A YetiGuide® to Airlines, Airports and Domestic Air Travel

[vkochar]

Very very good write up SAM - Excellent - How do you find the time to do all this - such a lengthy & good writeup, I am sure most of it is done while travelling !! He he he.

Well I have not travelled domestic much as most of my job is Agra - Delhi, however I do Delhi - Goa / Mumbai a few times very now & then. I have only travelled Spice - I find them allright. BUT now that Sam has praised Indigo & KF so much - I am gonna give it a shot. Thanks for the advise SAM.

Coming to International travel, I do that a Lot. 4 times a year - only Delhi - London & back within 10 days or so.

My take on International travel / flights -

Air India - Pathetic - I do not know about the new planes they got ( heard they are awesome but only on the NY route ). I travelled a year back and this airline was late like anything - it ook of fine from delhi ( motherland ) but arriving at Heathrow is a pain, they seem to land everything else but this one.

BA - I agree with Steer partly about them being SNOTTY BASTA**S. But I must say they are simply the best if you take into consideration landing / take off / flight time - they stick to schedule.

I usually have a very hectic schedule when in UK, the last day I only want to get on the flight and go home. I do not want any delays. BA gives me that. Priority is what this Airline gets - and I am all happy for it.

BA Food - you can eat Dog food ( pedigree , canine meat, ). That will taste better. Hopeless food. BUT - if anyone is travelling delhi - heathrow, they always have a TUCK BOX in the stewardess cabin, its loaded with Sainsburys' biscuits, Mars, Bountys, Crisps etc. Grab yrself a handful before the Aunties come running by & take evrything. I do this - and I am happy.

BA Entertainment - This is very good, they have all latest movies on board. Good music as well.

Overall - I would gve it 4* out of 5. But then my priority is no-delays. If yr priority is food, give it 1* out of 5.

My advise on food - if you travel delhi - heathrow then you can get lucky as food will be from India, it will be generally to our liking. BUT - if its heathrow - Delhi - BEWARE - food is going to be crap.

Also, if you are Non Veg - order veg - as you will end up looking at yr co - passengers plate, drooling. Veg is much better.

Air Hostesses on BA - another deadly thing - if you get an Indian on a BA flight ( which is quite often ), you are in for trouble - they will be downright rude, if you get a English Girl - your chances of getting service will be much better.

Cheers !!! Will be putting more inputs when I get time.

[vkochar]

TRAVELLERS TIP - British Airways -

I do not know about how many of you reserve your seats when you do booking. I travel Economy always ( unless I get upgraded ). BA has Online Checkin 24 hours before your flight.

Always check in online - I take the first row, Aisle seat. As it has legroom, because there is nothing in front of you. I assure you guys you will have so much of comfort. You can get up any time you want. Stretch your legs. Makes your travelling 100 times better.

CAUTION - once you do this, the airline steward / stewardess will come up to you to say if you would like to switch your seat with some one else. Do not not do this !!! As everyone fights for this seat once they look at the pathetic legroom BA offers you in the middle seats. Another benefit you have of this is the toilet is very near to you ( though its not a benifit sometimes !!! )

I have been checking in online for the last 6 times I have travlled, it is worth it.

Also - I am sure most of you would be aware of this - BA Baggage Allowance - they only allow one bag for you to Check In ( regardless of size / weight ) & one bag for cabin. So if you are travelling light, fine, but do not travel if you plan to bring a lot.

Cheers !!!

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by vkochar

BA - I agree with Steer partly about them being SNOTTY BASTA**S. But I must say they are simply the best if you take into consideration landing / take off / flight time - they stick to schedule.

Singapore Airlines are the undoubted champs when it comes to efficiency and most of the European and Far Eastern airlines are also equally good when it comes to maintaining their schedule. Therefore this is not a USP anymore.

Originally Posted by vkochar

Air Hostesses on BA - another deadly thing - if you get an Indian on a BA flight ( which is quite often ), you are in for trouble - they will be downright rude, if you get a English Girl - your chances of getting service will be much better.

Agreed. We are our biggest enemies.

[vkochar]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Singapore Airlines are the undoubted champs when it comes to efficiency and most of the European and Far Eastern airlines are also equally good when it comes to maintaining their schedule. Therefore this is not a USP anymore.

