Mumbai30 Nov 23 1 Traveller Economy
Showing International Flight from New Delhi
About New Delhi
New Delhi, which is also the capital of India, is one of the major tourist attractions in the country. It has historical importance and is also a pitstop for everyone who wants to go for a backpacking trip to the North or the North-East. Connaught Place in New Delhi is a favourite spot for youngsters. It has a lot of cafes, pubs and hangouts for the younger crowd and is quite happening, too. As a tourist destination, New Delhi is known for the India Gate, Qutub Minar, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Chandni Chowk and a lot more. Not to mention, the street food in Delhi is quite famous in the country. Chole Bhature, Parathas, Gol Gappa and the list goes on.
Delhi also boasts of a few forts that constructed in the Mughal era. Another highlight of New Delhi is that you find transport to other cities and states like Himachal Pradesh, Manali, Shimla, Dharamshala, Jaipur, Kolkata, Sikkim and so on quite easily. Be it a government-run bus or an AC, Volvo bus; there are myriad options for you to choose from here. Sarojini Nagar and Chandni Chowk are two most popular destinations in New Delhi for all you shopaholics out there. If you bargain well, you'll manage to find the best stuff at a reasonable price. It's honestly easier to get around in Delhi, and some Metros connect you to other parts of the City. You'll also find a lot of cabs, and you should book a taxi online.
You can find and book a hotel in Delhi as per your convenience and budget. You'll find a decent one that fits your budget quite easily. The City also has hostels, in case you are looking forward to meeting more people and making friends. Delhi to Agra is another popular route that people add to their itinerary. It's something that you must do. You can also visit the Chhatarpur temple, which is the second-biggest temple in India. It is dedicated to Goddess Katyayani and has been made of marble. Heritage Walks are a trend that has caught on in Delhi over the last couple of years. Since the City has so many monuments and pieces of history to flaunt, tour guides organise Heritage Walks for tourists on weekends, and it is a prevalent activity in the City.
Delhi experiences the coldest winters and the hottest summers. The weather is quite extreme, so much that it gets foggy during the cold seasons. It is also one of the most polluted cities in the world, which means you must wear a mask to protect yourself when you are in the City. Catch a play in a theatre or opt for a street play. Delhi's theatre culture is quite strong, and you'll be amazed at what you see for sure. Don't forget to take a stroll at Lodhi Gardens in Central Delhi and you'll come across monuments and structures constructed during the Mughal Era.
Best Time to Visit Delhi
October through March is a pleasant season to visit New Delhi. The temperature drops to as low as 2 degree Celsius in January. It's the perfect weather to plan a day out and make the most of all the sightseeing. Do carry all of your warm clothes. You can also visit the City during festivals. The Delhites do know how to celebrate festivals with lots of pompous and grandeur. April to June is when the City experiences summer. May and June are the hottest months and while it's not the worst time to visit the City if you don't mind the heat, but you will find good flight deals and discounts on hotels. The city witnesses monsoon from July to September. Monsoon is quite pleasant in Delhi, but it is highly recommended that you visit New Delhi during winter.
Places to Visit in Delhi
New Delhi has a lot of monuments and places of historical importance that you can visit. You can start by visiting the India Gate. It is a war memorial that was constructed in 1971 after the First World War as a tribute to the soldiers who fought and lost their lives in the war. It was built by a famous architect called Edwin Lutyens. You'll also find tour guides if you need one, who will remind you of everything that you have read in school already.
The Qutub Minar is a world-renowned UNESCO Heritage Site and surely worth the visit. The tower stands 240 feet tall and was constructed by the first-ever ruler of Delhi called Qutb al-Din Aibak. Though you could climb the 370 odd steps to get to the top of the tower earlier, it has been closed to the public for a long time now. It is one of the most beautiful monuments and is buzzing with tourists almost all the time. Visit the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which is yet another popular tourist destination in Delhi. Tour guides usually arrange for a visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan. You can also find tickets on the government website for whenever you plan to visit.
You can also visit the Tomb of Humayun. It was built in the 16th century for Mughal emperor Humayun and like the Qutub Minar, is a UNESCO Heritage Site. New Delhi is also famous for Jantar Mantar, which is in Central Delhi. It is a popular and significant tourist attraction in Delhi. If you want to take a break from all the sightseeing and party, Connaught Place is where you go. You can also go to Hauz Khas. Both of these places are popular for youngsters to chill and hangout. It has a lot of hip and happening places.
