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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Review: Flight 9W228 BOM-BRU on Jet Airways Premiere (A332)

by Ajay 9 Comments

a glass of beer and a bowl of nuts

Introduction Check-in: Clipper Lounge, Terminal 2, Mumbai Airborne: Flight 9W228 (BOM-BRU), Jet Airways, Premiere (A332) Hotel Manhattan, Rotterdam Hotel Sheraton Brussels Airport, Brussels Check-in: Jet Airways Lounge, Brussels Airborne: Flight 9W227 (BRU-BOM), Jet Airways, Premiere (A333) After the trip to the Clipper Lounge, my flight’s boarding was announced and I headed to the gate. There was a separate queue for Premiere class boarding and I headed through that queue to the plane. There was a secondary security check on the gate as well. Jet Airways 228 Mumbai(BOM) – Brussels(BRU) Tuesday, March 12 2013 Depart: 2:05AM Arrive: 07:50AM Duration: 10hr15min Distance flown: 4,271 miles Aircraft: Airbus A330-200 Seat: 2D (Premiere Business) Meal Service: Dinner (Refreshment), Breakfast I was flying the Mumbai…

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Citibank Ultima limits Priority Pass benefits

by Ajay 2 Comments

Citibank seems to be falling off the cliff on the Citibank Ultima credit card, which was their equivalent of the most aspirational credit card in the Indian plastic space. Like I wrote earlier, they recently withdrew the proposition where you could pay the exceptionally high fee for this card and also get Jet Airways Platinum membership in the process. The few benefits still on the card are also seeming to be withdrawn slowly and steadily. One of the prime benefits of the card, for the travel focussed tribe, was the Priority Pass, where you could access it and bring along a colleague, or two, or three along into the same lounge along with yourself. This was of interest if you…

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Review: Clipper Lounge, Terminal 2, Mumbai

by Ajay 1 Comment

food in a buffet with plates and spoons

Introduction Check-in: Clipper Lounge, Terminal 2, Mumbai Airborne: Flight 9W228 (BOM-BRU), Jet Airways, Premiere (A332) Hotel Manhattan, Rotterdam Hotel Sheraton Brussels Airport, Brussels Check-in: Jet Airways Lounge, Brussels Airborne: Flight 9W227 (BRU-BOM), Jet Airways, Premiere (A333) Update: New Lounge as of February 2014 is covered here. I intended to arrive at the Mumbai Airport Terminal 2 in good time for this trip. Part of the reason for that was that I had just gotten done with a long day with a client, and I wanted to relax and be at ease on my flight, since I was going to slip into work as soon as I landed up in the Netherlands post my flight. However, the whole expectation of having…

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Mumbai Airport finally has premium security queues!

by Ajay 5 Comments

On my last trip out of Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Sivaji International Airport terminal 2 (Going Dutch), I noticed a new thing I hadn’t seen the last time I was there in December 2012. I was going to fly Jet Airways Premiere (Business class) to Brussels, and after clearing Immigration/Passport Control, I headed into what I thought was going to be a long serpentine queue for the security check. However, I was pleasantly surprised when there was a new signage in the security hall, which said “First Class/Business Class” passengers. To me, this indicated that there was a priority queue put in place for premium travellers and for disabled passengers, which, incidentally was much smaller than regular queue. Your boarding pass had…

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Indian airport security may go the TSA way

by Ajay 2 Comments

Last week, an interesting news report surfaced in the Times of India, which detailed the plans of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, which is in charge of airport security in India, experimenting with a new model for passenger screening. As per this news report: Flyers in India may soon be required to take off their shoes and belts to clear pre-boarding security checks just like in all US and some European airports. As per the BCAS, this is being considered to ensure that “shorten serpentine queues at frisking counters as well as enhance the quality of checking.” They have already done a pilot project in Delhi at Terminal 1D, the low-fare carrier terminal, where they are now evaluating the…

