone to suggest and update you.

The challenge could be lugging four/five pieces of luggage (~ 75 kg).

The advantage with Air India is the extra bag for students, traveling on a student visa.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

The challenge could be lugging four/five pieces of luggage (~ 75 kg).

The advantage with Air India is the extra bag for students, traveling on a student visa.

Those days are gone long back. Only regular 2 pcs concept.

Air India offers special baggage allowance to students under our Maharajah Scholars’ Scheme offer. This scheme is not applicable on US/CANADA ROUTE for sale & travel till further notice.

https://www.airindia.in/student-offers.htm


I don't think anyone carries 75Kg as practically everything will be cheaper (& better) over there. Also, am not sure if there are any flights between the two places at the first place, taking an Uber will be cheaper but usually, students find someone known from family and friends and manage.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

The challenge could be lugging four/five pieces of luggage (~ 75 kg).

The advantage with Air India is the extra bag for students, traveling on a student visa.

Unfortunately on Air India website, the baggage concessions is not offered for students travelling to US & Canada.

[Amrik Singh]

Gone are the days when a Two Way Ticket used to be economical rather than Two - One Way Tickets.
She should look for
1. Direct flight or One Stop flight (at the most)
2. Flight that allows Two Checked baggage.
As a first time, she must be aware that no Electrical Gadget will be compatible there except your Mobile Phone, iPad or Laptop. So unnecessary weight is reduced.
Best Winter clothing of India would be useless against the severe Winter of Canada. So, clothing may be reduced too. Though she may be tempted to carry some utensils, most of the Indian stuff is available in Canada. Those with families and friends usually carry gifts for others and do get overloaded. Hope she can be spared of this.
In any case of overloading, just calculate if it is worth paying $100 for additional baggage.
If she really has Three checked baggage, check with Airlines beforehand. I think they charge $100 for additional baggage.
IMO, the following Airlines allow Two Checked baggage on Transatlantic routes.
Air India,
Air Canada
Lufthansa
Air France
Etihad
Emirates
Qatar.
Check the price on these Airlines and compare.
Do not Check price number of times. I have read somewhere that if a particular route is searched again and again from the same IP, the price goes up. I feel this is True.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Those days are gone long back. Only regular 2 pcs concept.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Unfortunately on Air India website, the baggage concessions is not offered for students travelling to US & Canada.

Oh damn. It was quite helpful.

I don't think anyone carries 75Kg as practically everything will be cheaper (& better) over there.

Every Indian student I know of (and this is naturally from a decade ago) always chose AI for this very reason. And you underestimate the need for 75 kg.

23+23+23: one bag of 23kg entirely reserved for utensils and food sustenance for a couple of weeks
Then a cabin bag of 7kg and a laptop bag.

Barring electronics, everything is cheaper in India. And for those travelling for higher education, the savings start adding up tremendously.

[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Folks,


1. Cheapest air fare. If possible discounted airfare?
2. Any scholarship she can get help from for pursuing foreign education?

.

1. I would suggest that you try directly on the airlines website instead of cleartrip etc.
https://www.etihad.com/en-us/book/sp...-special-fares

It’s better if u book direct as some of them allow extra baggage for students

2. Scholarships for masters is a rarity and she should search for some jobs whilst doing the course.

Wishing her all the best

[mygodbole]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

23+23+23: one bag of 23kg entirely reserved for utensils and food sustenance for a couple of weeks
Then a cabin bag of 7kg and a laptop bag.

Please consider shipping non-essential stuff via cargo/courier/international parcel service. Winter clothing, utensils, books, boots and all those knick-knacks not needed on landing can be shipped.

Just essentials required on arrival can be carried. That should cut down on baggage costs.

Cargo, while not costing much, would likely take upto eight to ten weeks for delivery, courier service is considerably faster and more expensive. Stuff can be shipped to the destination and she can collect on arrival. Please explore.

On airfares, with wildly fluctuating tariffs, it makes sense to buy a one-way ticket. Also, multi-stop fares are not necessarily lower.

If you get a return fare that is flexible with the dates, consider that as well. Just keep in mind that airlines are looking to make money in the post-Covid era, so fares are not expected to come down any time till end of 2023. Why put money in a return ticket in these uncertain times?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

23+23+23: one bag of 23kg entirely reserved for utensils and food sustenance for a couple of weeks
Then a cabin bag of 7kg and a laptop bag.

Barring electronics, everything is cheaper in India. And for those travelling for higher education, the savings start adding up tremendously.

Totally agree with the statement. I myself during my year long stint in UK had carried 2 huge bags - one for cooker + groceries (mainly masalas) and other for clothes. Very essential if you are travelling to West.

[Amrik Singh]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

23+23+23: one bag of 23kg entirely reserved for utensils and food sustenance for a couple of weeks
Then a cabin bag of 7kg and a laptop bag.

