Europe is behind IST by 4 1/2 hours, 3 1/2 hours or 2 1/2 hours depending on where you are.
Most European Airlines fly out of India from the Metros. They do not offer discounts and ticket prices
are high. One option is to fly on other airlines, namely Middle Eastern. Emirates operates flights from
Mumbai via Dubai to European cities. Return air fare is approximately Rs.30,000/-, which is the cheapest
among all international airlines from Mumbai.
A word of caution, some Middle Eastern airlines offer bargain ticket prices, make sure that you don't
have to pay additional airport tax during your transit. Personally I was very satisfied with Emirates, and it
has won a few awards to its credit. Also by virtue of a Dubai transit, you can shop at Dubai Duty Free!.
Once outside India, you may want to travel between some European cities by air & it makes sense to
do this. For example, you will waste a day and a half on a ship from Brindisi or Bari (Italy) to reach Athens
or Corfu (Greece). While EURAIL offers free seats on shipping lines for doing this, it consumes a lot of time.
Air fare between Rome and Athens is between US$100 to US$125,considering our domestic prices, this is
inexpensive for an international flight. Shop around for fares before deciding on an airline, operators
offer discounts all the time because of the competition.
There are three main types of tickets available for air travel.
1. Return Open
It gives you the flexibility of choosing you return date depending on your itinerary. This option may be
pricier than a fixed return date ticket and you may to pay up to change it later.
2. Round trip
The most popular option and by far the cheapest. Arrive and depart from the same city.
Example Mumbai- Paris-Mumbai..
3. Open jaw
Expensive option, allowing you the flexibility to start and depart from different cities. This may be viable if
you want to avoid repeating a country just to depart from it.
Example Mumbai-Paris-London-Mumbai.
