Cheap Flights from San Francisco to Mumbai
San Francisco (SFO) → Mumbai (BOM) · 21–25 hours
Flights from San Francisco (SFO) to Mumbai (BOM) are operated by Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad and Singapore Airlines among others, with one stop, eastbound through the Gulf or westbound through Asia. Total journey time is typically 21–25 hours. You depart from San Francisco International (SFO) and arrive at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (BOM).
| Departure airport | San Francisco International (SFO) |
|---|---|
| Arrival airport | Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (BOM) |
| Main airlines | Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad and Singapore Airlines |
| Routing | One stop, eastbound through the Gulf or westbound through Asia |
| Journey time | 21–25 hours |
| When to book | Two to four months ahead for ordinary travel, and six months or more for December, the summer school holidays and the Indian wedding season, when the cheapest fare buckets are gone long before the date approaches |
Flying out of San Francisco SFO
San Francisco is the most direct US gateway to South and East Asia, and the Bay Area's concentration of Indian technology professionals has made SFO–India one of the most heavily served long-haul corridors in the country. That density cuts both ways: there is real nonstop capacity, but demand around the winter holidays and the summer university calendar is severe enough that fares from Fremont, Sunnyvale and San Jose can double if you leave the booking to the last month. Early planning is worth more on this corridor than almost any other we handle.
What to know before you fly to Mumbai
Entry requirements for US travellers
US citizens need an Indian visa; the online e-Visa covers most visits and OCI cardholders use their OCI. Apply early enough that a slow approval cannot force you to move a ticket — verify the current rules on India's official e-Visa portal before you travel.
Best time to go
November to February is dry, mild and the most popular time to visit, which is exactly why fares are highest then. The monsoon from June to September brings the lowest prices of the year and, if you can work around the rain, by far the best value on this corridor.
Airports and arrival
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (BOM) is western India's main gateway and a major hub for onward domestic connections to Goa, Pune, Ahmedabad and the south. International arrivals use Terminal 2.
Baggage
Mumbai itineraries split fairly evenly between European and Gulf routings, and the two have quite different baggage rules. We confirm a single end-to-end allowance rather than leaving you to discover a tighter limit on the second leg.
Airlines from San Francisco to Mumbai
Itineraries offer one stop, eastbound through the Gulf or westbound through Asia.
Getting the best price to Mumbai
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San Francisco to Mumbai — frequently asked questions
Fares on the San Francisco–Mumbai route vary widely by season and how far ahead you book. We do not publish an estimate we have not measured for this pair; call our agents and they will quote the live consolidator fare for your dates.
Carriers on this route include Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad and Singapore Airlines. Others serve it on one-stop itineraries, and the cheapest is not always a name you would expect — the lowest fare we have tracked here was on a carrier outside that list more than once. Itineraries offer one stop, eastbound through the Gulf or westbound through Asia, and total journey time runs about 21–25 hours. Which carrier is cheapest changes with the season and the fare bucket rather than staying fixed, which is why we compare them all on every quote.
Plan on 21–25 hours from San Francisco International (SFO) to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (BOM), including time on the ground if your itinerary connects.
Book two to four months ahead for ordinary travel, and six months or more for December, the summer school holidays and the Indian wedding season, when the cheapest fare buckets are gone long before the date approaches.
No — every itinerary from San Francisco to Mumbai connects at least once, with one stop, eastbound through the Gulf or westbound through Asia. Which connection is best is not just about total time: the length of the layover, whether you change terminals, and whether both legs are on one ticket all matter more than the headline duration. We compare them rather than sorting by price alone.
SFO handles the Bay Area's international departures, with Oakland (OAK) and San Jose (SJC) serving domestic and short-haul routes. From the South Bay, SJC is sometimes the better start to a connecting itinerary despite SFO's bigger schedule — the drive up the peninsula at the wrong hour can cost more time than the connection saves.
This is the corridor where it matters most. US–South Asia fares carry the widest gap between the published price and the consolidator price of anything we sell, the itineraries are long enough that a better connection is worth real money, and baggage rules differ enough between carriers to change which fare is actually cheaper once you have paid for your bags. All three are things a search box cannot weigh for you. SkyKaro's agents are reachable 24/7, and nothing is charged until an agent has confirmed the itinerary and the price with you.