Starting August 5, Jet Airways will begin daily service between Newark and Mumbai, via Jet Airways' European hub, Brussels. Jet Airways has been turning heads with their first class private cabins and, at 83", the roomiest flatbeds in the biz. Not only roomy, but vibrating as well. Each seat is equipped with a massage function to jiggle and gyrate your travel-weary limbs back to life. Business class, or premiere class, also boasts an impressively large bed, larger than most airlines' first class. Even coach seating comes with its own small frills, like cushions that extend beyond the seat, adding a little more padding under your legs. How much will all these glitzy extras cost you? Let's have a look:
- Newark to Brussels: Using September 12 through September 19 as our dates of travel, we found a fare of $638 in special economy, $3,680 in economy, $2,897 in premiere, and $10,864 in first class. And that's round-trip, including taxes. Checking these same dates on Orbitz gave us a $668 coach fare with Continental, $2,925 with Continental as the lowest non-stop business fare, and Jet Airways as the lowest nonstop first class at $10,874.
- Newark to Mumbai: Traveling from August 28 through September 11, the lowest fare available is $1,150 in special economy, $3,655 in economy, $6,450 in premiere, and $10,385 in first class. Again, those are all round-trip fares, including taxes. Orbitz lists Jet Airways as having the lowest coach fare, at $1,174. Continental is listed as the lowest business fare, at $3,741. And Air India comes in first with the lowest first class fare, at $7,800.
- Newark to Mumbai: Traveling from August 6 through August 14, the lowest available fare is $1,263 in special economy, $3,655 in economy, $6,450 in premiere, and $10,385 in first class. And again, those are all round-trip, and including taxes. Our follow-up search on Orbitz shows Air France with $1,293 in coach, a Continental/Jet Airways share with $3,741 in business class, and Air India with $7,800 in first class.
As you can see, Jet Airways' economy fares are pretty much on par with what the other guys are offering and, for the Newark to Brussels leg at least, the same is true of business class. As for those longer hauls between Newark and Mumbai, you're looking at a difference of about $3,000. If that's just a tad out of your budget, hey, don't beat yourself up. With a little effort (and by effort, we mean an eye-mask and a Tylenol PM), you can transform almost any seat into your own little private cabin!