Well, in a way you are right, BUT if you get in BA on India - London route, you will see that BA & Virgin get a lot of prefernce on the landing / take off.

It is always Bang on time - PERIOD. Not a minute here or there, BUT Air India - 1 hr delayed on take off / and similarly 45 minutes extra to land.

So comparing these airlines I am sure BA gets better priority. Also BA has their own terminal which speeds up things.

Right about stewardesses - they look down upon their fellow Indians, it pi**es me off so much. Feel like giving them a Mouth Full

[hondadude]

Originally Posted by dadu

No problems for battery operated items like camera but if it uses an adapter for charging then again it needs a converter.

Not true. All the digicams I have owned have multi-voltage adapters. At most, you might need a converter that converts US style plugs to Indian style.

[shajufx]

Briefly putting my/family members experience here:

Middle Eastern countries: Emirates and Gulf Air share quality and time equally. Food is always to our taste.
Europe : Singapore airlines : all good, BA: time schedule good, food is not.
US, Australia, Other asian countries: Singapore airlines : the best.

Ranking wise (best of 2007) Singapore airline tops the list followed by Thai and Cathay. Unfortunately Air India comes nowhere in the list on anything good. I myself have gone through hell travelling by Air india and I consider that experience as the biggest mistake in my life. Another occasion was my mother travelling alone from Cochin-Mumbai-Muscat by Air India. Delay was 2 hours from the starting point, landing at Mumbai took another delay of 45 minutes. Atlast the connection to Muscat delayed for 12 hours. What more you need in life to hate a brand ? Surprisingly "delay story" of Air India is a daily routine. If at all you decide to travel on it, make sure you have the pilot's contact number and the mobile numbers of all crew members to make sure they are ready to work that day !!

[benbsb29]

Excellent write up, Sam. I got delayed for lunch as i spent my time reading your entire write-up. I pretty much agree with what you have written there, and in some cases, was an eye opener for me.

Regarding international travel, how do you guys rate Emitrates? Personally, i feel it is the best on the Middle East route, and have had no issues ever with them. Will be flying via Emirates this September to Dubai, so shall let you guys know if anything has changed.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Try and be there 45 mins before scheduled departure at a metro and 30 minutes in case of a non metro airport.

Yes, that is a point. Metro airports (including Bangalore tend to be very crowded.

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

50 rupees from the airport to lower parel by taxi is cheap. Are you sure you're not making an error?
Churchgate to Nariman point is a much, much shorter distance than Santacruz to Lower parel.

Hmm.. I guess I missed out to tell that this journey was by auto. I was told by the police / security at the exit of domestic terminal to take an auto - and pay 15 Rs. But the auto guy on the onward journey was polite, and said some thing like "you have come out of a plane and please do not be stingy".

The auto guy on return journey was pretty rude when I asked him how much I should pay. And I was in no mood to argue anyway.

[fiery enzyme]

Hey Guys,

Thanks you all for the Gyaan..I will be travelling from Chennai to LAX ( Los Angles) and it is through Thai airways.

Now the biggest question I have is, I have a stop over period of 14 hours and my travel supervisor(in my off) says that I have accomodation by the airlines but I have to find my own transport to and fro the hotel. It is 70 min drive. Should I take this since it will cost me around $50, on the other hand spending 14 hrs in the airport is pretty boring. So what should I do?

Also is it advisable to look around bangkok a bit since I will have a 5 day transit visa ( You Know why ).

My admin guy says that he will try to get Malasyian airlines for me if I want since it is only an 8 hour stay.

The idea of a stopover in Thailand is enticing! Which one should I go for?

Guys please help!

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

(example - I was charged Rs. 50/- from CS domestic terminal at mumbai to lower parel railway station - this happened both ways). From Churchgate to Nariman point, it cost me 40 something, and I believe C'gate to NP was more.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Hmm.. I guess I missed out to tell that this journey was by auto. I was told by the police / security at the exit of domestic terminal to take an auto - and pay 15 Rs.

Not possible - autos are not allowed ahead of Bandra / Sion. So you could not have gone to Parel in an auto.

[Edsel Rulez!]

Unless backseatdriver meant Vile Parle. That's in the vicinity of the domestic airport, so 50 rupees by auto wouldn't be amiss.

