Air India

Air India (AI) is a Star Alliance member based in Delhi (DEL). Since the Tata Group took the airline back in 2022 it has been rebuilding fast, with refreshed cabins and new A350s replacing the tired old fleet. It flies nonstop from India to more North American cities than anyone else, which makes it very useful for award travel to the subcontinent.

Which miles can you use to book Air India?

Because Air India is in Star Alliance, you can book its award space with partner miles, including:

United MileagePlus: no fuel surcharges, and united.com is also the easiest place to search
Air Canada Aeroplan
Avianca LifeMiles: often the cheapest, no surcharges
Turkish Miles&Smiles

How to search for Air India award space:

The easiest place to search is the United Airlines website. United displays Star Alliance partner availability, including Air India, and you can search without holding any miles.

Step 1

Step 2

Select the Book Travel box and fill in your trip details:

Select either Round Trip or One Way
Enter your departure and arrival city. For Air India, think routes touching Delhi (DEL) or Mumbai (BOM), like DEL-JFK, DEL-SFO, DEL-LHR, or BOM-EWR
Enter your dates
Select the number of passengers
Select Award Travel

Then click Search.

Step 3

Pick the flight option that fits your schedule. Watch the connection times carefully, as some options have very long layovers.

If you would like to search a different day, use the calendar to scan nearby dates. Nonstops to India get booked far out around the winter holidays and wedding season, so flexibility helps.

Make sure you select the Saver Award, as standard awards cost far more miles and usually can’t be booked with partner programs anyway.

Step 4

Choose your preferred flight and open its details. Write down the following information: flight number, dates, and cabin class.

Step 5

Now book with the program your miles live in. If it’s United miles, book right there on united.com. For other programs (Aeroplan, LifeMiles, Miles&Smiles), check their website first, since most can book Star Alliance partners online now. If the flight doesn’t show, call the program and read the agent the exact flights you found. They should be able to see and book the same space for you.

Tips before you book

The screenshots above show an older United site design. Menu names have shifted slightly, but the flow (log in, award search, pick saver space) is unchanged.
Cabin quality varies while the fleet refresh rolls through. If the flight is on a refurbished aircraft or an A350 it will say so in the flight details, and it’s worth favoring those.
If united.com shows nothing, cross-check the same route on aeroplan.com. Partner sites occasionally disagree on the last seat or two.