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Going Dutch: Introduction

by Ajay 6 Comments

Introduction Check-in: Clipper Lounge, Terminal 2, Mumbai Airborne: Flight 9W228 (BOM-BRU), Jet Airways, Premiere (A332) Hotel Manhattan, Rotterdam Hotel Sheraton Brussels Airport, Brussels Check-in: Jet Airways Lounge, Brussels Airborne: Flight 9W227 (BRU-BOM), Jet Airways, Premiere (A333) Earlier this month I needed to plan a trip to The Netherlands, not for fun but for work. The direct route from Mumbai (BOM) to Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) has only one flight, which is actually a SkyTeam flight operated by Delta on the route Mumbai – Amsterdam – Atlanta, using their Fifth Freedom rights. However, having travelled on that flight once, I decided I did not like it much. What could you expect of Delta afterall? They took 1.5 hours just to serve me…

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Discounts on Jet Airways domestic & international mileage redemption extended till September 30

by Ajay 2 Comments

Last year in March, Jet Airways had introduced a promotional discount of 20% for domestic redemptions in Jet Airways Economy and Premiere Cabins, only if you booked the redemption tickets online. This promotion was extended till March 31, 2013, and now has been further extended till September 30, 2013. As per this promotion, if you redeem your Jet Privilege miles online (and complete the ticketing online), you get a 20% discount which is automatically factored in while displaying the redemption. If you want to know the redemption cost (100%) for your sector, you can check the mileage calculator here. However, the T&C clearly state that We will be unable to extend the 20% OFF on redemption JPMiles offer, towards such…

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Last day to book your Priority Club Awards on the old rates

by Ajay Leave A Comment

Priority Club, the loyalty program of the Intercontinental Hotel Group, decided to readjust their loyalty program this year again in January 2013. They moved from a brand-based system, to a category-based system, where each property could cost differently depending on the category it is going to be housed in. Here is the earlier redemption chart (pre-18 January 2013): and here is the new one: Now, I pulled up the information for the various IHG properties in India, and most of the properties do see a downward readjustment, so it makes sense to book these properties with the new rates and you can do that online at www.priorityclub.com. Brand City Priority Club Points (Old) Priority Club Points (New) Difference Crowne Plaza…

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Moving on…

by Ajay Leave A Comment

To a new digital lounge. I think there could have been an interesting contest brewing amongst various BoardingArea bloggers about the most interesting headline to break the news. But, in short, this weekend is maintenance weekend, and BoardingArea is going through a server upgrade on Friday and Saturday. You will not be able to comment, and I won’t be able to post during this period. However the entire archives are open for you to read. We should be back online on Sunday evening. If there is something you want to know, or be in touch, feel free to be in touch with me at @livefromalounge on twitter or www.facebook.com/LiveFromALounge. Have a great weekend! This message will self destruct in 48…

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Mumbai to Europe for 30K FlyingBlue Miles, USA for 55K miles, all in biz class (and vice versa)

by Ajay 2 Comments

FlyingBlue, the loyalty program of KLM/Air France, recently published their promo-award charts for the months of March and April 2013. FB’s promo awards essentially provide you with a 50% off on mileage requirement using FB miles for the period concerned. Now, there were some sweet spots from my perspective for the first time. The usual redemption rate from India to Europe on Flying Blue in Business is 60K miles for a one-way redemption, but for the next two months, one could get a business class seat for the price of an economy redemption, i.e., 30K miles one-way and 60K miles roundtrip on Air France. Take for instance, this sample booking from Mumbai to Oslo, which prices at 30K miles +…

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Cathay Pacific offers 30% discount on flight redemptions with Asia Miles

by Ajay Leave A Comment

I know it has been a Cathay kind of day. Cathay Pacific is offering a 30% discount of miles required on redemption bookings on Asia Miles for travel on Cathay Pacific/DragonAir to India, HK, Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Australia and select European ports (USA is excluded). Essentially, the following airports are excluded: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, Amsterdam, London, Moscow, Rome, and Auckland. The promotion is valid for reservations till March 31, 2013 and travel till June 2013 in the economy cabin. What drives me crazy, is that the only way to do this is to call Cathay Pacific or fill up the form online (and the disclaimer in red is…

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