Food sustenance ? I understand that no seeds (in fact all Lentils and Rice are Lentils) are allowed. So what do you propose except Spices, which again should no weigh much.
Maybe I am wrong, please verify if Rice or other grains are allowed to be brought in to Canada.

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Yes, but this transit without EU Visa is only available for US/ Canada visa/ green card holders and like. They need to add the UK to that list.

On the subject, KLM has allowed transiting to the UK, not sure about Lufthansa.

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/new...chengen-visas/

The transit visa itself depends on the Schengen country. Not all Schengen countries require a transit visa for Indian nationals, the only countries that require a transit visa for Indians are The Czech Republic, Germany and Spain. So, if you travel from India to say South America by Lufthansa, you will need a transit visa but these countries have exemptions for this rule if you are traveling to US, Canada etc or have a valid visa from these countries but UK is not on the list because of some post-Brexit bureaucracy. The Netherlands never required a transit visa for Indians, that's why Indians can travel by KLM to the UK. France as well had removed the transit visa requirement altogether for Indians recently. Also, the UK requires a transit visa for Indians transiting the UK if you don't have a valid Schengen, US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand visa.

That said, I am not sure what these airside transit visas actually achieve. Especially in a country like Germany which has an extensive Lufthansa network in India, they are just gifting travelers to KLM and Air France where this requirement is not there for Indians. Germany, in particular, have always had increased restrictions on Indian nationals, for example, they are the only country that doesn't recognize apostille legalization of documents from India.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Not sure how they would enforce it though. Most EU airports have a Schengen and a non Schengen section. Coming from India, you would always go via the non Schengen section. If you are transferring to a non Schengen country on most EU airports you would not pass immigration. You would just walk to the other gate.

Jeroen

These are airside transit visas, so the only enforcing agency are the airlines. So, you will be prevented from boarding if you don't have a valid transit visa in a country that requires one.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

23+23+23: one bag of 23kg entirely reserved for utensils and food sustenance for a couple of weeks

Barring electronics, everything is cheaper in India. And for those travelling for higher education, the savings start adding up tremendously.

look here; Costco will be around 10-25% cheaper, and I don't even need to mention the quality or the range.

https://www.realcanadiansuperstore.c...gets-and-Tools

Originally Posted by mygodbole

Please consider shipping non-essential stuff via cargo/courier/international parcel service. Winter clothing, utensils, books, boots, and all those knick-knacks not needed on landing can be shipped.

Only if something exclusive, I know so many people who migrated and got virtually nothing. They either sold everything here or gifted it. There are so many discount stores; most clothes can be had for under 25CAD. Woollens/ Jackets maybe 40. ( No need to convert by a factor of 62, per hour minimum wages in Ontario will be usually over 15CAD)

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

Food sustenance ? Maybe I am wrong, please verify if Rice or other grains are allowed to be brought in to Canada.

Except for farm produce, you can take everything. But almost everything is either cheaper or similar priced.

I will advise her to take only essential stuff suitable for a week or ten days.

[ghodlur]

As recommended by Turbanator, checked the Kayak website and found one trip quite cheap. So cheap that it had to come with its own issues listed below:
Its a 22hr 50 min flight from Hyderabad to Toronto via Dubai with a 5hr layover and 2 airlines (AI from H'bad to Dubai & Emirates from Dubai to Toronto) costing 1.3L but comes with this alert as below.

You may need to check in separately for each connecting flight. Make sure you have enough time. You may need to:
Collect and recheck your baggage.
Pass through security and passport control.
Have a visa if your connection is in a country that requires one

Will this be an issue considering there will be atleast 2 luggages?
Will there a Visa required for transit?

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

As recommended by Turbanator, checked the Kayak website and found one trip quite cheap. So cheap that it had to come with its own issues listed below:
Its a 22hr 50 min flight from Hyderabad to Toronto via Dubai with a 5hr layover and 2 airlines (AI from H'bad to Dubai & Emirates from Dubai to Toronto) costing 1.3L but comes with this alert as below.

Will this be an issue considering there will be atleast 2 luggages?
Will there a Visa required for transit?

If there are 2 separate PNR, then not at all recommended. On single PNR, different Airlines are still acceptable. Non-partner airlines mayn't be able to issue boarding passes but can check in the luggage all the way to the final destination. If you take such a ticket, it will mean, she has to collect luggage in Dubai and do a check-in again with Emirates. She will also need to clear immigration in Dubai (visa required). Also if there is a delay in connecting fight, no one will be responsible.

Look at some flights from Delhi or Mumbai and as I mentioned before, do try return fares with any date of next Year. This way is cheaper mostly these days. Hyderabad- Delhi/ Mumbai can be managed to keep sufficient time for connection.