When is the best time to go to Pakistan in terms of airline tickets? From San Francisco to Lahore?
Also is it better to book tickets on your own thru say, Emirates website or thru a travel agent?
Re: Trip to Pakistan
yes, you can book your seat directly through the airlines. the time to avoid is summer [mid May to first week in September]...at other times, booking online is cheaper. firsat you search through a site which cehecks all major airlines. then choose the cheapest one and try to book directly through the airline.
Pakistan is served presently only by PIA and some Middle Eastern Airlines...Emirates is expensive...Etihad is median while Gulf Air or Kuwait Airways are cheaper.
if you are a US citixen, via Delhi can be very cheap...you just need a transit visa to India which is like $10 per person.
good luck N bon voyage.
Re: Trip to Pakistan
Tell me how i can go by transitioning thru India! Never heard of this before.
Please be specific like what airline to go with, remember my departure will be from San Francisco and destination will be Lahore. Can you send me a screenshot of an airline website so I can see what you clicked as a sample.
Thanks!
There is a huge Pakistani community in bay area. I think you are better off checking when your local friends in your area.
Re: Trip to Pakistan
There is a huge Pakistani community in bay area. I think you are better off checking when your local friends in your area.
Ofcourse there is, but I have never heard of someone transitioning thru India to get to Pakistan on a trip. I tried my luck on Emirates website fooling around by going from San Fran to Delhi and from Delhi to Lahore, but I was unsuccessful.
If this is cheaper, I need to know how to do this please.
Ofcourse there is, but I have never heard of someone transitioning thru India to get to Pakistan on a trip. I tried my luck on Emirates website fooling around by going from San Fran to Delhi and from Delhi to Lahore, but I was unsuccessful.
If this is cheaper, I need to know how to do this please.
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I am not sure why KKF said that you would go through Delhi. Emirates from USA (dont know if it flies from San Francisco or not) will take you to Dubai. From Dubai, you can take PIA to Lahore.
Re: Trip to Pakistan
yes, you can book your seat directly through the airlines. the time to avoid is summer [mid May to first week in September]...at other times, booking online is cheaper. firsat you search through a site which cehecks all major airlines. then choose the cheapest one and try to book directly through the airline.
Pakistan is served presently only by PIA and some Middle Eastern Airlines...Emirates is expensive...Etihad is median while Gulf Air or Kuwait Airways are cheaper.
if you are a US citixen, via Delhi can be very cheap...you just need a transit visa to India which is like $10 per person.
good luck N bon voyage.
Going though Delhi will make the itinerary look kinda goofy because any Middle Eastern carrier will bring the passenger back to their hub, and then go back to Pakistan on a different flight. They don't do multi-stop for countries next to each other.
Example: US*----Dubai/Abu Dhabi/Qatar/Etc-----Delhi-Dubai/Qatar/Etc-----*Lahore/Islamabad/Karachi/Peshawar
Why would someone want to do that? The best and most economical route is the direct one, and most airline itineraries are set up that way unless someone wants to go sightseeing, and then go to final destination.
Re: Trip to Pakistan
Going though Delhi will make the itinerary look kinda goofy because any Middle Eastern carrier will bring the passenger back to their hub, and then go back to Pakistan on a different flight. They don't do multi-stop for countries next to each other.
Example: US*----Dubai/Abu Dhabi/Qatar/Etc-----Delhi-Dubai/Qatar/Etc-----*Lahore/Islamabad/Karachi/Peshawar
Why would someone want to do that? The best and most economical route is the direct one, and most airline itineraries are set up that way unless someone wants to go sightseeing, and then go to final destination.
Yeah you're right, it doesn't make sense...that's how I got confused. Anyway thanks for clearing it up! :)
Re: Trip to Pakistan
Tell me how i can go by transitioning thru India! Never heard of this before.
Please be specific like what airline to go with, remember my departure will be from San Francisco and destination will be Lahore. Can you send me a screenshot of an airline website so I can see what you clicked as a sample.
Thanks!
can you please write down the dates of travel and i'll get you the lowest possible fare. if you don't wish to mention the dates here then please PM me.
Ofcourse there is, but I have never heard of someone transitioning thru India to get to Pakistan on a trip. I tried my luck on Emirates website fooling around by going from San Fran to Delhi and from Delhi to Lahore, but I was unsuccessful.
If this is cheaper, I need to know how to do this please.
you may not have heard but creativity and being smart is the way to get lower fares in this cut-throat pricing of airline seats. you have to think out side the envelope.
