Mumbai

Tag Archives for Mumbai.

Flight Review: AI191 Mumbai–Newark, Air India, First Class

August 10, 2014 by Ajay 13 Comments

A friend and regular reader of the blog, Parag Mehta, recently took a First Class flight on Air India recently to travel between Mumbai and Newark, and I requested him for a Guest Post for the blog, since long haul Air India is not on my radar in the coming days. He came back flying Etihad First Class, booked on 9W miles, but try getting two trip reports from a busy investment professional You can read my review of EY F here. Over to you, Parag! I was planning a trip to New York for the longest time, and when the time came I looked at my pile of miles, and decided to try Air India and Etihad for the…

Flight Review: Indigo, Economy. Mumbai – Jaipur,

July 30, 2014 by Ajay 10 Comments

Everyone who reads this blog knows I am a Jet Airways loyalist on the domestic sectors, and I do fly Air India from time to time as well. I just see more value out of flying a full-service carrier, as long as reliability is not in question. For a flyer with erratic schedules like me, it is important to be able to use the lounge to get some work done pre-flight if possible, and sometimes the only meals I eat are on the plane, so yes, they are important. I recently decided to get back on Indigo after a very long time, maybe about 3 years or so. I just wanted to see what’s new and what is consistent in…

New Mumbai Terminal 2 Lounge coming in August 2014?

June 26, 2014 by Ajay 3 Comments

Late last week I was on my way to London Heathrow from Mumbai, and I stepped into the Mumbai Airport’s temporary lounge for a brief moment. The current lounge, like you know, is made at a gate, while they do up the details on the separate First & Business Class lounges at BOM. I ran into someone who I have seen at the host position before, and I enquired when is the new First and Business class lounge due to open. For the first time, I have heard a timeline, of August 2014 when the new set of lounges would be operational. While given the track record of the airport operator, I can be sure August 2014 is not it,…

Planning the Perfect Proposal Trip to Paris!

June 19, 2014 by Ajay 10 Comments

If you haven’t heard, last week, I was over to Paris along with my girlfriend where I proposed. Don’t worry, unlike Tom Cruise, this was not covered by network news, it was only on my blog and Facebook page. Since I am pretty much kicked about this trip, I am taking the liberty to cover this trip report ahead of some of the others I would have done, and bring up some hopefully interesting reviews and experiences for you around Paris. To kick it off, let me admit, if you can keep your lips sealed, planning a surprise trip can be a lot of fun for both sides. For me, it was essential to map out all the little details,…

My discussions with Uber Mumbai

June 5, 2014 by Ajay 4 Comments

A couple of weeks back I posted about the Uber Mumbai debacles that have been happening all over the place. It did not look like I was the lone fellow who was affected by the downward spiral of one of my favourite technology companies. There were others too. Anyhow, the GM of Uber Mumbai called me up one fine day to discuss the issues I faced. My first question was how did they get my phone number, and why did they extract it from the database without my permission. No answers there. We decided that we should catch up sometime face to face to be able to take this discussion forward. Since Uber had stood me up one time before,…

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,…

Today only: Free Uber rides in Mumbai/Chennai today to encourage voting

April 24, 2014 by Ajay Leave A Comment

Earlier this month, I wrote about the great move Uber made in Delhi with providing two free rides to voters to encourage them to get out and vote. The campaign is a national one, and since it is voting day in Chennai and Mumbai today, you can sure use two free rides between 7 am and 7 pm today. The promo code for Chennai, which is valid for these 12 hours, is VOTECHENNAI, while for Mumbai, it is, VOTEMUM. You can add these promo codes mentioned above as a new or existing user of Uber. If you’re not familiar with Uber, it is a smartphone application for iOS/Android which connects you to a nearby premium/luxury car such as a Toyota…

Flight AI 682: Cochin – Mumbai, Air India, Economy

April 21, 2014 by Ajay 2 Comments

Mumbai Airport Terminal 2 Clipper Lounge, Mumbai Terminal 2 Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, Kochi Airport Clipper Lounge Cochin If I haven’t mentioned this before, the Cochin Airport is made to look more like arriving at a red-brick palace than arriving at an airport. Here is what it looked from outside. We spent a brief moment pre-security at the dead Clipper Lounge, and then proceeded to clear security check, where I realised my palatial analogy was going to fit even better. This airport missed anything that was modern, and was full of wooden chairs (more like side pieces from couches) from another generation. My first time there and I sure was surprised. The wait was prolonged, because like it always happens,…

Grand Hyatt Mumbai offering 50% off for stays till Sep 30, 2014

March 3, 2014 by Ajay 5 Comments

Reader Varun Checker, pointed me to a great promotion running at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai, which is are celebrating their 10th year, by offering a straight 50% off discount on Hyatt Daily Rates if booked before March 17, 2014. The promotion offers 50% off for stays booked till March 17, 2014 and made between March 15, 2014 and September 30, 2014. This is a prepaid non-refundable rate, however, there are no restrictions on length of stay, so you could stay for as little as a day or as long as a month here on this rate. Take a look here, the base room is available at INR 4,250 plus taxes (about US$70), and this is cheaper than the cheapest prepaid…

Clipper Lounge, Mumbai Terminal 2

March 2, 2014 by Ajay 41 Comments

Mumbai Airport Terminal 2 Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, Kochi Airport Clipper Lounge Cochin Air India 682, Cochin – Mumbai, Economy Like I mentioned last week, I’d taken a short getaway out of town last week, and I booked a trip out on Air India, partly to check out the new Terminal 2 at Mumbai Airport, which has been built recently. Air India is the only airline which offers domestic segments out of the international section of the airport as well, so, I thought of them. My first thoughts about the Terminal 2, Mumbai Airport are here, while here are some pictures of the airport lounge which is being used by the airlines. Apart from the airline lounges, there is also…

Travelling through Terminal 2 Mumbai: first thoughts!

February 23, 2014 by Ajay 10 Comments

Clipper Lounge, Mumbai Terminal 2 Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, Kochi Airport Clipper Lounge Cochin Air India 682, Cochin – Mumbai, Economy I planned a last minute weekend getaway earlier this week, and I decided to head to Cochin for the weekend. However, I also wanted to check out the Terminal 2 in Mumbai, which went live about 10 days back. At the moment, the terminal only serves international flights, and my first international trip for the year is still a few days out. So, for a change, I decided to fly Air India and use one of their domestic flights that fly from the Terminal 2. I’d been walked through this airport a long while back, when it was still…