[shajufx]

I had posted earlier from my mobile, so defenitely could not go through the first pages where extensive yeti rating and descriptions are posted. Excellent write up and very informative details Sam !! Its not easy to type in all that info one sitting. Just out of curiosity, did you write them all on a laptop ? or a tablet PC with the stylus hand recognition writing available. Whatever method is used, it needs lot of patience. Hats off to you on that !!

I am not a frequent flyer, therefore my flyings are mostly like a robot doing its routine. I never gave so much importance in remembering the order of actions inside an airport and in the total flying event. But as a first time flyer I would have loved such a report with every line taken with so much of interest and gratitude, but sadly there was no Yeti report 6 years back. Still there are so many things well lined up which I never ever noticed as valuable pieces of information and guidelines.

This thread will enrich the forum with lot of practical flying infos without doubt. Whoever is contributing here will help others in planning their flying more comfortable, enjoyable and memorable.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by shajufx

Its not easy to type in all that info one sitting. Just out of curiosity, did you write them all on a laptop ? or a tablet PC with the stylus hand recognition writing available. Whatever method is used, it needs lot of patience. Hats off to you on that !!

Thank you Shaju. I don't plan my writing. My brain thinks and my fingers type. I do it on my 17" Powerbook. This whole guide was written in 2 sittings of a few hours each.

I love writing and love sharing life's experiences.
I also write because of the tremendous appreciation and love I receive, both on the thread and in PM. Everyone that has PM'd me, I love you too. I should thank you for reading the rantings of a man quite full of himself, lol.
The number of people that have promised to buy my first book is quite intimidating. When I write. If I write.
Jokes apart, I enjoy writing and you enjoy reading. The combination is a win-win situation.

Originally Posted by shajufx

but sadly there was no Yeti report 6 years back. Still there are so many things well lined up which I never ever noticed as valuable pieces of information and guidelines.

Many thanks for appreciating everything. There is a YetiGuide® now on this subject and hopefully more to come.

Oh yes, I'd like to thank Rehaan for coming up with the term YetiGuide®. I can see him banging his round head on the wall like this asking himself why oh why did he unleash this monster!

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

Hey Guys,

Thanks you all for the Gyaan..I will be travelling from Chennai to LAX ( Los Angles) and it is through Thai airways.

Now the biggest question I have is, I have a stop over period of 14 hours and my travel supervisor(in my off) says that I have accomodation by the airlines but I have to find my own transport to and fro the hotel. It is 70 min drive. Should I take this since it will cost me around $50, on the other hand spending 14 hrs in the airport is pretty boring. So what should I do?

Also is it advisable to look around bangkok a bit since I will have a 5 day transit visa ( You Know why ).


The idea of a stopover in Thailand is enticing! Which one should I go for?

Guys please help!

F_E, i'm confused.

Do you want to stopover in Thailand for 14 hours or a day or 2 or 5?
In all cases you can have fun. Don't forget that a taxi ride from Suvarnabhoomi to the city centre and back will take up 3 hours.
I love Thailand and would be happy to help anyone have a great time there.

In all cases, I can give you leads, for shopping, chilling, drinking, beach bumming and hanky-panky too, if that's your thing. I think even 5 days can be fun. Decide your itinerary and then you can email me. sam(at)team-bhp.com.

Take it off this thread Thanks.

[fiery enzyme]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

F_E, i'm confused.

Do you want to stopover in Thailand for 14 hours or a day or 2 or 5?
In all cases you can have fun. Don't forget that a taxi ride from Suvarnabhoomi to the city centre and back will take up 3 hours.

The actual stopover is only 14 hours( due to my office resorting to cheapest fare antics) but I was told by my office that no matter what the stopover time is I will get a 5 day transit visa. So whatever I do I will have top fit it into the 14 hours. Now considering this situation- is it wise to go out or should I stay put in the airport?

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

I love Thailand and would be happy to help anyone have a great time there.

Then I'm right down glad I'm talking to you.

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

In all cases, I can give you leads, for shopping, chilling, drinking, beach bumming and hanky-panky too, if that's your thing. I think even 5 days can be fun. Decide your itinerary and then you can email me. sam(at)team-bhp.com.

Take it off this thread Thanks.

I'm mailing you right now, If you know what I mean