I am not sure why KKF said that you would go through Delhi. Emirates from USA (dont know if it flies from San Francisco or not) will take you to Dubai. From Dubai, you can take PIA to Lahore.
Emirates is expensive. it can cost up to $2000 from SFO to LHE.
i can save you at least $600 each person. you have to explore the unending possibilities.
Going though Delhi will make the itinerary look kinda goofy because any Middle Eastern carrier will bring the passenger back to their hub, and then go back to Pakistan on a different flight. They don't do multi-stop for countries next to each other.
Example: US*----Dubai/Abu Dhabi/Qatar/Etc-----Delhi-Dubai/Qatar/Etc-----*Lahore/Islamabad/Karachi/Peshawar
Why would someone want to do that? The best and most economical route is the direct one, and most airline itineraries are set up that way unless someone wants to go sightseeing, and then go to final destination.
brother Teggy, you don't have to go through the hubs of the Middle Eastern Airlines. there are other routes that can be price wise beneficial for your travel. you don't need to back track. you can go via the pacific and save.
Yeah you're right, it doesn't make sense...that's how I got confused. Anyway thanks for clearing it up! :)
brother, it does make a lot of sense if you know how to get a lower fare and save. for instance, use Air India and it will be cheaper, going to Karachi can be cheaper...Lahore is more money for sure.
you have to use airlines' pricing to your advantage.
Re: Trip to Pakistan
If you can, then go to Pakistan during the off-season, from February-April and from September-November. We usually get tickets through a travel agent but I think it will be cheaper to get the tickets directly from the Emirate website. The easiest route is from SF to Dubai and then from Dubai to Lahore.
Re: Trip to Pakistan
If you can, then go to Pakistan during the off-season, from February-April and from September-November. We usually get tickets through a travel agent but I think it will be cheaper to get the tickets directly from the Emirate website. The easiest route is from SF to Dubai and then from Dubai to Lahore.
Thank you, this is the time of the year that I like going anyway...November and December. I seen a fare on Emirates website this morning for $1616 from SF to Lahore via Dubai from Oct to Beginning Dec dates. I think that's a good deal!
Re: Trip to Pakistan
Thank you for your help, I will pm you the dates and see if you can work your magic.
By the way, what websites do you go on to compare cheap fares? I go on cheapoair.
Again, thank you for your wisdom bhai! 
Re: Trip to Pakistan
Emirates is expensive??? LOL no it's not, actually PIA is the most expensive when you compare the rates. That's why most people fly on Emirates and hide the whole "cheap fare" thing under the pretext of wanting "better quality". Yeah right.
Re: Trip to Pakistan
When is the best time to go to Pakistan in terms of airline tickets? From San Francisco to Lahore?
Also is it better to book tickets on your own thru say, Emirates website or thru a travel agent?
Right before Eid, summer peak travel months (June-August), and December break are traditionally bad months in terms of ticket prices to Pakistan.
It's true that the more layovers you have, the cheaper your ticket could potentially be. But if you're making a long haul flight, 2+ layovers can get really tiring, and I'm speaking from experience.
Anyways, I just did a random search on kayak.com for the month of November, SFO to Lahore, and cheapest is for $1323 on mostly Etihad.
SFO - ORD
ORD - AUH
AUH - LHE
Return:
LHE - AUH
AUH - SFO
Start with kayak.com and then browse around a bit to find your cheapest fair. Don't forget to check the actual airline's website to see if you can get a break on the fare by directly booking from their website, though in my experience it's only worked once. Also try flightfox.com. It costs a little bit to have others search itineraries for you, based on your criteria (time, money, certain layovers you want for sure), but the end savings are worth the cost.
Re: Trip to Pakistan
also try QR via Doha
Trip to Pakistan
I was going to suggest Qatar Air too
Re: Trip to Pakistan
^ Thank you Ess Emm, Gujranwalay and Khatti for your suggestions! :)
Re: Trip to Pakistan
If you want the shortest travel time like under 24 hrs, you might want to try PIA it is only 13 hrs 45 min from New York to Lahore since it goes Non Stop to Lahore! $1176/-
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Re: Trip to Pakistan
Thanks for your help! I’d like to go on PIA someday, but I’m afraid of the quality of their airplanes.
Re: Trip to Pakistan
dude don't go with PIA, God help u if the flight ends up being cancelled or delayed....there r videos on youtube see what they did in UK to their passengers when the plane had a defect, a B777..........
Go with some other airline and save yourself the agony and mental anguish!
Don't let a false sense of patriotism ruin your journey dude!