Things to do in Delhi
After having covered most of the heritage sites and favourite tourist places, you can take a rickshaw ride to Chandni Chowk. It is one of the oldest places in Delhi and quite popular, too. You'll hear praises of restaurants and street food here for a long time. It's also a popular shopping destination. You can also visit the Khan Market, yet another favourite place to go on a shopping spree, along with Sarojini Nagar. Do stop by the Nizamuddin Dargah to listen to music that will touch your soul and how! It's also a trendy location to shoot for a lot of Bollywood filmmakers.
Make the poet in you happy by visiting the Ghalib Ki Haveli. It's not very easy to locate, but it is where Ghalib penned all of his poems in Urdu and Persian. You'll love the aura of the place and might even get all poetic if you aren't already.
Food and Restaurants in Delhi
There are a lot of cafes, restaurants and pubs at Hauz Khas and Connaught Place. The decor, ambience and food at these places will not disappoint you. Kunzum Travel Cafe in Hauz Khas is one of a kind cafes in the area. It's also the only travel cafe around, and you'll surely meet a few like-minded people over there. You cannot go to Delhi and not give the street food a try over there. The Chole Bhatures near Delhi University, the parathas and Gol Gappa, just the thought makes you hungry. Chache Di Hatti is an old food joint near Delhi University and is famous for serving the most delicious chole bhatures. Lajpat Nagar is yet another place prominent for its samosas, chaats, Gol Gappas and mouth-watering food. Roshan Ki Kulfi at Karol Bagh is a must-try, and you can stop by for some delicious lunch. As the name suggests, it also serves kulfi and one of the best in Delhi. Moolchand Parathewala under the Moolchand Flyover will serve you the best, lip-smacking parathas with lots of butter on it.
How to reach Delhi
By Air
Indira Gandhi International Airport is the nearest to New Delhi, and the flight connectivity is pretty good, be it domestic or international. Flights from Delhi run quite frequently to all major cities in the country, and it is also reasonably easy to find a flight to Delhi from whichever city it is that you are travelling from to Delhi. You can get a good flight deals to Delhi online and cheap flight tickets from certain cities in the country.
By Rail
The Nizamuddin Railway Station, Anand Vihar station, New Delhi railway station and Sarai Rohilla station are some of the major railway junctions in the City. Nizamuddin station and New Delhi railway station connect to major metropolitan cities and other big cities. New Delhi also has metro services to commute within the City.
By Road
There are frequent bus services that connect you to Delhi. Be it a Delhi Transport Corporation bus or a private AC bus, you'll find what you need quite easily. Some of the popular domestic routes from Delhi by road are to Shimla, Hrishikesh, Manali and other tourist destinations that are near the City.
About Alitalia
Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana or primarily referred to as Alitalia, is the national flag carrier of Italy. The airline has its headquarters in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. The airline's main hub is Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Rome, while its secondary hub is located in Linate Airport in Milan. Alitalia's other focus airports in Italy also include Naples Airport, Milan Malpensa Airport, Catania-Fontanarossa Airport and Palermo Airport. The airline was recorded in 2018 as the twelfth-largest in Europe. Alitalia in Italian is a portmanteau of the words 'ali' for wings and 'Italia' for Italy. Alitalia has not been the best of airlines in terms of raking a profit margin. In fact, it has been a loss-making venture for quite a few years now. In 2017, after formal approval by the government, the airline went into administration. However, the operations of Alitalia has been continued with the same loss-making approach and level of flight activity. Eventually, in 2020, the government of Italy opted to take over all the flight operations and management from Alitalia.
The Italian airline came into existence in 2008 with formal operations starting from 200, following a Compagnia Aerea Italiana consortium that took place to buy out the bankrupt Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane. They further planned to merge the airlines with Air One, another bankrupt Italian carrier. Compagnia Aerea Italiana or CAI placed an offer of €1 billion to acquire a few parts of the bankrupt airline. Further, to accommodate the new Alitalia airline, the consortium took up several labour agreements, offered to administer the operations of Alitalia and receive support from the Italian government from bankruptcy. The consortium even took up the responsibility of taking over some of Alitalia's debt. There were a few controversies that did take place which included the wealthy Berlusconi cronies. Claims of the wealthy individuals trying to take over healthy fragments of Alitalia while leaving the debts to the citizens and taxpayers of Italy were stated. Eventually, the new Alitalia was launched for operations. The same year, the Compagnia Aerea Italiana sold about 25 per cent of their shares to Air France - KLM. Additionally, Air France - KLM also mentioned a clause to purchase more shares of Alitalia in 2013, if need be.
