I understand your concern about the indian route. Am i gonna take that route for me? hell no. Am i gonna take that route for my parents? May be. I think our parents feel much more comfortable with Indian folks than any body else even though we ourselves dont. I was saying if you buy the tickets for your parents, lets say from chicago it will be easier for them in comapred to buying the tickets from Kansas City(I am assuming here that she flies from Kansas City to a bigger airport inside US).  The reason is she doesnot have to go throught the hassle twice and wonder in the bigger airport. Lets say she flies to New York or Chicago from Kansas city then she has to go through the security check again, find the right gate at those bigger airports and that can be tricky as the international terminal is no where close to domestic.
    This is just my opinion and thats what I am planning to do for my parents in summer. I will rather drive 8 hrs to pick them up and drop them off if it even reduces a little hassle for them.