Air India's Flying Returns isn't the first program that comes to mind for Star Alliance redemption. However, with a fixed chart for redemptions and lucrative credit card bonuses, it can quickly be a useful tool for short- and long-haul sectors. Here's how to spend miles with Flying Returns and the sweet spot in the chart.

Flying Air India

The Indian flag carrier has made several changes to its offering since 2021, namely upgrading several US routes to ex-Delta 777s, including the Delta One cabin. With hundreds of new aircraft set to join the fleet in the next few years, Air India's product is set to improve dramatically, making Flying Returns a program to watch.

However, for those sitting on miles today, redemptions are on the pricey side. On its own metal, Air India charges 80,000 miles one-way from New Delhi/Mumbai to New York JFK in economy, and 160,000 one-way in business class. While this offers decent availability, 160,000 and 320,000 in economy and business are expensive. United, on its cheapest dates, sells the route for 88,000 points in business. However, taxes are minimal, with no costly charges.

Photo: J Hopwood/Shutterstock

Domestic redemptions don't come cheap either, with the busy Delhi-Mumbai route costing 20,160 miles roundtrip in economy, double what Vistara charges (for a far superior product). Business class will set you back an eye-watering 40,320 miles. Once again, taxes are minimal, but it's hard to justify 20,000 for a two-hour flight. Even the shortest flights, under 45 minutes, will set you back 4,500 miles each way.

Europe is the only region with more standard rates, likely due to price-matching with Lufthansa and others. One-way in economy will set you back 45,000 miles, while business stands at 90,000. Interestingly, booking Air India through other partners, such as United, will only cost 33,000 miles, saving over 25%.

Booking Star Alliance

Since 2018, Air India has allowed members to redeem points for Star Alliance partners online, with availability varying heavily by carrier and date. Flying Returns still uses a distance-based award chart for all routes and adds a fee of ₹1,000 ($12.7) per sector booked, in addition to the taxes. Sadly, there are no sweet spots due to the distance brackets of 0-500 miles, 501-1500 miles, 1501 miles-2500 miles, and 2500+ miles, with all long-haul routes priced up heavily.

For example, a one-way from New Delhi to Frankfurt would cost 90,000 miles one-way with Lufthansa, double what Air India charges for its own flights, a ridiculous amount. United's Delhi to Newark service would cost 100,000 in economy and 200,000 in business, while a trip from London to New York would be 90,000/180,000 one-way.

Photo: Air India

The only value can be found on short flights within the US, which start at 5,000 miles and up to 10,000 miles can be helpful to avoid pricey cash tickets. However, Air India desperately needs to update its award chart to make it more competitive with other carriers to prevent most from crediting miles elsewhere.

All about value

While it might seem confusing why Air India charges so much more than its Star Alliance partners, the reason lies behind the low value of Flying Returns points. With the airline offering as much as 30 miles per ₹100 ($1.2) spent on flights with credit cards, it's easy to earn tens of thousands of points with minimal spending, explaining the high points charges for redemption flights.

Have you redeemed with Flying Returns before? Let us know in the comments.