Team-BHP - The Air Travel & Airports Discussion Thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anghammarad (Post 3349731)

Thanks for the link.
This is a VOIP service essentially, which means I will have to enable my internet service in order to use it there. Which again means expensive bandwidth usage from Vodafone India.

dial91 is not a VOIP service, it uses a local number to call the gateway and then routes the call to India via their VOIP network. In practice, you will be calling a local number and then the call is routed to the destination which can be any landline/cell phone providers. Anyway, wish you a safe travel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anghammarad (Post 3349467)

I have a bit of a query, not sure about this being the right thread for it but here goes.
I am planning a trip to Germany for two weeks, and was wondering if anyone could tell me the best way to keep in touch with family from India while I was there.
Looked at International Sim Cards like TSim and Matrix, but someone told me to get a local sim from the airport itself at Munich.
Basically I will be using the phone to call home and make a few local calls to friends in Germany. Any suggestions? Am totally green behind the ears when it comes to this so I wold appreciate any help in this regard

Note to moderators: Please post this to the appropriate thread if it is in the wrong one thank you.

One thing that i typically use is the WiFi at the airport - I send an email on my arrival and also use watsup to chat with my family. Given that both me and my wife use an iphone, its pretty convenient to use the Facetime to connect with family. Ditto when i get back to the hotels. Most hotels in Germany give free WiFi and i have not been challenged to connect with family.

I ofcourse use my international roaming facility, if and only if there is something real urgent. So, Watsup/Facetime and mails using free wifi is what i have used to survive. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 3349743)

no man. lebara or anything else is basically a shortcut to buying a local sim (except you have total clarity on rates to India but no data). In a country where they speak english properly (I would think so in Germany) and where you'd have wifi access, you can do:
a. Carry indian SIM. Don't use it. Call via skype or rebtel or actionvoip or anything else using hotel wifi.
b. Buy local SIM. Call directly (often expensive) or use calling cards to India. I did this when i was there ten years back! You may wish to check now. This has the option of being able to use data (google maps!).

What we do on our foreign trips? #a

Thanks phamilyman, that will be very helpful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mazda4life (Post 3349744)

Oh mea culpa, I looked at the site cursorily and thought it was.
Will look at it again, thanks so much for the clarification on the service provided.

Cheers, sorry about the hurried responses, am running around packing while doing this.

@jkrishnaj, I was not sure about the hotel charges for wifi, but yes granted, we can use that if it works.

Quote:

I was not sure about the hotel charges for wifi,

I have different experience in Germany , wifi is chargeable in Airport as well most of Hotels , you can take a Matrix stick for your laptop or a 3G Sim . Costs for 1 hour internet on Airports is like 6- 8 Euros and one day access in hotels can be anything from 15-30 Euros .

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anghammarad (Post 3349467)

On my trip to Germany in 2010 ( for 3 months) I purchased a Lebara sim. Better go to any local Asian shop and buy it. I had purchased from a Srilankan store. Passport copy was submitted.Call rates were very cheap at 2 cents per minute and a one time 16 cents connection charge at the start of each call. I was staying in Dortmund. Hope this helps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anghammarad (Post 3349891)

Thanks phamilyman, that will be very helpful.

Oh mea culpa, I looked at the site cursorily and thought it was.
Will look at it again, thanks so much for the clarification on the service provided.

Cheers, sorry about the hurried responses, am running around packing while doing this.

@jkrishnaj, I was not sure about the hotel charges for wifi, but yes granted, we can use that if it works.

Hey Anghammarad,

Was in Germany this December. I suggest its best to buy a local sim as phamilyman suggested but be sure you dont buy it from the airport as they are very expensive there.

I bought a Lycamobile sim card which is one of the cheapest and then used it to call india. The guy at the store didn't even ask us for any identification.

You'll find the rates here :- http://www.lycamobile.de/en/internationalrates

Wifi in hotels are usually free as the are included in the room tariff. It was in the budget hotel I was staying in so im pretty sure it'll be standard for all hotels.

Hi guys, I will be travelling with my Mom and Dad very soon for a trip to the UAE and I'd like your advice on which travel insurance do I go for. There's a lot of choice out there but I'd rather ask you guys who could recommend better. I hope I don't have to make use of it but should cover all possibilities like airline delay/cancellation cover,baggage loss cover,medical etc. So which Company do I go for w.r.t easy clearance incase of claims?

Lufthansa to begin Airbus A380 flights to India in 2014, mostly from late 2014!

Quote:

On Monday, India lifted a ban on landing the aircraft in the country, enabling carriers such as Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and Emirates airline to fly the jets into the world's second-most populous nation

Under India's rules, A380s will be allowed to land at the country's four main airports - New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad - which are equipped to handle the planes.

source:TOI

Quote:

Originally Posted by volkman10 (Post 3357542)

Lufthansa to begin Airbus A380 flights to India in 2014, mostly from late 2014!

I don't know; I also read articles that said none of the A380 owning carriers plan to fly to India anytime soon.

http://www.firstpost.com/business/lu...n-1361415.html

Given these contradictory signals from Lufthansa, I'll believe it when I see it. :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by volkman10 (Post 3357553)

Here you go..the latest,

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/b...w/29577873.cms

I did see that article; I was not doubting you. I was just pointing out that the same airline (Lufthansa) appear to have made two contradictory statements within 24 hours of each other. But then again, the statements attributed to them in this article do not indicate any sort of firm commitment ("we are interested...", "we will likely make it...") so I guess they are just buying time here.

Also, why didn't India include Cochin and Chennai among the airports to which the A380 could fly?

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 3357571)

Also, why didn't India include Cochin and Chennai among the airports to which the A380 could fly?

Here is the case of Chennai, guess Kochi too would be the same,

A380 can be operated only at 4F categorised airports. Chennai currently has a 4E rating. But authorities say that the standards could be upgraded in six months to one year.
Among the required changes, the runway width should be increased to 60 metres to land the super jumbo. Further a lot of things including runway strength need to be improved to facilitate landing of A380.

Guess many more critera to be met before giving the final approval for Chennai.

Cheers!

From my limited non-tech knowledge:
I don't think its runway strength - that's more for the twin engined ones/777 AFAIK.

The challenge is runway width, having a boarding gate with 3 (or is it more?) boarding bridges, having the sufficient fire fighting/crash rescue capability.

Getting the 380 is a bit like a flagship thing - looks good but it just brings more headache for the airport unless there's dozens of them, like at Dubai.

Something I experienced last week while traveling back to Washington DC from Ahmedabad. This time I was traveling with Etihad Airlines via Abu Dhabi. I got a surprise when I landed at Abu Dhabi. The Customs and Immigration of USA was done at Abu Dhabi airport for all passengers flying to Washington DC and Chicago. So when I landed at IAD, it was just like a domestic landing and walked directly to baggage belt and walked out. IMO, this is good because it saves time that has to be spent on immigration lines upon arrival after a long 14 hours tiring flight.

I think this is the pilot program that they just started a week ago.