International

Category Archives for International.

Flight Review: 9W 572 Mumbai to Kuwait, Jet Airways, Economy

May 3, 2014 by Ajay 2 Comments

Last month, I was on my way to a meeting to Kuwait, and I did my standard drill. I usually arrive there on one of the two evening flights with Jet Airways, stay the night at a hotel, do the meeting, and wait for the flight back which only happens the next evening. Perhaps I need to optimize these a bit, but anyhow, this time I was back on my old warhorse, Jet Airways, which was going to take me from Mumbai to Kuwait International Airport on the early departure flight. For the 17:55 flight, I arrived at the new Mumbai Terminal 2 at about 15:00, which was an early arrival by all standards. I was joined by a colleague,…

Going RTW: Holiday Inn LaGuardia NYC

August 13, 2013 by Ajay Leave A Comment

Introduction & Trip Index <EY 101 (AUH-JFK), Etihad, First AC Maples Club Lounge, LGA> After my long wait in the queues for passport control, I was kind of tired. So I asked the chauffer to drive me to the hotel and dozed off for 20-30 minutes in the car itself. On arrival, I found myself in a small little cute hotel, which was good enough to spend one full jet-lagged night before heading on for Colorado Springs. Surprisingly, while the redemption rates for this one were 25,000 IHG Club points per night, those for a Holiday Inn Express nearby were 30,000 IHG Club points per night. I did not…

Using Air India Flying Returns to get 10 Kgs extra baggage allowance free

August 5, 2013 by Ajay 74 Comments

I truly think that Air India Flying Returns is not a great loyalty program and I’ve said it before. However, in the wake of Air India, Jet Airways, Go Air and Indigo dropping their free baggage allowance to 15 Kgs, it seems to have become an inconvenience to some travellers who still feel the need for more baggage allowance. Baggage allowance seems to be going at Rs. 250 (~$4) per Kg above the allowance, and it pinches pockets to pay. SpiceJet is the only Indian carrier offering 20 Kgs at the time of writing this. Anyhow, there is a simple trick for the heavy travellers who choose to book with Air India. Most airlines with a loyalty program offer their…

Going RTW: Flight EY101 (AUH-JFK), Etihad, Diamond First

July 25, 2013 by Ajay 6 Comments

Introduction & Trip Index <Etihad First Class Lounge, Abu Dhabi Holiday Inn, LaGuardia Airport> Like I earlier mentioned, by the time I went through the secondary check gates (for US-bound flights), and reached the gates, boarding was already underway and I queued through a bunch of economy passengers to get through to the jetbridge. However, this was a good time to say hello to the A340. Abu Dhabi (AUH) – New York (JFK) Thursday, May 9 2013 Depart: 10:13AM Arrive: 04:41PM Duration: 14hr28min Distance flown: 6897 miles Aircraft: Airbus A340-600 Seat: 3A (First) Meal Service: Lunch, Snacks Once on board, however, everything was okay. at the gate, the purser greeted me, and asked one of…

Going RTW: Etihad First Class Lounge, Abu Dhabi Terminal 3

July 13, 2013 by Ajay 2 Comments

Introduction & Trip Index < EY205 (BOM-AUH), Etihad, Business EY101 (AUH-JFK), Etihad, First> After a long trip on the bus again, we got out in the oven furnace kind of heat for just a brief moment and hopped into the Terminal 3 building. Even for transit passengers, there was going to be a security check. Like had become the trend so far, I was not being very impressed with the premium-ness of the Etihad experience. There was one premium screening queue as compared to the zillions for the non-premium passengers. And guess what, they closed out the queue right in front of me, transferring those passengers over to regular queue. Let the confusion ensue. After…

Going RTW: Flight EY205 (BOM-AUH), Etihad, Pearl Business

July 12, 2013 by Ajay 6 Comments

Introduction & Trip Index <Celebrations Lounge, Mumbai T2 Etihad F Lounge, Abu Dhabi T3> Boarding was pretty disorganised, and I’d begin to think this was a Mumbai Airport feature but there are airlines such as Etihad, and back in the day, Kingfisher which would enforce boarding sequence pretty well. So, the incoming flight was delayed, however, instead of going back into the lounge, I just waited in the boarding area. This was my first time being at Gate 1B, so I wasn’t in the know of what I was getting into later. Boarding started about 20 minutes later, and business class was called first, being the highest cabin on this A320.…

Review: Flight 9W227 (BRU-BOM), Jet Airways, Premiere (A333)

April 12, 2013 by Ajay 11 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) As I arrived at my gate, the familiar long boarding queues were visible. Airlines from India, in any part of the world, do not follow a systematic boarding procedure and this means everyone is crowding out the gate to get on the flight first. Once I could find my way through the crowd on the plane, I turned left and took my first steps onto the new business class cabin of Jet Airways to head towards seat 1K. Like I’ve mentioned earlier, Jet Airways…

Review: Jet Airways Lounge, Brussels

March 31, 2013 by Ajay Leave A Comment

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) Like I mentioned in the earlier post of this trip-report, I was intending to rush it in the morning to beat the long queues that tend to form up at the Brussels airport counters of Jet Airways. Even as an elite, you can be waiting for a while because all the counters would be full. Having made it early, I walked up to a bank of empty Jet Airways counters, which was the first time in years I’d seen it like this. I walked…

Review: Hotel Sheraton Brussels Airport

March 28, 2013 by Ajay 7 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) After my few days in Rotterdam, I headed back to Brussels on the train network. Luckily, I was only making one stop transfer this time around, and made it to Antwerp with 20 minutes to spare before I was going to get to my train to the Brussels National airport. This was good enough time to catch a helping of Fritters, which is something I make it a point to have when transiting via BRU and staying overnight. There are various hotel options…

Going Dutch: Hotel Manhattan, Rotterdam

March 24, 2013 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) After landing up from my flight to Brussels airport, my usual routine is to walk up to the train station situated right under the airport, and buy a ticket to my destination in the Netherlands. If I don’t have much time, I choose to take the Thaly’s but if I do have the time, I take the Belgian international trains. However, this time, the snow seemed to have had other plans for me. I wanted to take the Thaly’s and make it quick, but…

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

March 22, 2013 by Ajay 9 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) 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…