I am going to be sending my parents to the USA for a short trip and visit some family. My mother can not sit too long durations, and because the flight the India to the USA is quite long I need to know the flight time, so I can decide what the best flight option is for them. They would be leaving from New Delhi and arrival would be at JFK airport. The important thing is that I want them to have a comfortable flight, so please mention the India to USA flight time, and your suggestions to what the best flight options for traveling would be.
I've been to the USA from India and back a few times via Lufthansa. Excluding layover time, the flight was approximately 19 hours from Mumbai to Chicago. Delhi to JFK would be around the same time, maybe a bit shorter. With the layover in between, it was like one 10 hour flight followed by a 9 hour flight. If that is too long then maybe you can plan multiple layovers on the way for them to take a break. You could possibly have one layover in the Gulf and another in Europe. You can even have overnight layovers and your parents can go out and stay in a hotel for a night or two if they need a long break.
It is certainly a long trip, and I can say that doing it once was enough for me. I would love to go back, do not get me wrong, but that flight is very long and I am not good when it comes to long flights. I cannot sleep on planes, and have never been able to, which is frustrating because I really wish that I was able to just to make it feel shorter. We had layovers and all of that so it took us around 24 hours to get there, but the main stretch flight was about 18 or 19 hours like @rootie mentioned. Make sure you pack something to keep you busy.
Hello there! Welcome to the forum! If your parents would ride the non-stop flight, they can arrive in New York in about 15 hours and 30 minutes. For the one-stop flights, it could take 19 hours before they reach the airport in New York. Aside from that, some airlines have a long layover and can even take 40 hours before they reach their destination. Just remember that those flights with stopovers take longer than the flights with no stop-overs. But if you'd like for them to have some break from the airplane, then you can book a flight that has one or two stopovers. This way, they can rest for a few hours before they board the plane again. Anyway, here are some flights from New Delhi (Indira Gandhi International Airport) to John F. Kennedy Airport: Virgin Atlantic One-Stop Flights 1. VS301 Departs from New Delhi at 12:55. Arrives in London Heathrow at 17:30. Duration of flight is 9 hours. Layover at London Heathrow for 15 hours. Departs from London Heathrow at 9:05. Arrives in JFK Airport at 11:50. Duration of flight is 8 hours. Journey duration: 35 hours or more. Cost: Rs. 77,758. 2. VS5403 Departs from New Delhi at 12:55. Arrives in London Heathrow at 17:30. Duration of flight is 9 hours. Layover at London Heathrow for 18 hours. Departs from London Heathrow at 11:30. Arrives in JFK Airport at 14:25. Duration of flight is 8 hours. Journey duration: 35 hours or more. Cost: Rs. 93,870. 3. VS301 Departs from New Delhi at 12:55. Arrives in London Heathrow at 17:30. Duration of flight is 9 hours. Layover at London Heathrow for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Departs from London Heathrow at 20:15. Arrives in JFK Airport at 23:10. Duration of flight is 8 hours. Journey duration: 19 hours or more. Cost: Rs. 94,452. Air Berlin Two-Stops Flights 1. AB4097 Departs from New Delhi at 21:00. Arrives in Abu Dhabi International Airport at 23:20. Duration of flight is 4 hours. Layover at Abu Dhabi International Airport for 9 hours. Departs from Abu Dhabi International Airport at 8:45. Arrives in Dusseldorf International Airport at 13:45. Duration of flight is 7 hours. Layover at Dusseldorf International Airport for 3 hours and 20 minutes. Departs at Dusseldorf International Airport at 17:05. Arrives in JFK Airport at 19:30. Duration of flight is 8 hours and 25 minutes. Journey duration: 32 hours or more. Cost: Rs. 128,499. 2. AB4097 Departs from New Delhi at 21:00. Arrives in Abu Dhabi International Airport at 23:20. Duration of flight is 4 hours. Layover at Abu Dhabi International Airport for 3 hours. Departs from Abu Dhabi International Airport at 2:30. Arrives in Berlin Tegel Airport at 7:00. Duration of flight is 7 hours. Layover at Berlin Tegel Airport for 6 hours. Departs at Berlin Tegel Airport at 13:00. Arrives in JFK Airport at 15:45. Duration of flight is 8 hours and 45 minutes. Journey duration: 28 hours or more. Cost: Rs. 147,722. American Airlines One-Stop Flight 1. AA6664 Departs from New Delhi at 10:20. Arrives in London Heathrow at 15:10. Duration of flight is 9 hours and 20 minutes. Layover at London Heathrow for 2 hours. Departs from London Heathrow at 17:15. Arrives in JFK Airport at 20:05. Duration of flight is 8 hours. Journey duration: 19 hours or more. Cost: Rs. 151,441. Cathay Pacific One-Stop Flight 1. CX698 Departs from New Delhi at 22:45. Arrives in Hong Kong International at 6:55. Duration of flight is 6 hours. Layover at Hong Kong International for 2 hours. Departs from Hong Kong International at 9:15. Arrives in JFK Airport at 13:05. Duration of flight is 16 hours. Journey duration: 23 hours or more. Cost: Rs. 367,818. Etihad Airways Two-Stops Flight 1. EY223 Departs from New Delhi at 21:00. Arrives in Abu Dhabi International Airport at 23:20. Duration of flight is 4 hours. Layover at Abu Dhabi International Airport for 3 hours. Departs from Abu Dhabi International Airport at 2:30. Arrives in Berlin Tegel Airport at 7:00. Duration of flight is 7 hours. Layover at Berlin Tegel Airport for 6 hours. Departs at Berlin Tegel Airport at 13:00. Arrives in JFK Airport at 15:45. Duration of flight is 8 hours and 45 minutes. Journey duration: 28 hours or more. Cost: Rs. 117,814. One-Stop Flight 1. EY223 Departs from New Delhi at 21:00. Arrives in Abu Dhabi International Airport at 23:20. Duration of flight is 4 hours. Layover at Abu Dhabi International Airport for 4 hours. Departs from Abu Dhabi International Airport at 3:35. Arrives in JFK Airport at 9:35. Duration of flight is 14 hours. Journey duration: 22 hours or more. Cost: Rs. 129,700. So there are your options. You can opt for the two stops flights or one stop flights. The good thing about the flights with two stopovers is that the journey time is cut to smaller chunks. This way, your parents can rest in-between flights. Some layovers would even allow them to rest at a nearby hotel, if you'd like. There are also one-stop flights that have long layovers. Like the ones from Virgin Atlantic, where they have 15 to 18 hours of layover. The duration of the flight is about 7 to 8 hours, which isn't too bad. You can opt for this one as well and just book a hotel near the London Heathrow Airport for your parents. I hope this helps.
