Reader Indranil sends in this picture of the SQ Mega Ark. He says that SQ does not go for any livery changes after one of its promotional livery plane crashed in Taiwan. Till date the only difference is the SQ freighters (747-s which are called Mega Arks). Here is one of them, shot from the East Coast Park, Singapore, on its approach to Singapore Changi Airport. Thank you Indranil! Airline: Singapore Airlines (Cargo) Location: On approach to Changi Airport Runway 02L Airframe: Boeing 747-412F/SCD If you want to share a picture of a plane, an airport, or anything aviation related, please send it across to aj@livefromalounge.com with the details and I’ll put it up here. Thank you!
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Malaysia Airlines Business Class companion tickets from India all of 2012
Malaysia Airlines and IndusInd Bank came together for an exclusive offer valid on Malaysia Airlines J class all of 2012. If you hold the IndusInd Platinum or Signature Credit Cards, or one of the older versions from Deutsche Bank, you’re in for the treat. For all of 2012, buying a J class ticket on Malaysian gets you to travel with a companion free. Malaysia Airlines is a future oneworld carrier, and one of the good South East Asian carriers. According to the promotion details on IndusInd website, the promo is valid on all IATA fares in Business Class, so I’d go out on one leg and hope that this should also be valid for the Discounted Business class fares which is not usually the case…
Another Emirates Global Sale till January 9th 2012
Across 100 destinations where Emirates operates, this airline is offering a global sale which is going to last till 9th January 2012 local time, and valid for economy, business as well as first class seating. Members of the Skywards program get added discounts via promocodes they may have received already. The minimum stay required is 3 days, and you can book a free stopover in Dubai either ways. So, this looks like an attractive promotion if you are looking to travel between 22nd January 2012 and 30th June 2012. Here are the countries where the promo is being made: The offers look good but are capacity controlled. For instance, a return trip between New York and India (coach) would cost…
Kingfisher Airlines a prime case for shutdown: DGCA
I don’t intend to be soothsayer on this blog, but at the same time not a doomsayer either! I’ve been trying to be very positive about Kingfisher Airlines in my head for a very long time, and something tells me, that if they survive this ongoing phase of problems, they will come back as a stronger service-oriented institution in the new changed environment. However, for the time being, the troubles seems to be getting bigger and bigger for them, making them perhaps a case for being jilted from oneworld before they get to join, just like AI got the boot from Star Alliance. I love those guys, seriously. They gave me 2 free domestic Kingfisher First class tickets last year, on…
Birdwatch: Photo # 4 (Jet Airways in Nokia Lumia colors)
Nokia, the erstwhile king of mobile phones is now trying to restablish itself in the market. And it thinks painting a plane in all the colors is one good move. So, as a part of their advertising strategy for the Nokia Lumia 800 which recently launched, they painted this Jet Airways plane. Now, I want to get on this plane, only if someone told me what route it is flying. Airline: Jet Airways Location: Unknown Airframe: Boeing 737-800 If you want to share a picture of a plane, an airport, or anything aviation related, please send it across to aj@livefromalounge.com with the details and I’ll put it up here. Thank you! (Hat Tip to ZOMG for this one!)
Why Air India needs a few good men (or women)
Now, all of us know that Air India, being the flag carrier and owned by the government, is run by bureaucrats. So, they have a hit and miss track record with special promotions which are not thought through to the end, and this current one is just one of them I suppose. In a promotion launched for the international markets, Air India is offering Non-resident Indians and international passport holders the offer to travel in India on AI, with a package of tickets which cost anywhere from US$ 200 + taxes (for 2 segments) to US$1000+ taxes for 9 segments in the economy segment. Taxes per segment are usually in the region of 10$ or less per segment, depending on…
The 2 Month Grace Period for Priority Club Reward Nights
Like you know by now, IHG has went ahead and adjusted their Reward Chart, to take effect from 18 January 2012. I also indicated there that if you want to take the benefit of the old award chart in the case of the 25% IHG properties where the cost of awards is going up, you do have a 2 month grace period to book on the old chart via the PC service Centre till March 18. This has now been confirmed by the Loyalty Traveler on MilePoint. He states after a chat with IHG officials that: Priority Club members have a 60-day window from January 18 to book hotels through the customer service center at the old lower cost or…
PriorityClub Reward Nights devalued and 2 months grace period
A few hours ago I blogged about the PriorityClub Reward Nights valuations being readjusted. However, at that time, Priority Club seemed to have forgotten to put up the award charts on the table. They did do that shortly after and here is how the new chart looks like: IHG has usually followed a hotel brand based redemption level, and in this latest round, they’ve just added more tiers in the redemption tables. I’d have assumed this would have happened after the points they minted away in last year’s promos. Here are the key changes, which are going to affect about 25% of the hotels: Candlewoods at 20K (New 20K tier added) Intercontinentals at 50K (New 50K tier added) Holiday Inns…
Book a Carlson property @ Asia-Pac/FrenchPoly for 30% off for all of 2012
Club Carlson has been on a roll trying to establish itself back in the big player game for hotels. While I like the Radissons for a quick stay every now and then, they are not my first choice, since they are usually pure business hotels and I miss out on the perks of being a business traveller, such as the lounge and upgrades! If you are travelling to the Asia Pacific in 2012, you might want to check out the Carlson ‘Hot Deals’valid for stays till December 31, 2012. Your bookings need to be made before February 19, 2012, and the offer provides you up to 30% off on the Best Available Rate, if you stay 2 or more consecutive…
Speculation about devaluation to IHG Priority Club Reward Nights?
In the mail while I was sleeping was a mail from Priority Club, my monthly e-statement. Since there was nothing to reconcile, my eyes went out for the other big news that seems to have leaked out here, that IHG Priority Club Reward Nights will undergo a change in the coming fortnight. The email stated: Effective 18 January 2012, Priority Club will make changes to the number of points required for Reward Nights. The email lead on to a link which brings me to the current Priority Club Reward Nights page. However, nothing new reported here as of now. My sense is that PC might be changing the award charts and going for a devaluation perhaps? The Sunset that PC chose to send with this email…
3 Weeks to OWMD: Preparing for Seat 33A!
Things have been quiet in here about my preparations towards the oneworld MegaDo. Not really, a lot of action has been happening and it is time to give you all an update. However, a quick round up on whats happening on the MegaDo preparation before we go on to my preparations. This past week, the waitlist was wrapped up, and all the original participants who looked like they could not participate in spite of having paid up (due to the multiple bookings), have now been accomodated. This, of course, comes with the sad news that some other people have to go off the charter, including fellow Boarding Area blogger Mike Reed of Getting Status. Some cool swag has been lined…