In January 2010, the airline celebrated its first anniversary since the official relaunch. The airline carried about 22 million passengers in the first year of operations. The following year, the airline also carried about 25 million passengers. Since its relaunch though, Alitalia faced its first protest as employees called for a four-hour strike over wage issues. The same year, the word about a possible merger between Alitalia and Meridiana Fly, an Italian carrier. However, the merger did not take place. Trouble didn't seem to end for Alitalia as there were authority issues and lack of slots to cater to domestic routes. In 2014, Etihad Airways, the national flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, announced that they would be investing in Alitalia and purchasing about 49 per cent of stake. In the same year, Alitalia's subsidiary Air One cased operations over losses. In 2015, the airline's consortium with Compagnia Aerea Italiana was eventually passed on to Alitalia-SAI, a new entity commenced by Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways. Alitalia's Compagnia Aerea Italiana continued to own 51 per cent of stakes.
Alitalia has been under losses ever since it resumed operations with new leadership. There have been several changes in its ownership styles and status. Currently, Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane is one of the shareholders with about 35 per cent stakes. Along with the Italian state railway company, the airline also has the Italian Ministry of Economy and Delta Air Lines as shareholders with 15 per cent and 10 per cent stakes respectively.
Fleet size of Alitalia
Alitalia's current fleet size comprises 91 aircraft which only include Airbus and Boeing. The fleet has about 38 Airbus A320-200s, 22 Airbus A319-100s, 14 Airbus A330-200s, Airbus 321-100s, 11 Boeing 777-200ERs and one Boeing 777-300ER. From 2009 and 2011, the airline refurbished its fleet by adding 34 new aircraft while 26 of the older ones retired. The renewal process concluded in 2013. The new aircraft that have been added to the fleet are not owned by Alitalia but have been leased from Aircraft Purchase Fleet. It is an Irish leasing company that was founded by former Air One owner, Carlo Toto. The company primarily offered flights on lease to purchase the new Alitalia fleet. With the Air One and Alitalia merger, the entire fleet that was leased and the one air One did not lease, was brought under the ownership of Aircraft Purchase Fleet. Except for the two new A330s, the entire fleet is under the Irish registry instead of the Italian registry. Prior to the new fleet, the previous fleet of Alitalia included McDonnell Douglas DC-9s, DC-10s, ATR 42 and ATR 72, to name a few.
Baggage Allowance
Baggage allowance on Alitalia is the standard protocol that a majority of international airlines have set. The checked baggage weight cannot weigh more than 23 kg for economy and premium economy class cabin. Meanwhile, the business class cabin has weight allocations of 32 kg. In case passengers have excess baggage weight, the airline has enabled the purchase of weight. While economy class passengers can carry about one checked baggage, premium economy class and business class baggage allowance has two pieces of bags. The maximum size of the baggage should not exceed 158 cm for checked baggage. Passengers must adhere to the checked baggage dimension rule. In case of excess baggage, the airline has listed out the tariffs that the passenger might have to pay. The prices also vary depending on the destination of the flight.
As for hand luggage, Alitalia's baggage allowance enables passengers to carry not more than 8 kg weighing luggage onboard. The dimension of the hand baggage should not exceed 55 cm x 235 cm x 25 cm. The size and weight of the baggage should be the same as mentioned by the airline. Failing to adhere to the rules of weight and size could lead to the airline rejecting the accommodation of the baggage onboard. The passenger might have to send away the hand baggage as checked baggage instead.
In-flight services
Alitalia provides passengers with world-class in-flight services ranging from special exquisite meals to onboard boutique. The seating configuration, as well as the seat types, are made to cater to the comfort of the passenger. The aircraft in Alitalia's fleet offers great legroom and leg rest facilities as part of its services. There are several other in-flight services of Alitalia that add to its experience. The airline offers in-flight WiFi connectivity for passengers. Depending on the ticket type, passengers can avail the WiFi network services. Meanwhile, the airline also provides personal entertainment decks with engaging and latest content such as movies, TV shows, music, video games and more. The business class facilities on Alitalia airline also provide the passenger with their Ulisse magazine as part of the in-flight entertainment services. Alitalia's onboard boutique offers products from GRIFFAIR that can be purchased. Passengers will receive some discounted rates too.
