Flight reviews

Earlier this year, I flew Qatar Airways from Bangalore to Paris which included one leg on the airline’s flagship aircraft, the Airbus A380. Transit at Doha Airport After leaving the lounge, I was running just a little late. I asked the lounge access agent at the bottom of the escalator where gate B3 was, which was luckily just a five …

Call it a sheer coincidence, but despite my frequent travels, I had never flown the Airbus A380 till October 14, 2014. Given my years of loyal patronage of Singapore Airlines, divine providence ensured my first A380 flight would be with the island nation’s carrier who was the launch customer of the A380, and coincidentally on the first A380 delivered in …

Bangalore Aviation had covered the launch of the Tata-Singapore Airlines joint venture, Vistara, on January 9, 2015. We reviewed the premium economy class at that time. I was looking for an opportunity to experience Vistara’s business class and it came on March 1, 2015. READ ONLINE: Review of Vistara premium economy class I was invited by Vistara to experience the …

Following up on my flight review of Etihad Airways business class from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi on their A340-600, this review covers my return journey which includes the chauffeur drive service for premium class passengers and a series of very unfortunate delays, though it was not the fault of the airline. Etihad’s chauffeur drive service Dubai to Abu Dhabi airport …

Today morning, I flew the inaugural flight of India’s newest full service airline, Vistara, the brand name for Tata-SIA Airlines, the joint venture between India’s most respected conglomerate the Tatas, and Singapore Airlines. Indira Gandhi international (DEL) to Chhatrapati Shivaji international (BOM). UK890. Depart 12:30 Arrive 14:45. All times local. Airbus A320-200. VT-TTB. Seat 7D. 09-January-2015. Check In – New …

I had to make a short-notice business trip to Dubai in early November 2014. For the week I needed to travel, I found airfares on most carriers extremely high. This included the only non-stop airline between Bangalore and Dubai, Emirates. On shopping for better fares, I came across a good fare on the UAE’s other national carrier, Etihad which flies …

Until very recently, I was under the impression that American flag carriers were lackluster airlines, with poor service and an even worse attitude, in short to be booked only as a last resort. Admittedly, United Airlines was the last carrier on my mind to get from London and Dallas. Never having flown United on a long haul flight I went …

Until recently, like many others, I was under the opinion Air France was a stuffy airline, an uncaring crew, and one I was not likely to fly any time soon. Recently, I was a guest of Air France to attend the launch of their new “Best and Beyond” campaign in Paris, and had the opportunity to fly the airline in …

Last week, I reviewed Iberia’s domestic Business Lounge in Barcelona. Today, I focus on my first flight with Iberia from Barcelona to Lisbon, via Madrid. This was also my first flight in business class. Barcelona El Prat – Madrid Barajas Flight IB2713. Airbus A320. Seat 5F. Business Class Departure – 18:50, on-time For intra-Europe and many north African flight, most …

Following an excellent trip in India, I started off on my return flight to the US. I got to Mumbai Airport around 22:20 (10:20pm) for my flight to Munich at 01:07. Mumbai airport – A series of bottlenecks Right now Mumbai Airport is in a bit of a transition phase as they construct the new integrated terminal so I suppose …

After hearing much about Qatar Airways (QR), it’s 5 star Skytraxx ranking, and its best economy class, I decided to fly the airline on a trip, along with my son, from Bangalore to the United States and return. Outbound (Bangalore-Doha-New York JFK) I should have realised that this trip was jinxed when I received an e-mail from the airline on …