Boston to Delhi Flights (BOS to DEL): One-Stop Options, Flight Time and Arrival at Terminal 3

No nonstop, but plenty of one-stop choices

As of recent schedules, no airline flies nonstop from Boston Logan to Delhi. The route is a one-stop trip, and the hub you choose changes the shape of the journey more than the total time does. From Boston you can connect through the Gulf with Qatar Airways in Doha, Emirates in Dubai or Etihad in Abu Dhabi; through Europe with Lufthansa in Frankfurt or Munich, British Airways in London, Air France in Paris or KLM in Amsterdam; through Istanbul with Turkish Airlines; or domestically to New York, where Air India and United both fly nonstop to Delhi from Newark or JFK.

The Gulf carriers tend to offer the shortest connections and arrive in Delhi in the small hours of the morning, which is typical for flights from that direction. The European routings land in Delhi late at night or around midnight and give you a daytime stop in a city you may know. The New York option puts the long leg on one 14 to 15 hour flight, which suits people who would rather sleep once than twice.

If you are continuing to another Indian city, check whether the ticket includes the domestic leg. Delhi's Terminal 3 handles international arrivals and many domestic departures, but some domestic flights leave from Terminals 1 and 2, which are a shuttle ride away.

Flight time and distance

The great-circle distance between BOS and DEL is roughly 7,300 miles (about 11,750 km). With one stop, total journey times of 16 to 20 hours eastbound are typical, with the Gulf and New York routings usually at the shorter end.

The return takes a little longer in the air because you are flying west against the prevailing winds, but most itineraries leave Delhi after midnight or in the early morning and reach Boston the same afternoon or evening, so the trip feels shorter on the calendar. Eastbound you leave Boston in the evening or at night and arrive in Delhi the following night or early the next morning, India time.

Leaving from Boston Logan

International departures on Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Turkish, Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France and KLM use Terminal E. United's domestic flights to Newark leave from Terminal B, and Delta's from Terminal A. Terminal E has been expanded in recent years and its security checkpoint is reasonably quick outside the evening wave, but several long-haul flights depart within an hour of each other, so arriving three hours ahead with checked bags is sensible.

Getting to Logan is straightforward. The Silver Line SL1 bus is free from the airport and runs to South Station, and the Blue Line reaches Airport station, where free shuttle buses loop past every terminal. Taxis and ride-hail cars from downtown take 15 to 30 minutes outside the rush hour.

Arriving at Indira Gandhi International and getting into Delhi

International flights land at Terminal 3. Immigration can be slow when several long-haul flights arrive together between midnight and dawn, so fill in any arrival forms before you land and keep your e-Visa printout or approval handy. Baggage reclaim is a long walk from the gates; allow for it if you have a tight onward connection.

• Airport Express Metro: the Orange Line runs from a station inside Terminal 3 to New Delhi railway station in about 20 minutes, with stops including Aerocity and Shivaji Stadium. It is the fastest option during the day, though it does not run all night.
• Prepaid taxi: the counters inside the arrivals hall fix the fare before you leave, which removes the haggling. Cars wait outside and the ride to central Delhi takes 40 to 60 minutes, longer in the evening rush.
• App cabs: Uber and Ola collect from a designated pickup area reached by a short walk or shuttle. Follow the signs rather than accepting a ride from someone inside the hall.

Aerocity, next to the airport, has a cluster of international hotels and is a good place to sleep if you arrive in the middle of the night and have an early domestic flight.

When to fly and when to book

Delhi's weather sets the pattern. October to March is the pleasant season, with cool dry days from November to February and a real chill in December and January. April to June is extremely hot, and July to September brings the monsoon. December and January also bring dense fog that delays and diverts flights in the early morning, which is exactly when the Gulf routings land, so leave a buffer if you have an onward connection in those months.

Fares from Boston are highest around Diwali, which falls in October or November, over Christmas and New Year, and in the US summer holidays when families fly to visit relatives. The quietest months are usually February to early April and September. For holiday travel, book four to six months ahead; for the rest of the year, two to three months is normally enough.

Entry requirements and documents

Most US passport holders need a visa for India, and the common route is the e-Visa, applied for online through the official Indian government portal before you fly. Processing usually takes a few days but can take longer, so apply at least a week or two ahead. Airlines check for the approval at Boston and will not board you without it. Other nationalities and purposes of travel have different rules, so check the official portal or the nearest Indian consulate before you book.

Your passport should have at least six months of validity and blank pages for the stamps. Carry a printed copy of your e-Visa approval as well as the version on your phone.

Time zones and jet lag

India Standard Time is five and a half hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time and India does not observe daylight saving. That puts Delhi ten and a half hours ahead of Boston in winter and nine and a half hours ahead during US daylight saving time.

A ten-hour shift is about as hard as jet lag gets, because day and night are nearly reversed. Eastbound, try to sleep on the second leg and treat the Delhi morning as your morning, however little you slept. Westbound is usually easier because you land in Boston in the afternoon and can push through to a normal bedtime.

What travellers on this route get wrong

The most common error is leaving the e-Visa until the last few days and finding it is still pending at check-in. The second is landing in Delhi at three in the morning with no plan for the first few hours; the Airport Express does not run overnight, so book a prepaid taxi or an Aerocity hotel instead. The third is a tight domestic connection in December or January, when fog can hold flights for hours. Allow for all three and the journey is long but uneventful.