Differences between flying in USA vs flying in India

Based on my two weeks of flying around in USA, I have compiled a list of differences between flying in India vs flying in USA. There're lots of subtle differences in flying around in these two countries. Table that follows provides a quick summary.

#	Factor	India	USA
1	Extra charge in name of convenience fee	Yes	No
2	Boarding	Random order	By groups/zones
3	Standing up soon after landing	Happens	Happens
4	Crowd at airport	Very high, only ticketed passengers can enter	Low, anyone can enter, no visitor ticket concept, passengers exclusive from security onwards
5	Cabin Crew	Usually younger staff are employed (except Air India)	No age limit- people of all ages including elder people
6	In flight WiFi	Not available yet, under consideration	Available with some airlines, chargeable in most cases
7	Automation	Low, baggage tag still reqd in many airports	High- self baggage tagging, mobile boarding passes, automated passport control etc
8	Delay, cancellation compensation	Poor to non-existent- passengers need to chase, beg and wait for compensation, alternate flights, refund etc	Very good with well defined process and prompt service
9	Transit	Need to clear security check	No need for another security check
10	Arrival	Can’t enter departure area, need to collect bag and leave- no place to sit, hardly any shops	Domestic arrival gets mixed with departing passengers- one can access all the shops in airport, can relax as long as they wish before leaving
11	Baggage allowance	1 bag, 15 kg check in & 7 kg cabin bag allowed due to DGCA rule, cabin bag only fare available	Varies- some airlines charge even for cabin bag (spirit, frontier), Southwest offers 2 check in bags free, concept of 'personal item' in addition to cabin bag.
12	Pricing models	Low cost or full service, with some minor variations like Economy Lite, Cabin bag only fare etc For a given distance, I find fares in India are cheaper	Multiple- Spirit n Frontier have bare minimum basic fare but charge for cabin bag, airport check-in n almost everything else Full service airlines also have a basic economy pricing
13	Immigration	Standard-clear upon arrival/ before departure. Manual.	No immigration for departing passengers Arriving passengers can pre-clear immigration in some cases at origin airport- convenient but if you've to clear immigration during transit, there's a risk of missing your flight. Partly automated Fast track programs (like Global) available, faster lanes for US, Canada citizens
14	Security	No special lanes	Fast lanes for premium customers, TSA Pre-check concept available for faster clearance
15	In-flight announcement	Standard, often boring	same stuff, have seen cabin crew make an effort to make it interesting/bit funny as possible
15	Major full service airlines	Air India, Vistara	United, Delta, American, SouthWest
16	Major budget airlines	Indigo, Spicejet, AirAsia	Spirit, Frontier, Jet Blu,
17	Airport Services	No special lanes. Airport Fee included in ticket, most services are free Public transport to airport may not be available in all cities	Trolley is chargeable extra, most airports offer long term economy parking in far away areas with shuttle, car rentals at airport very common Public transport/free shuttle often available to reach city/downtown You can take your emotional support animal with you
18	Aircrafts	A320 family seems more common	B737 family seems more common (Boeing is a US company)

Jennifer Kumar says she has never seen same aircraft dropping off some passengers and picking up some (hopping flights) in US.

If you have some observations to add- please do comment.

Also read: My experience with COPA * My experience with Spirit Airlines * My experience with Jet Blue * Bahamas view from above * Miami view from above *