Airlines

Category Archives for Airlines.

Review: Flight AI 657 (DEL-BOM), Air India, Business

June 13, 2013 by Ajay 1 Comment

Introduction Check-in: ICICI/American Express Altitude Lounge Mumbai Terminal 1A Airborne: Flight AI 660 (BOM-DEL), Air India, Economy Class Check-in: ICICI/American Express Altitude Lounge Delhi Terminal 3 Airborne: Flight AI 657 (DEL-BOM), Air India, Executive Class Since it was only me and the television in the Altitude Lounge at Delhi, I got bored pretty quick and decided to hang out at the gate after my breakfast in the lounge. It was going to be a full flight it seemed from the numbers that were lining up at the gate. While I’ve done tonnes of early morning flights and I’ve begun to not like them much, I like the fact that planes are back at their base and hence there is less…

Review: Flight AI 660 (BOM-DEL), Air India, Economy

May 30, 2013 by Ajay Leave A Comment

Introduction Check-in: ICICI/American Express Altitude Lounge Mumbai Terminal 1A Airborne: Flight AI 660 (BOM-DEL), Air India, Economy Class Check-in: ICICI/American Express Altitude Lounge Delhi Terminal 3 Airborne: Flight AI 657 (DEL-BOM), Air India, Executive Class After an enjoyable experience in the Altitude Lounge at Mumbai, it was time to board my first Air India domestic flight in months. I’d picked to fly an Airbus 321, because these are the newer planes for Air India on the domestic segments, and I guess they use these on the regional segments as well. I’d pre-blocked my seats for months, as the Air India web-booking system allows you to do so. I suspect this would change after the unbundling guidelines coming into effect, and…

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: 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…

So I had another good flight with Jet Airways Premiere

November 14, 2012 by Ajay 4 Comments

I must admit I have not been flying Jet Airways on my domestic routings of late. I have heaps of trip reports to write, but essentially, when I went by for my little holiday to the Park Hyatt Goa in June, I had a no air-conditioner flight on Goa to Mumbai. I decided I when I got back to be treading away from them for a while, but I already had reservations with them for this November trip so I thought I’d brave it out this one time then. Jet Airways, on the other hand, seemed to have other plans for me. I was travelling my regular BOM-DEL segment, something I do a zillion times. I’d asked for an upgrade…

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…

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…

Review: Flight 9W228 (BOM-BRU), Jet Airways, Economy

February 25, 2012 by Ajay 3 Comments

Introduction Clipper Lounge, Mumbai CSI Airport Terminal 2 Jet Airways Economy Class Mumbai to Brussels British Airways Galleries Club Lounge, Brussels National Airport American Airlines Business Class Brussels to New York JFK and Five-Star Arrival American Airlines Premium Check-in and Flagship Lounge, New York JFK American Airlines Economy Class JFK to London LHR American Airlines Arrivals Lounge, London LHR Sheraton Heathrow Hotel, London American Airlines Flagship Check-in and Flagship Lounge, London Heathrow American Airlines Economy Class London to Chicago American Airlines Flagship Lounge at Chicago ORD American Airlines First Class from Chicago ORD to Dallas Fort Worth Hyatt Regency Hotel, DFW Hyatt Regency Hotel, Bellevue Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles Sheraton Gateway Hotel, Los Angeles American Airlines First…

Review: Chennai Airport (MAA) and Airborne to Colombo(CMB) on 9W254 in Economy

October 8, 2011 by Ajay Leave A Comment

Introduction & Trip Index Considering Jet Airways was out to prove a point, they had put out their Guest Relations manager at Chennai on the job to make sure my transit at Chennai was smooth. I arrived at the Domestic Terminal of the Chennai Airport, and I had a porter waiting for me right outside the plane waiting to bring our handbags to the International Terminal. He insisted to carry my bag but I had to really request him and plead with him that I was okay carrying my own bag! He brought us to the Arrival area of the Chennai Airport, where I was coming after quite a few years. There was construction going around all over, and I…

Review: Mumbai Airport (BOM) and Airborne to Chennai (MAA) on 9W 469 in Economy

September 22, 2011 by Ajay 2 Comments

Introduction & Trip Index Since I was going to be heading to Colombo via Chennai, I arrived at the Mumbai Airport domestic for my check-in on the BOM-MAA leg of my trip on Jet Airways (9W 469). I was going to be seated at the back of the plane, but I found some amusing things happening around here! Jet Airways wanted to prove a point, that they would take care of this entire trip to go event free, because I’ve been poking holes in their service delivery for a short while now. Since this was a long weekend coming up, there was the obvious long queues at the airport on the evening wanting to fly somewhere. On arrival at the…