I reached Changi airport at around 12.30PM, way before my flight at 8PM. After entering, I headed to the business class counters to check-in. Despite reaching so far in advance, I was quickly checked in without any issues. After getting my boarding pass, I headed to the Jewel for lunch. The Jewel at Changi Airport The Jewel is a multi-use …
Read More »Lounge Review: Etihad Airways Lounge Washington D.C. Dulles
I arrived at Dulles on my connecting flight just about three hours and forty minutes before my flight with Etihad. The check in desk had not yet opened and having baggage to check, I had no choice but to wait for it. About 10 minutes after I reached the desk, the desk agents manned the desks and began checking people …
Read More »Lounge Review: Qatar Airways Lounge Terminal 4 London Heathrow
Despite having flown Qatar multiple times out of the EU before, this was the first time I was flying them directly out of London. My original itinerary had be taking a mid day flight to be followed by a stopover in Doha. Unfortunately the night before, I had to make a last minute change to get back to Bangalore a …
Read More »Lounge Review: British Airways Galleries Terminal 5B Lounge London Heathrow
We got to the terminal only about 90 minutes before our flight to Bangalore. Since we had no check in bags and already had our boarding cards we had decided to skip the lounge and head directly to the plane. After clearing security and dawdling through duty free we went down to the train to the C concourse from which …
Read More »Lounge Review: American Airlines Flagship Lounge Chicago O’Hare
On our flight back from the US, we were connecting through Chicago O’Hare airport. Chicago is one of the airports which feature American Airlines new flagship lounges. The lounge was located very close to the gate we arrived at and we were quickly at the lounge entrance. After getting our boarding passes scanned at the concourse level, we went up …
Read More »Images of the new United Polaris lounge in San Francisco, now open
United Airlines has opened its new United Polaris lounge at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), located near gate G92 of the international terminal. United Airlines operates from San Francisco to India in partnership with Lufthansa. We also write about this lounge for the benefit of premium class passengers on other Star Alliance carriers like Lufthansa, Air India, Turkish Airlines, or …
Read More »Lounge Review: Qatar Airways lounge at Dallas-Fort Worth
While I was flying back from Dallas, I had the opportunity to use Qatar airway’s lounge at The Club at Dallas-Fort worth airport. The club at Dallas airport is the lounge used by all the airlines – however it is not a lounge by itself – Its a a series of mini lounges where each airline has it’s own lounge. …
Read More »Lounge Review: Port Lounge Ahmedabad
On my recent trip to the US, I flew Air India in business class from Ahmedabad to New York’s Newark airport via London. The Port Lounge is the sole lounge at Ahmedabad’s international terminal and as such is used as the contract lounge for all the carriers flying out of the terminal. The lounge is located on the departure level …
Read More »Lounge Review: Etihad Lounge London Heathrow
This is the first in a three part article of my trip from London to Bangalore My trip with Etihad from London began badly. Knowing that I would be traveling with two large bags and a hand carry, I had requested the Etihad call center for a minivan or something similar which could accommodate all the luggage. A day before …
Read More »Lounge Review: The Lounge by Luxair Luxembourg
My flight from Luxembourg to London was departing at 1130, by misjudging the time needed to reach the airport I had reached reasonably early. After quickly checking in at the British airways business class desk, I asked the agent if I would be able to access the lounge. I was quite surprised that she didn’t know if I could since …
Read More »Lounge Review: GVK Lounge East Mumbai Airport
After finally clearing immigration at Mumbai airport. I headed to the GVK Lounge East which is the contract lounge used by Air India. I believe there is another larger lounge on the west side of the terminal which also hosts within it a first class lounge. Mumbai airport has a system wherein the individual airlines do have their own lounges …
Read More »Lounge Review: Above Ground Level lounge Bangalore Kempegowda airport
On my Air India trip from Bangalore to London, I finally used the Above Ground Level (AGL) lounge on the domestic side of Bangalore airport. The AGL lounge is located right beside the Plaza premium lounge just after security. The lounge is also located on the mezzanine right beside the Plaza lounge. However unlike the Plaza lounge this lounge does …
Read More »Lounge Review: Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge Regional Kuala Lumpur
While transiting Kuala Lumpur airport between two ‘regional’ flights, I had a chance to use Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge regional. Malaysian has two lounges at KLIA, a regional lounge at the main terminal building which mainly services the airline’s Boeing 737 fleet and a bigger Golden lounge at the satellite pier which services the airline’s and airports long haul wide …
Read More »Lounge Review: Qatar Airways Al Mourjan business class lounge Doha
Qatar Airways is an airline that puts a lot of effort into building it’s premium class experience, from the ground to the on board service. At the old Doha airport the airline had a separate premium terminal for it’s premium (business and first class) passengers. At the airline’s new hub, the Hamad International Airport at Doha, the airline has the …
Read More »Inflight review: Thai Airways: A330: Royal Silk Business: Bangkok to Delhi
Early this year, our entire family went on a holiday to Thailand. After booking my tickets for a round trip from Bangalore, I had some work come up in Delhi. I decided to change my tickets and fly there directly. Now unfortunately that is much easier said than done, Thai has no way for me to change my tickets online. …
Read More »Lounge review: American Airlines arrivals lounge London Heathrow T3
London is probably the busiest destination outside the United States for all three major US carriers, American, United, and Delta. While most of the lounges of US carriers cannot compete with those of their gulf or Asian rivals, they offer a service perfectly tailored to their north Atlantic premium traffic which is dominated by the business and corporate traveller, many …
Read More »Inflight review: Etihad Business Class: Airbus A340-600: Bangalore-Mumbai-Abu Dhabi
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 …
Read More »Airport lounge report: Iberia Dali business class lounge: Madrid Barajas Terminal 4
During my trip from Barcelona to Lisbon via Madrid (read trip report here), I had intentionally chosen a long layover at Barajas airport as I wanted to both see the famous wavy ceilings which created quite a ripple (yes, the pun is intentional) when the airport opened in 2006, and I also wanted to explore the Iberia lounge at its …
Read More »Lounge review: Iberia domestic lounge: Barcelona El Prat airport
Flying Iberia was supposed to be a flight of many firsts for me so when I was given an option between Vueling and Iberia, I chose Iberia gleefully to be my 32nd airline. This was part of my recent trip to Barcelona and an open jaw return from Lisbon, on Emirates. I have made some observations about Emirates and it’s …
Read More »Review: Menzies Aviation erodes Lufthansa’s passenger service quality at London Heathrow
In December last year I was a guest of Lufthansa and Fraport for a visit to the Frankfurt airport and Lufthansa world headquarters. Having travelled from Bangalore till Frankfurt, I decided to visit family in London after the visit, and would return via Munich to Delhi. Throughout the trip the on-board service was excellent in both business class (between India …
Read More »