Important and mostly forgotten dates in the BIAL saga Project conceived in 1991 June 1998 Tata-Changi-Raytheon consortium walks out over delay in clearance May 1999: MoU signed between KSIIDC and Airport Authority of India June 1999: Expression of interest invited November 8, 2000: Bidders asked to submit detailed project report October 29, 2001: Siemen’s led consortium selected by Government of …

Bengaluru, June 7: After the initial barrage of criticism over the inconvenience caused to passengers, Bengaluru International Airport has achieved ‘punctuality’ and efficiency within two weeks itself said BIAL CEO Albert Brunner in his first interview to this newspaper after the airport started operations. Q.Ground handling has become an issue. What is the real problem? A. There is a lot …

In my visit report of 28-May-2008, I have highlighted the shortcomings of BIAL in the services and cargo areas. On 7-June, CNBC-TV18 is confirming, the situation is far from acceptable. If you are sending a package to or from Bangalore, be prepared for a delay of at least two days. That’s not all, you will be paying more for it …

It is approaching 2 weeks since the launch of the new Bengaluru International Airport and the management of BIAL has been making steady progress in solving the multitude of problems present. Before I offer some suggestions for BIAL management for their consideration, I make an open offer to BIAL management, on behalf of the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce. …

Govt may not implement new ground-handling policyBS Reporter / New Delhi June 05, 2008 The recent dispute between the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) and Indian carriers may make the government go back on its decision to implement the new ground-handling policy next year. According to sources in the civil aviation ministry, Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) has said that …

Our Bureau Bangalore, June 2 Low cost airlines have starting turning away from the new international airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore with SpiceJet having cancelled nearly 15 flights in the South, with most of them from these two airports. SpiceJet chief commercial officer, Mr Samyukth Sridharan, told Business Line that the airline now runs only one flight out of Bangalore …

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) launched a new era in air travel as it bid farewell to the paper ticket on the eve of the industry’s conversion to 100% electronic ticketing. The history of tickets Paper tickets date back to the 1920s. Each airline used a different form with varying rules. Airlines soon recognised the need for standardisation of …

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=38892 BS Reporter / New Delhi June 2, 2008, 17:47 IST Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today said that he was committed to negotiating with the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) over keeping the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) airport open following high court directions. “I will be complying with the high courts direction that we renegotiate with BIAL, in …

It is now the 10th day of operations for Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL). The graph below shows the slow and steady improvement of flight performance operations. The situation, however, is far from satisfactory. Average delays are still hovering at 40 minutes, which is bordering on “highly delayed”, and only 70% of flights leave within 15 minutes of their scheduled time …

Readers must get the impression that I am anti-BIAL. Sorry, nothing can be further from the truth. As a lifelong believer in Bangalore’s desperate need for more and better infrastructure, I have always welcomed BIAL from the day it was conceived. I do hold, BIAL to a significantly higher standard of delivery. From day one, in justification of the over …

You can now obtain Real Time flight Departure and Arrival information for BIAL Airport, Bangalore, on the Bangalore Aviation blog. In addition there are options of a flight tracker and other goodies. Please do give me your comments and views of this blog, and the new developments. There are links to sites like Authorati, Technorati, Del.ico.us, Digg, and Newsvine, which …

It appears that Mr. Brunner and members of his team have listened to the pleas of Bangalore. They have been on-site, getting things fixed, apologising and comforting passengers, putting pressure on their ground handling agents, and other sub-concessionaires to get in to shape. Ever so slowly things are falling in to place. Airlines are reporting smoother operations by and large. …

A picture is worth a thousand words. So I will let the images do the talking of my visit to BIAL on May 28, 2008. While much is said about the passenger terminal building and the passenger experience, the support facilities are in a sorry shape, and partly explain the problems, plaguing the passenger terminal. The cargo terminal building of …

Sandhya Ravishankar / CNN-IBN Tue, May 27, 2008 at 13:13 in Nation section MISSING IN ACTION: Minutes before departure, the crew of Indian said the plane couldn’t be located. Bangalore: You have heard of planes going missing in flight, but have you heard of a jet going missing at the airport? That’s exactly what happened at the new Bangalore International …

Savie Karnel and Sanchita Sen27 May 2008 Two MiD DAY reporters set out simultaneously from Bangalore for Chennai, one by plane and the other by bus, to check out the relative merits of air and road travel. Savie Karnel, who flew from the Devanahalli airport, took 7 hours to reach central Chennai, while Sanchita Sen, who boarded a bus, took …

I am an angry Bangalorean today. For two months, we have been hearing stories as to how the new Bengaluru International Airport was FULLY ready, and that the Government was denying the BIAL permission to commence operations of its new airport, thus causing untold losses to the consortium. Looking to prevent a repeat of the fiasco following the launch of …

“I am the happiest man in the world” said Albert Brunner, CEO of the BIAL consortium. He has good reason. His seven years of perseverance, along with his dedicated team, has concluded with the smooth opening of the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) on May 24, 2008. Barring a few glitches here and there, the experience was “awe-inspiring” for many Bangaloreans, …

Travel trade associations skeptical of airlines implementing the directiveBy Krupa Vora | Mumbai The much-debated issue of refund of airline tickets has been now brought to the forefront by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) by issuing a Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) letter to the airlines. As per this CAR dated May 22, 2008 all scheduled and non-scheduled carriers …

The BIAL management has sent out this e-mail earlier today, confirming the launch of operations of the new Bengaluru International Airport, later tonight. Congratulations to the entire BIAL team, and welcome to Bangalore.—————————————————-Friday, May 23, 2008 1:21 PM Subject: New Date: Commencement of Commercial Operations at new Bangalore International Airport Dear All, This is to inform that Bengaluru International Airport …

Airports in the 21st century, are like the ports and railway junctions of the 19th and 20th century — critical drivers of economic growth. As individuals, we look to the glamour and prestige associated with passenger air travel, while tending to overlook the air cargo requirements of commerce and industry which is drives the economic engine of Bangalore. Thanks to …