[bharatbs]

Nice review, this info helps a lot.

[gkrishn]

Damn!!!
This is exactly what happened to me on saturday. But it was my in-laws. And the deccan flight, which was supposed to arrive from madurai, has not left bangalore at 9:30!! So I just looked around the airport a little and returned back home.

Originally Posted by bglsrini

...The Deccan flight from madurai was to land at 9:10pm.But it was postponed to take off at from madurai at 9:10pm.So I started from ... 8:20p.m and took the outer ringroad.

It was heavily raining and it took one and half hour to travel 54km... I reached the airport and there i checked the parking.....So,I parked in P3 where they charge Rs.40/- for 2 hours.Then I got down and walked towards the arrival teriminal.

...

Then i went to the deccan counter at 12:00midnight and asked wether I can fly to madurai if the flight has not left bangalore.Then they confirmed that the flight has left bangalore at 11:20p.m.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Is not the parking fee a bit steep?

[bglsrini]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Is not the parking fee a bit steep?

There is one more parking lot where they charge on 4 hour basis.I did not check out its rates.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I think I heard that airport photography rule had been relaxed a year or two back.

I love the giant suitcase. One of the 28,000 that got stuck at Heathrow Terminal 5 perhaps?

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I think I heard that airport photography rule had been relaxed a year or two back.

I love the giant suitcase. One of the 28,000 that got stuck at Heathrow Terminal 5 perhaps?

Ahhhhh, british efficiency!!!!

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

they were made to transfer to jgs of items into their handbag since that was below the 7kg limit. how does it make a difference as long as the overall weight is the same??

Short answer - see the "non-two wheeler wheelies" thread.

Baggage weight affects stability and dynamics of the plane. Since they have tolerance limits, 2kgs by itself may not make difference, but think of what difference 2 KG multiplied by a mere 100 passengers will make to an object floating in thin air. ;-) And I have noticed that if a large number of passengers have lesser un accompanied baggage by weight, some premium services close their eyes to excess baggage up to 3 - 5 KG. That is the situation at COK

As to the issue of emigration clearance, it serves two purposes - one is ensuring your health, by ensuring that you have taken proper vaccination. Educated people would have taken the vaccinations as part of requirements of the respective educational institutions, (and generally, speaking, may know how to take care of themselves)

Second is protecting the government's financial safety - if you are stuck up in the foreign county (the sponsor cheating you, etc) the foreign govt is supposed to contact the Indian embassy / high commission in the country, and the Indian govt. has to bear costs of bringing you back, and one of requirements of "ECR" stamp is that you make a small deposit to cover the possible costs. Again, in case of educated / experienced people (people who have spent 10 years in a foreign country do not require emigraion clearance), the assessment seems to be that they are less likely to be cheated and if at all stuck up, the govt will have better chances of recovering the amount spent on bringing you back to India.

According to info on some papers, travel agents / touts charge up to 18K for obtaining emigration clearance (CLEARANCE, NOT fthe stamp).

BTW, the educational qualification is a graduation, not matriculation, as mentioned in some posts. If have a ECR required stamp on you passport, it possible that you got it befroe your graduated, or did not provide a copy of the degree certificate along with the passport applicaion.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

BTW, the educational qualification is a graduation, not matriculation, as mentioned in some posts. If have a ECR required stamp on you passport, it possible that you got it befroe your graduated, or did not provide a copy of the degree certificate along with the passport applicaion.

Hi BSD,
This is no longer true.

The rules have changed now. A Matriculation is sufficient. Please check the official site of the Ministry - :: Welcome to Passport Office Mumbai ::

From their FAQ section:

Government of India
Ministry of External Affairs
CPV Division, Delhi

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) regarding Passport Rules and Regulations

Question 3. I don’t have ECNR stamp in my Passport. Can I get it on the basis of my provisional matriculation or above certificate issued by the University/Board concerned?

Ans. We are no longer affixing ECNR stamp in passports. In fact it is not even printed in the new passport booklets. Currently, only ECR stamp is being put in passports if applicant is not eligible for ECNR. However, you are entitled to ECNR status if you possess qualification of Matriculation or above. Even you can get ECNR status on the basis of provisional matriculation certificate if the mark sheets of all semesters of your course are available with you.

Due to personal reasons I have recently dne extensive study and have recently applied for a new passport and many miscellaneous services on this passport. A new thread will follow in 5 days

[kooldude]

hey guys is liquor allowed in checked in baggage for flights to america. Btw i am flying continental airlines

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by kooldude

hey guys is liquor allowed in checked in baggage for flights to america. Btw i am flying continental airlines

Liquor is allowed inside checked-in baggage, regardless of where you are flying to.

[sk456]

But why would anyone take liquor TO America. Im not a drinker but isnt it normaly the other way around ? i guess it could be brand/blend preference ? Very intriguing.

[appuchan]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

...

Baggage weight affects stability and dynamics of the plane. Since they have tolerance limits, 2kgs by itself may not make difference, but think of what difference 2 KG multiplied by a mere 100 passengers will make to an object floating in thin air. ;-) ....

Passenger baggage per se will have little impact on the dynamics of the airplane, as the airplane will any way need to do some balancing of weights when it starts flying. However it is the cost factor that is bigger as the fuel consumption increases drastically with weight. To offset this, some airlines in the US even proposed a surcharge for overweight passengers.

[ECM]

My latest experence
It was ATR and flight for Mumbai on 31st of May,Pilot perhaps was in too much of hurry as he pulled full throttle during take off and flight tookoff before the middle of runway.
Everything was good untill we started to decrease the height,I could able to hear some sound comming out fm cockpit(though it was closed but I could hear that sound) like pee pee pee,face of airhostess looked rather tense but we landed safely.That sound must be comming out from control panel because pilot must have switched off auto pilot and perhaps comming down faster than normal.
Next day same flight came but could not go back due to some technical issue!!
Recently I read one article in cnn money that U.S. commercial airlines have grounded over 2,000 flights since late March in response to failed FAA inspections. If anyone interested I can paste that article here.My question is do we here take such care for passengers? I doubt.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by sk456

But why would anyone take liquor TO America. Im not a drinker but isnt it normaly the other way around ? i guess it could be brand/blend preference ? Very intriguing.

Maybe he is a die hard Old Monk fan?!?

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Maybe he is a die hard Old Monk fan?!?

OT You do get Old Monk here.