[kooldude]

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.

Heheh actually my brother need some good indian stuff so i bought 2 bottles of royal stag for him

[moralfibre]

Does the London Heathrow terminal have smoke zones? I have an 8 hour stop over at that boring terminal, can I get a transit visa and like get out of the airport to breath free for some time?

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Does the London Heathrow terminal have smoke zones? I have an 8 hour stop over at that boring terminal, can I get a transit visa and like get out of the airport to breath free for some time?

They do, good news is you will be in T5 (i hope), a lot better

[diabloo]

Scary !!! Plane overshoots Mumbai as both pilots go to sleep

An Air India Jaipur-Mumbai flight flew well past its destination with both its pilots fatigued and fast asleep in the cockpit. When the pilots were finally woken up by anxious Mumbai air traffic controllers, the plane was about half way to Goa.



The drivers slept before the wheels in air. Luckily, it wasn't on road !!!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by ajmat

They do, good news is you will be in T5 (i hope), a lot better

That's the first time I've seen 'good news' and 'T5' together!.

I've never seen any smoking place at Heathrow, but then, I haven't been looking.

[hrag]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I've never seen any smoking place at Heathrow, but then, I haven't been looking.

Don't remember which terminal, but on the first floor above the Air India check in counters, there's a Burger King. Smoking was allowed here (not sure of the current scenario).

[Thad E Ginathom]

I think that smoking will be illegal in English (if not UK) public places such as restaurants now. As of July 2007

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I think that smoking will be illegal in English (if not UK) public places such as restaurants now. As of July 2007

There is not much you can do in the UK, yet they allow eastern european mafia and people who incite violence carte blanche!

This is a travel thread so let it end here

[moralfibre]

Guys the British Airways site doesn't get messier. They quote 23kgs per bag x 2 allowance but before health regulations in the UK take effect in November until then 32kg x 2 bags are permitted. I just printed out my itenary which says 23kg per bag. How stupid and confusing!!

British Airways - Checked baggage

I will take a print of this website snippet and take it along and fight my way out may be.

[ajmat]

...and they allow hand baggage of upto 23 kg although the airport guys get stroppy if you take this through!
What did I do ? The weight was due to books, I carried them in my hand and put them in a separate bucket during the scan. Took ther books, sat and tied my shoelaces, then fetched my hand baggage and walked on, books in case!

[Sar]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Guys the British Airways site doesn't get messier. They quote 23kgs per bag x 2 allowance but before health regulations in the UK take effect in November until then 32kg x 2 bags are permitted. I just printed out my itenary which says 23kg per bag. How stupid and confusing!!

British Airways - Checked baggage

I will take a print of this website snippet and take it along and fight my way out may be.

I would advise you to be cautious, especially if you are returning from any airport in the U.K. As usual, we had way too much packed into our bags, but had weighed them at home, and each did not weigh more than 30kg. At Bristol airport we were made to unpack/redistribute and then they reweighed each bag. We wound up having to buy 2 extra carryalls from Bennetton, obviously not cheap, at £ 35++ each I think. My poor husband was aching by the time we actually boarded the flight. Also, this was a KLM flight. The airport staff can be quite sticky. I'm not trying to be negative, but just stating our experience. Oh, and be polite & smile at all times it helps !

[ajmat]

Jet Airways - Bangalore - Mumbai - Shanghai - San Francisco

Arrived and am up with jetlag. Fare was competitive and 30k less than SIA (cattle class). Deal maker was that it took 24hours as opposed to 32 by SIA

Started as a bummer as there is no web check for int flights.

Reached BIAL early and checked in, only good front seat that i could get with leg space was a middle seat.

At Mumbai, you need to report to Jet for a quick tick off the check list then get a "token" - a grubby piece of paper with a number and board an internal bus to the international terminal. That bus was stuffed.

At the International terminal, you need to get your passport scanned ( i really do not understand why the "tick off" session at the domestic.

Mumbai Interanaition airport is nothing compared to our BIAL !!! It is huge tough an you need to walk on a convoluted route to get to your gate (as they want you to pass through duty free!).

Flight was good, decent movies although I will get bored on the return flight in a week. The equipment is all touchscreen. My remote was not working but it was not a problem. Food is good as also service. Seats are wide so being a middle passenger is an advantage as no one disturbs you.

7 hours later, at Shanghai, you are herded into a bare lounge. You can buy movenpick ice cream and use the toilets and that is it. No smoking , no duty free shops (as if good ones exist there!).

After another 11 hours, we land in San Franscisco. The timing is such that only a small plane from Mexico arrives so immigration is a breeze. Also noted a BA jumbo arriving but they talke their time! The guy at the counters are actually calling you over as there is not queue. Luggage took a while due to volume but is came out.

All in all, highly recommended as you do not get your sleep disrupted unlike via singapore

[karanraheja]

Ajmat , Thanks for the review ! I think Kingfisher will start flying From Bangalore- Sanfrancisco direct August. Great move i must say !

[phamilyman]

Oh, a few experiences to add in here(apologies if its duplicate in the last 31 pages):
a. Flying domestic? Try Spicejet, esp in Delhi. class outfit. My friend, a first time flier with them, arrived at the airport some 20 min before the flight and boarded with more than 15 min to go. Bless it on their call center who arranged everything incl ticket printout, checked him in, whisked past security. He says he took 3 minutes in the terminal.
b. Some weeks earlier, I had exactly the opposite. Am a Blue Plus (another month to silver) and no one in Jet's call center etyadi was willing to help me. Gave me one number which no one picked up. Called my Jet Platinum friends to call up the duty manager. For mere mortals like me, got no help. Its only the taxi driver and then some jugaad that got me into the flight with me arriving just 25-30 min before flight time (thank god for web checkin).
c. Lastly, in Delhi, arriving late unchecked in has its benefits. The waitlist etyadi counter (rightmost) is the upgrade one. Arrive 25 min before your flight and a decent status on JP and you can get upgraded often. Like once in five times.
d. Kingfisher is a class airline but their departures out of Delhi ~9am are horribly mismanaged. Be prepared for min 40 minute delays. They blame delhi congestion but waiting in T1A for the buses to ferry you to the aircraft tells the real story.

PS:Karan,
Latest reports indicate two fundae why BLR-SFO may be a little longer than direct:
a. The A330-200 has been overweight with the plush outfitment of the KF upholstery etyadi. so it needs weight loss. Else atleast one leg will need refueling.
b. Indian ATF is so expensive its much cheaper to land in another country (ideally CIS/ME), refuel/tank full and then go on. Google for analysis that proves it can save some 10-15L out of the total 60L fuel bill of a single 747. Interesting?

[karanraheja]

@Phamilyman- Yup ur right . Here s a report on that

Unless Mallya strips his aircraft of some of the luxuries, he would not be able to operate direct long-haul flights overseas. “Every aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight (MToW), and payload depends on the configuration of the aircraft,” said the expert.

An airline executive said that usually, A320 and Boeing 737-800 aircrafts have MToW of 73-75 tonnes. Therefore, they can carry 200 passengers with up to five tonnes of fuel on a two-hour flight.

Source :Avbuyer

Mallya at his best :-

About expanding at a time when most airlines are cutting down, Mr Mallya said: “I’ve done plenty of crazy things in my life, and we’ll let our product speak for itself,” he said.

Source :Economic Times