Popular routes and top cities for Alitalia
As of 2020, Alitalia is known to serve about 97 destinations and operates from the hub Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome as well as four other airports in focus cities of Italy. The airline has been part of the SkyTeam alliance and joined in 2009. There have been codeshare agreements that the airline has with other SkyTeam members to enable passengers to fly to numerous other destinations. Alitalia also joined the bandwagon of the transatlantic joint venture, KLM< Air France and Delta Air Lines enabling profits from the Atlantic flights to be shared between the four dedicated airlines. Alitalia's domestic route connections are extensive as they have flights to destinations such as Bologna, Bolzano, Brindisi, Genoa, Florence, Milan, Palermo, Parma, Pisa, Venice, Turin, Pescara, Olbia and more. The international route network of Alitalia is just as celebrated as it caters to a slew of destinations. As of 2020, Alitalia airlines cater to cities such as Brussels, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, Havana, Prague, Cairo, Luxor, Marseille, Paris, Nice, Toulouse, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Athens, Budapest, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Beirut, Luxembourg City, Malta, Casablanca, Saint Petersburg, Madrid, Valencia, Zurich, Geneva, Tunis, London, New York City, Chicago and Washington DC.
Why travel by Alitalia?
Despite being a loss-making venture, Alitalia domestic route connectivity and international route connectivity is recognised worldwide. The airline has cultivated a reputation for itself thanks to being associated with SkyTeam airline alliance. Over the years, the airline has enabled several upgrades even though it has suffered debts and losses. The airline has made its official website as a hub for all kinds of booking activities. Travellers can book an Alitalia flight on their website as well as on any travel portal. Simultaneously, passengers can also do web check-in ahead of their flight, receive an update on the flight status and benefit from the list of Alitalia's flight schedules that have been shared on their website.
About New Delhi Airport
Indira Gandhi International Airport is the country's top international and domestic airport hub, located in the capital, New Delhi. The exquisite Delhi Airport is sprawled over 5,106 acres of land and is settled in Palam, which is about 15 km away from the New Delhi railway station and about 16 km away from the city centre. The New Delhi airport has been named after the former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. The airport is easily the busiest in the country with respect to passenger traffic and cargo traffic too. On a global scale, the airport is recognised as the 12th busiest airport in the world and 6th in Asia. The New Delhi airport is also the busiest for the Airbus A320 aircraft. The Delhi Airport, along with the Mumbai Airport, has arbitrated "World's Best Airport" at an awards function.
About New Delhi Airport Terminals
Indira Gandhi International Airport is a hub to various domestic and international airlines. The airport serves about 80 airlines and hence, has three active passenger terminals. Special Hajj terminal, as well as a cargo terminal, is also present at the airport. Terminal 1 is presently being used for low-cost carriers such as IndiGo and SpiceJet. However, DIAL plans to expand the terminal and augment the passenger handling capacity. Terminal 1C is dedicated to domestic arrivals. The terminal has been upgraded with an extensive area for greeting, and better luggage reclaims area. There are eight belts here.
Terminal 1D has been built for domestic departure and can accommodate 15 million passengers per year. The terminal also has 72 Common Use Terminal Equipment (better known as CUTE), 16 self-check-in kiosks and 16 security counters. Terminal 2 is dedicated to GoAir and IndiGo airlines for their regular flight operations. Terminal 3 is dedicated to international flights and airlines. There are about 168 check-in counters, 78 aerobridges, 95 immigration counters, 15 X-ray screening zones and many more features.
About New Delhi authority
The airport was originally operated by the Indian Air Force. However, the management was then transferred to the Airports Authority of India. Eventually, a consortium was formed, DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited), led by GMR Group along with the AAI. Since then, the airport has seen quite a lot of expansion and development. The authority has been working on expanding the airport's capacity to accommodate around 100 million passengers by the year 2030.
Facilities at the New Delhi Airport
Baggage Services: The airport has specific guidelines to follow when it comes to their baggage services. Much like other airports, it is best to avoid hazardous objects such as firearms and pointy objects with you in the cabin baggage. The airport provides baggage wrapping services too where basically, they wrap several layers of plastic around the baggage to ensure that the contents are protected from damage, theft, alteration and mishandling. The airport also has services of trolleys and available at the terminal.
Travelling with kids: The New Delhi airport also has special rooms for child care as often many new mothers with infants commuting require special facilities and privacy to take care of the kids. Hence, the airport has arranged for special rooms and child care centres to bring about a comfortable environment. The well-sanitised baby rooms have provisions of baby products as well as comfortable chairs for mothers to feed their babies. There are nursing stations and changing tables also available. The airport also offers complimentary strollers, which is available at the information desk. A small children's area has also been reserved at the airport to keep the kids entertained.
