Back in July 2011, Star Alliance put a lid on Air India’s ambitions to join their little coterie, by stating that the majority of the member airlines were against AI joining on the back of security concerns. Business seems to have taken over that logic now, and the media is reporting that Star Alliance and Air India are now back in talks again. This opening is clearly a nice choice of words since AI’s membership was ‘suspended’ and not completely withdrawn at that instance. Reportedly, AI and *A met up in December 2011, and members are ‘reconsidering their stand‘ on AI. This is closely to be read with the fact that a new CEO is taking over *A (Mark Schwab),…
2011 in honors and not!
2011, I managed to measure the tape from China to the USA, and it was no doubt, a wonderful experience to be all over the place for business or leisureI closed the year at 76,200 miles, while having gone many places, thanks to all the hopping flights I do when IĀ The first day of 2012 sounds like the best day to wrap up the list and confer the honors on the various airlines and hotels and experiences which have been the most exciting (and not!) for the year gone by… Best Destination of the year… The Great Wall of China, although I’d like to go there again when it is not freezing cold š Best Redemption of the year……
When airlines take the moral high ground..
While Jason at MileQuest recovers, various BoardingArea bloggers are writing guest posts. Last night, I shared my views on airlines taking a moral high ground, and start taking decisions that they should not be taking as my service providers! Please do have a look!
Thank you all *drumrolls*
This could have perhaps been the best birthday present for the year, and it arrived this morning. I look into the various metrics every now and then, considering I am the finance guy with a nose for numbers. This morning, when I logged into Technorati, I was in for a surprise and here it is for all of you, and thanks to all of you! Yes, I’m pretty young out there with the bloggerati, and afterĀ reading Gary and Ben for a long time, I decided to reach out to the House of Miles where Boarding Area is located, to start writing Live from A Lounge and we went live in July 2011. So, to bring this young baby right up…
How your checked bag travels on Delta Airlines
Delta Airlines recently punched a few holes in a bag, and loaded it up with a few expensive cameras to tell us how they handle the bags which most of us pay precious $ 30 – 60 to travel with us. Have a look into this interesting and insightful video on the journey of your bag!
Conde Nast Traveller: Delhi Business Hotels
This month, Conde Nast Traveller in India invited me to make a list for their readers on the various Business Hotels in Delhi I recommend according to geography. So no more living compulsorily in the centre of the city to get to your business destination. Have a look here.
And now its American Express India’s turn to downgrade Membership Rewards
Sigh, it is the season of downgrade of benefits and American Express does not want to be left far behind from the pack. They have decided to close 2011 on a high note by sending me (amongst several other) cardmembers with a very nicely wrapped letter which has 2 layers of envelopes before you get to the letter itself. Now you think, this arriving right after Christmas must be Santa Amex Claus sending you a Lotto ticket to win in the MR sweepstakes. But all it comes to is an intimation on the downgrades which kick in a few weeks from now. If you’ve been reading up about my American Express Gold CardĀ adventures, I’ve been pretty happy with them so…
Saudi Arabia to open domestic skies to foreign carriers
An interesting development is taking place in Saudi Arabia, something at least I haven’t heard of in another part of the world so far. Saudi Arabia’s Aviation department is considering a move to open up the domestic skies to foreign carriers who may want to operated in Saudi Arabia, to create new capacity in the 27 million strong market for flying. Till so far, the Middle-East country only has Saudi Arabian as a full-service carrier, and Nas Air as the secondary carrier. A third carrier sama shut down last year after huge losses. As per reports published in the ArabNews and The National, the Kingdom is proposing to initiate a tender process in January 2012, which will allow various airlines…
Sign up for JetPrivilege and get 2,000 JP Miles Bonus
Jet Airways is the largest airline in India, operating on domestic as well as international routes to the Middle-East, South-East Asia, Europe and North America. JetPrivilege is its frequent flyer program, which used to offer the best frequent flyer benefits in India. If you are not already on JetAirway’s JetPrivilege frequent flyer program, and are planning to signup, now is the time to do so and lap up 2,000 bonus JPMiles for the enrollment. Jet Airways, via its Facebook page, has given out a link for new enrollments which get credited with the bonus after signup. You can access the enrollment form here. While it was an award-winning programme at a point of time not so long ago, of late…
Status for free and discounts with Kingfisher KingClub till Dec 31, 2011
Kingfisher’s loyalty program KingClub is offering free status to premium MasterCard holders all the way uptil December 31, 2011. To register, you should have an eligible MasterCard (Platinum, World, Titanium Credit Cards or a Premium Debit Card), and you have to plonk the first 6 digits on the Kingfisher website here, to get your upgraded status. Titanium and Platinum tiers get Kingfisher KingClub Red tier, but World MasterCard users get KingClub Silver. Please note, this promotion works when you open a new account with Kingfisher Airlines KingClub, and not on existing accounts. You also get 250 miles credited for opening your account, and if you fill up your details to complete the profile, another 500 come your way. In the…
Jet Airways cuts lounges across India w.e.f. Jan 1, 2012
Somehow Jet Airways’ does not seem ever interested in informing this lowly Gold member of their JetPrivilege program about their new initiatives, so I’ve had to depend on FlyerTalk for this update. Jet Airways has apparently being ‘Reviewing’ its lounge contracts with all the airports it operates with in India, and is terminating about 10 of them. 9W, in an email sent out to select members of the Jet Privilege program, believes that the product offering would become diluted or unviable at these airports, and hence is terminating them from January 1, 2012. Going forward, Jet Privilege will offer lounge access at the following airports domestically, and that too only for Platinum, Gold, Silver and Jet Airways Citibank Credit Card…
