About Ajay

Ajay Awtaney is the Founder and Editor of Live From A Lounge (LFAL), a pioneering digital platform renowned for publishing news and views about aviation, hotels, passenger experience, loyalty programs, travel trends and frequent travel tips for the Global Indian. He is considered the Indian authority on business travel, luxury travel, frequent flyer miles, loyalty credit cards and travel for Indians around the globe. Ajay is a frequent contributor and commentator on the media as well, including ET Now, BBC, CNBC TV18, NDTV, Conde Nast Traveller and many other outlets.

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Massive downgrade to third-party lounge at Terminal 2, Mumbai

by Ajay 8 Comments

a room with chairs and tables

Over the last year, ever since Mumbai’s Terminal 2 was opened for public use, I used to have access to the Clipper Lounge via the airline or the Priority Pass or somehow. The airport also operated a temporary lounge, which they converted into a permanent lounge, called the GVK Lounge, as of the end of 2014. The permanent lounge is pretty beautiful, and I’ve accessed the Business and First sections both. This past week, I was travelling back to Delhi and I chose to take an Air India flight from Terminal 2. The earlier time I did this, I was invited into the Business Class section of the GVK Lounge, however, this time, I was invited to something they called…

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[Video] SpiceJet celebrates Holi at Delhi Airport

by Ajay 1 Comment

SpiceJet is known to be the airline that does have some fun on Holi, even if this means they get a whack from the regulator. This year, they did play a safe Holi, by making it happen on the ground rather than in the air. The enthusiastic crew of Spicejet got a wider space to dance to Holi tunes, at the Delhi Airport a couple of days ago. Here is the video: I assume since they have not heard back from the regulator yet, they must have done fine with the regulations this year. I hope you all had a safe Holi as well. Join over 4000 people who check-in daily to find out about the best in travel. Free…

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5 reasons why it is a good time to be earning airline miles in India right now

by Ajay 7 Comments

I often get asked about how to score a mileage ticket, but I don’t get asked as often about how to earn the miles. People think miles are earned only by flying, something that has changed over the years. Miles can be earned with so many activities, and every activity counts towards your goal for that reward ticket. So stay with me for a moment and let me build my argument. As someone who has been travelling for a lot of years (maybe not as long as some of you who have been flying since I was in my diapers!), I’ve noticed a genuine shift in the way airlines have moved from rewarding loyalty to withdrawing all the perks to…

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This JetPrivilege upgrade is so cool!

by Ajay 6 Comments

JetPrivilege, the frequent flyer program for Jet Airways, has been in upgrade mode over the past 6 months. They did a few awesome (couple not so awesome) things over the months: More benefits for Platinums, including a +1 guest at the lounge Convenience fee goes away on online redemptions Extended validity for your miles if you have a Jet cobranded card Introduced mileage earning for kids, and also upgrade mileage burning for kids Launched family mileage pooling Enhanced domestic redemptions and removed fuel surcharges Enhanced mileage earning but my favourite one is where they made it easier to become or retain an elite tier by offering higher tier points on more expensive tickets. Now, lets come to the point. This…

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3 Etihad Guest bonus miles promotion you must sign on with today!

by Ajay 5 Comments

Etihad Guest is out there making a lot of waves with big sales (like the 35% off global sale) and also various promotions they launch from time to time. For the moment, these are the promotions you should absolutely sign on for, regardless of the fact that you may have plans to fly Etihad next few months or not. 1000 bonus miles for signup If you don’t have an Etihad Guest account, you should sign up for one with this promotion by March 31, 2015 and when you make your first transaction (including sending some credit card points to Etihad), you get 1000 bonus miles. The Economy & Business Double Bonus Miles promotion (registration till March 3, 2015) You will…

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JetPrivilege offering 20% bonus to convert Card & Hotel points to miles

by Ajay 2 Comments

c JetPrivilege, Jet Airways’ frequent flyer program, runs a campaign to offer you a bonus for all your points (credit card points etc.) to be converted into miles. In 2013, they offered a 20% bonus on converting hotel points to miles, apart from a credit card conversion bonus of a similar amount. They’d have run higher promotions in the past, and in 2012 it used to be 25% bonuses. The promotion is back, albeit for a limited time, for 2015, and this time around, JetPrivilege is offering 20% extra miles for your conversion of points to JP miles. The conversion bonuses run between March 2, 2015 to March 31, 2015. Which means any request that gets completed within this time…

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1000 Club Vistara points for flying Delhi-Hyderabad return

by Ajay Leave A Comment

Vistara, the new full-service Indian carrier, just took off less than 2 months ago, but they are launching destinations with a fast speed, and they are receiving A320’s pretty fast too. Just earlier this week, on Sunday, they started to fly between Delhi and Hyderabad, and for a limited time, which is somehow unmentioned how long, they are offering 1000 bonus Club Vistara points on the route for making a round-trip. Since there is no news on how does the redemption chart work on Vistara, I am not fully convinced yet on the value of accruing so many Vistara points, but I am sure they come handy some day soon. Any one of you flying Vistara on the new routes…

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Hyatt Diamond benefits: now transferable from March 1, 2015

by Ajay Leave A Comment

There are two very good reasons I try to stick with Hyatt Gold Passport as one of my primary hotel loyalty programs: The very well known 4 Diamond Suite Upgrade Certificates every year, which allow me to apply a certificate a revenue/cash+points booking on a published rate and get a confirmed suite for up to 7 nights Upgrade to the best room on arrival and complimentary club lounge access or full breakfast for up to 4 people There are of course other reasons as well, including a welcome amenity or bonus points at check in and usually good treatment by the hotels. Sometimes they do upgrade you to suites as well and pamper you. Over the past few days, however,…

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Back at the Lounge: March 1, 2015

by Ajay Leave A Comment

Hello from Mumbai. Its gorgeous weather around here so I decided to stay in the city itself and lounge around. Here is a recap of the posts from last week, just in case you missed something: News: Vistara has big plans. They will soon offer IFE on their planes, and hope to fly long haul all the way to the USA someday. Hotel Programs: Starwood has announced their 2015 category changes. India will get lot many downgrades hence cheaper award stays. Starwood has also entered into a partnership with Uber. Great way to earn SPG points. Tips & Tricks: I made a massive mistake by booking a wrong ticket. Here is how to get out of such a hot soup.…

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My oops moment: booked a wrong ticket!

by Ajay 10 Comments

Just a couple of days back, I was watching a rerun on Up In the Air, and there is a part where George Clooney a.k.a. Ryan Bingham says I do not do anything till it does not affect my mileage balance And I think just the next morning I felt inspired to take on some more on my plate. I got a call requesting me to book a ticket for someone’s international travel, since they knew I could get them a good deal within a short amount of research, and this one was willing to let me book it on my credit card. WOW! The next thing I know is a time crunch, and between meetings and all of a…

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Earn hotel stays at Starwood while riding with Uber

by Ajay 3 Comments

There was a great new association announced in the loyalty marketing space yesterday. Starwood’s loyalty program SPG tied up with Uber to offer SPG and Uber members the potential to earn SPG loyalty points for their Uber rides. On the face of it, this is great news for regular Uber users who may also be frequent guests of Starwood hotels. Here is the lowdown: You earn 1 StarPoints every time you spend USD 1 on an Uber ride, approximately INR 63. You earn for Uber rides around the world When you are staying at a SPG property, between those dates, you earn between 2-4 StarPoints depending on your status with SPG (2 points for base members, 3 for Gold and…

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