Restaurants and cafes: You can find a plethora of food establishments and restaurants that you can check out at the airport. You will be in luck to find a lot of famous food establishments such as KFC, Subway, McDonald's, Burger King and more. You can also find cafes and establishments that serve liquor.
Lost and found room: There is a specific room reserved for lost and found. In case you have misplaced something, perhaps the boarding pass, your mobile phone or wallets, you can visit the efficient lost and found room. The information desk will guide you to the lost and found station.
Medical services: The airport has 24/7 medical services. Often airports have some medical emergencies, especially if the passengers already suffer from some conditions. Hence, the airport has reserved special medical services that are always available. The centre is prevalent at all the airport terminals.
Prayer room: The New Delhi airport also has multi-faith prayer rooms available. While you are waiting to board flights, you can also spend some time meditating and chanting religious verses.
Smoking zone: To keep a smoke-free environment in the airport terminal, special provisions to maintain smoking zones have been initiated by the New Delhi airport. There are a handful of smoking rooms that are at a convenient distance. Plus, if you need, you can also purchase boxes of cigarettes at the airport.
Porter service: Porter services are ones where you can simply get someone to escort your luggage on your behalf. You can get these services at the departure and arrival terminals with a specific nominal fee. An experienced staff would be available to escort your baggage from gate to gate.
Parking facilities: The airport also has parking and valet facilities. As long as you pay some amount to hold your parking spot, you wouldn't have to worry about your vehicle. The facility is secure and is perfectly connected to both the terminal buildings of the airport.
VIP lounge: The airport also has a VIP lounge and other experiential services. If your flight ticket has premium services available or if you are a member of the elite club to avail VIP services, you can spend time at the lounge while you wait for your flights. The services at the lounge are quite upscale and fancy.
ATMs and foreign exchange: For foreign nationals, there are foreign exchange counters available. You can make your currency exchanges done at the airport and maybe even avail some good forex rates. Plus, various ATM kiosks are also available at the terminals.
Top airlines flying from the Delhi Airport
As the capital of the country, the Indira Gandhi International Airport sees tremendous flight activity. In terms of domestic connectivity, New Delhi is responsible for connecting various metropolis as well as small towns. Specific cities that cannot be reached by many other airports require connectivity from New Delhi. For example, the Kullu Manali airport in Himachal Pradesh can only accommodate fewer flights. In such cases, the connectivity is narrowed with Delhi being the centre for all connections. A majority of the airlines that fly within the domestic cities has a base at the New Delhi airport. The top domestic airlines that fly from Delhi Airport are Air India, AirAsia, Alliance Air, GoAir, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Vistara.
New Delhi's flight connectivity with other major international cities is also excellent. Many prominent airlines fly from New Delhi airport. Considering it is the capital of India, many famous international airlines connect with New Delhi airport. Some of them include Air Arabia, Air Canada, All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Finnair, KLM Royal Air. Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines, Thai Airways and Srilankan Airlines, to name a few. Some of the domestic airlines from New Delhi airport also fly internationally. Airlines such as AirAsia, Air India, SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo have provisions for international flights as well. These airlines fly to cities such as Dubai, Phuket, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Riyadh, Istanbul, Dhaka and more.
How to reach the Delhi Airport
By Rail
The closest railway station to the New Delhi Airport is the Palam railway station. It is about 4.8 km away from terminal 1 and close to 12 km from Terminal 3. Trains are considered to be an easy route to reach the airport. Another good way to reach the New Delhi airport is by the Airport metro station. The metro station is located close to Terminal 2 and 3. The Airport metro station lies on the lines of Delhi Airport Metro Express. The station sees a lot of action with many passengers using this mode to reach the airport. The frequency of the trains reaching the Airport metro station is also quite good as there is one train every 10 minutes. Meanwhile, the Airport metro station which lies on the Magenta Line reaches New Delhi airport's Terminal 1. The train is considered to be the best way to reach the New Delhi airport as it is faster and does not deal with any of the road traffic.
By Road
There are regular buses that traverse from the main city to the New Delhi airport. The fastest way to reach by road would be to take up the 8-lane of Delhi Gurgaon Expressway. Buses serviced by the Delhi Transport Corporation operates regular air-conditioned buses that reach the airport. There are Uber and Ola taxi cab services also available to reach the Indira Gandhi International airport. You can also make prior bookings on the app. You can find metered taxis at the Terminal T3 and T1C.
