The bad news seems to not stop rolling for Kingfisher Airlines. I previously discussed the truncated schedules uptil March 2012 for Kingfisher Airlines international operations. A couple of days back, Kingfisher Airlines was let go from the IATA interline clearing house and the billing settlement plan, thereby taking away the revenue lines from them. Via AirlineRoute.net, the new summer schedules of Kingfisher Airlines were updated on the global distribution systems. Kingfisher Airlines has discontinued operations from London, which was its only European destination. Here is a comprehensive update: London: Delhi-London Heathrow cancelled from 10th April 2012, Mumbai – London Heathrow cancelled from 16th April 2012 Bangkok: Like I wrote before, Mumbai – Bangkok and Delhi – Bangkok was already cancelled,…
The Lufthansa 747-8i, coming to India…
Lucky at One Mile at a Time wrote about the new business class seats which will debut on the Lufthansa Boeing 747-8i, for which LH is the launch customer. I had a chance to visit the Boeing Customer Experience Centre in January 2012 as a part of the oneworld MegaDo, and I must say I was personally impressed with the 747-8i (more than the 787!) and I look forward to travelling on this bird sooner than later. Now, it seems that my quest to travel on this new bird will come answered sooner than later. India seems to be one of the 2 countries slated to get the first bunch of Lufthansa 747-8i’s apart from the United States. While Lufthansa and…
Reader question about Priority Club changes
I recently wrote about the changes which are in place now with the Priority Club Reward nights, and also about the grace period available till 18th March 2012 to make a booking at the old point redemption rate. Reader David stopped by and asked a question which I thought I should answer here since others may also have similar doubts. do you know if there is a fixed number of times that you can make a booking(s) under the old rate? It would appear that this is a one-off thing (in terms of reservations) and I couldn’t make additional bookings after utilizing my points once for an older rate As per my information and experience, there is no fixed limit…
Breaking: Kingfisher gets suspended from IATA again [updated]
Kingfisher Airlines does it again. Its almost like they are all listening to Britney Spears’ Oops I did it again. Ok, bad one! IATA has, for the second time in two months, suspended Kingfisher Airlines from their membership. This means all IATA affiliated travel agents cannot sell Kingfisher Airline tickets anymore. The airline promised to issue a statement shortly. Here is the Reuters report which talks about this. The last time around, Kingfisher Airlines took a long while to get reinstated into IATA. They blamed their problems on financial systems not working properly hence payments not reaching the IATA. Some member airlines had stopped honor tickets issued on Kingfisher Airlines stock. So, if you are booked by KFA on any other carrier,…
Air India back in the running for *A, taking Jet Airways along?
Just a couple of days back I was flipping through the Star Alliance magazine, and was wondering where were they going with Air India because there was no mention in the magazine of AI. However, it definitely was not a closed chapter since AI definitely needs to get into an alliance (amongst other things), to be able to get more traffic on its planes and shore up its finances. Last year, *A left AI on the altar when the airline was grabbing all the wrong headlines for safety issues, financial issues and the systematic failure that it was going to become. There was also news that the Government of India did not appreciate that *A wanted a second partner in…
Review: British Airways Galleries Club Lounge, Brussels National Airport
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…
Upto 15% Discount on Jet Airways Flights booked in March 2012
A 10% discount on Jet Airways tickets domestically has become a common offering if you use the airline website jetairways.com to book your tickets. In its current format, the offer is on the table till March 31, 2012 where you can get 200 Rs. off for a weekday booking (one-way), 500 Rs. off for a weekend booking (one-way) and 10% off for a round-trip booking in domestic sectors in Economy and Premiere class. To celebrate the International Women’s Day, however, Jet Airways has introduced a new promotion valid for booking all of March 2012 and travel anytime during the next one year. If you are a lady traveller or a lady traveller amongst a bunch of male travellers travelling Economy,…
Get complimentary access to Indian lounges with your MasterCard
MasterCard provides Airport Lounge Access In India. Here is how to travel like a business class passenger!
Kingfisher’s new transfer offer: upto 30% transfer bonus till 31 March 2012
Kingfisher Airlines may not be the darling of everyone anymore but they sure are planning to keep up the loyalty program King Club in high spirits. King Club is one of the more generous programs around, and Kingfisher Airlines allows for a lot of award space in India and decent award space outside the country on their own planes. Back in September 2011, they had a very sweet transfer bonus of 20% for all transfers which ran through November 2011, which I advised everyone to take because the airline was in decent shape and they were on their way to join oneworld. Also, there is a decent list of airline partners where you could book your tickets with your KingClub…
Travelling to the US/Canada/India via Europe? Now more checked bags for you!
Last year in October, I wrote about the Indian aviation regulator sending a stinker to all foreign airlines operating from India, about the baggage allowance of 1 23 kg (50 lb) checked-bag being not the standard offer for passengers travelling economy, while all Indian airlines offer 2×23 kgs (50 lb) baggage to be checked-in. We never heard much of it back then, but seems like the arm-twisting worked with the Lufthansa group. In a change of tack, Lufthansa has announced a new allowance for passengers travelling between India and the USA, Canada (or vice versa) on Lufthansa group airlines. Lufthansa, Swiss, Brussels Airlines and Austrian Airlines will offer two 23 kgs (50 lb) bags as checked bag allowance for all flights ticketed on or…
Let’s get EVEN, The new healthy hotel brand from InterContinental
InterContinental Hotels’ parent company IHG has come up with a new hotel brand called EVEN it plans to launch in 2013. The focus of this brand of hotels is on healthy travel, and it intends to make everything in the hotel up to speed with the wellness aspect of travel. According to IHG, they made a study over 18 months and observed and talked to over 4,000 guests, and found the common thread that the need was there for a hotel which could help them with their health and wellness even when they travel. They have identified 4 priority areas – exercise, eat, work and rest. The approach towards these aspects sure seems unique and lateral, which may be a good thing.…
