International

Category Archives for International.

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

a room with a few white chairs and a table

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…

A Thai Vacay: Hilton Pattaya Review

July 30, 2012 by Ajay Leave A Comment

Introduction Check-in: British Airways Galleries Lounge, Mumbai Check-in: Clipper Lounge First Class, Mumbai Airborne: Flight CX 750 (BOM-BKK), Cathay Pacific, Economy Millennium Hilton Hotel, Bangkok Around Bangkok Hilton Hotel, Pattaya Around Pattaya Radisson Suites, Bangkok Check-in: Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge, Bangkok Check-in: British Airways/Qantas First Class Lounge, Bangkok Check-in: Cathay Pacific First & Business Class Lounge, Bangkok Airborne: Flight CX 709 (BKK-BOM), Cathay Pacific, Economy Conclusion After spending two nights in Bangkok, we checked out from the Millennium Hilton, Bangkok and drove to Pattaya. The hotel quoted an exorbitant THB 5,500 or so for a 2 hour long drive, but we were able to look up a cheaper option of THB 1,400 on the internet and picked up a Toyota…

A Thai Vacay: Airborne flight CX 750 (BOM-BKK), Cathay Pacific, Economy

July 18, 2012 by Ajay Leave A Comment

Introduction Check-in: British Airways Galleries Lounge, Mumbai Check-in: Clipper Lounge First Class, Mumbai Airborne: Flight CX 750 (BOM-BKK), Cathay Pacific, Economy Millennium Hilton Hotel, Bangkok Around Bangkok Hilton Hotel, Pattaya Around Pattaya Radisson Suites, Bangkok Check-in: Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge, Bangkok Check-in: British Airways/Qantas First Class Lounge, Bangkok Check-in: Cathay Pacific First & Business Class Lounge, Bangkok Airborne: Flight CX 709 (BKK-BOM), Cathay Pacific, Economy Conclusion The flight I was booked on was CX 750, a hopping service from Mumbai, which flies to Bangkok and then over to Hong Kong. After buying my tickets online, I tried to assign seats via the Manage my booking feature, however seems like after the reservation systems upgrade CX had earlier this year they…

Turkish Airlines status matching up to Star Alliance Gold

May 17, 2012 by Ajay 32 Comments

Turkish Airlines, as a member of the Star Alliance, has started to status match members of the BMI Diamond Club program on the announcement of BMI getting sold to IAG (British Airways) and hence breaking away from the Star Alliance. However, as it is now turning out, Turkish is also status matching into other alliances. As of today the following status matching is being done: Silver on another carrier (BD/Another alliance) –> TK Miles and Smiles Classic Plus (*A Silver) Gold on another carrier (BD/Another alliance) –> TK Miles and Smiles Elite (*A Gold) No status match to the Miles and Smiles Elite Plus (TK’s top tier) Status is good for 2 years from the date of status match. Requalification:…

Readers Question: Using Jet Airways upgrade vouchers

April 2, 2012 by Ajay 21 Comments

Reader Abdullah posted a question on the Reader’s Questions page which I thought was more appropriate to answer here since every once in a way I receive queries on Jet Airways upgrades. Here is a quick Q&A explanation: Question: I keep visiting your page as i am too a FF of Jet Airways, though its mostly domestic flights. I need some advice, i have these upgrade vouchers to business class around 6 of them and my status is Gold card holder of jet airways. Whenever i fly i look for best fares but then these best fares dont allow a upgrade to business class. How can i use these vouchers? 1 of this voucher expires april 30 next month. I…

Guest Post: Bidding adieu to The King of Good Times on Kingfisher’s final Dubai flight

April 1, 2012 by Ajay 2 Comments

Kingfisher Airlines has received many a good word from their frequent flyers, and almost all of them feel sad that the airline is progressively going down. I invited Arun Rajagopal, a Kingfisher loyalist based in the UAE to write a trip report on Kingfisher’s final flight to Dubai when I heard the airline was shutting down international operations. Turning over the mike to him without further delay… I’m a loyal customer of India’s Kingfisher Airlines. I first flew Kingfisher in Jan 2011 but since then I have flown them 15 times. I fly them as much as possible. I often pay a premium to fly them even when I have cheaper or non-stop flights available. I even recommend it to…