Showing posts with label airlines. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

An airline called Vistara (Flight check BOM AMD BOM)

It's been a couple of months since this airline took to the Indian skies; a joint venture between the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines. I heard mixed reviews from "OK - it's new" to "the new best thing to happen in Indian aviation ". As Buddha kind of said; second hand knowledge or experience equals zero - I had to experience to gauge for myself. Would it match the high standards of "Kingfisher" service? When it had started and for quite a few years thereafter; Kingfisher was my absolute favourite. With that thought, ticket booked for the BOM AMD BOM sector - a short 1 hour flight. Vistara sells itself as a premium full service carrier, but pricing is quite competitive as yet. Its flight code is UK.

It uses the Mumbai's GVK-CSIA terminal T2 (at Sahar) as it's operating base. For now; it's the only private domestic carrier operating to Indian destinations from this terminal - all others use Terminal T1 at Santa Cruz. Closer to my office I thought and so much better compared to terminal T1 - even after all the improvements there. In my mind, T2 is one of the best terminals found anywhere in the world and proud that it beats the IGI Delhi terminal T3 in look - feel - fit- finish. Check-in and baggage drop happens at the Departure level and security check a level below. Counters are well manned but did not experience the process on account of the well constructed user friendly web-check in on its site www.airvistara.com . Web-check-in starts 48hrs before flight and is open to all classes. Good thing is that you can block your seat right at the time of buying the ticket. Baggage allowance 15kgs - Grrr. By year end 2015; once the entire terminal and additional gates are ready; most domestic carriers flying out of T1 will shift to T2 and the airport looks ready to receive the hordes of domestic passengers. Vistara being a Tata company must have had the advantage of using T2 first thanks to its partner GVK - the operator of the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. www.csia.in

The gate management is pretty good and boarding very organized. The aircraft - the latest generation airbus A320 (with sharklets) smells new and feels new. Obviously cleaning very good. Arranged in 3 class configuration: Business 2-2 (16 seats); Premium Economy 3-3 (36 seats); Economy 3-3 (96 seats) total seating 148 seats is what I would assume. The only difference between premium and regular economy seems to be the seat pitch. The pitch is quite generous in economy class too - much better than Jet and Indigo. Toilets were spotless. The cabin crew looks smart in the purple attire and seem to have been well trained.

Flight takes off on time and lands at Ahmedabad on time too. Grouse if any - the food pack. Not that I was offended by the purple box or the plastic cutlery - which may be prompted by principles of recycling, hygiene and eliminating the use of water for cleaning trays and whatever. But, I really thought the food provided by Taj-Sats (another Tata-SIA JV) sucked. The dessert tasted totally synthetic reminding me of some pineapple flavoured vitamin tonic I used to have growing up. No hot (or cold)beverage served in economy. Maybe on account of flight duration. Bottled water is served before take off and along with meals; but if you want more just ask. My second complaint is the training of the ground staff at Ahmedabad airport - the lady making announcements had no clue what she was saying. She mixed up flight numbers (there were 2 Vistara departures happening within minutes of each other); called evening morning and her tone was a reminder of railway announcements. I tweeted all this to @airvistara just to see how the airline would react. No reaction. Indigo and Jet score over Vistara here. In flight magazine - not too impressed; but it's new.

Load factor BOM AMD for a 3.25pm flight barely 30% overall with just 1 or 2 seats in both business and premium econony occupied. AMD BOM 5.25pm flight 55% load factor with about 90% of passengers in economy.

Returning back to Mumbai T2 - exit the aero -bridge and walk right to the luggage pick up area.Baggage carousel number announced on board. The terminal does have one drawback though. If you are being picked up by your own transport, then it has to pay a hefty parking fee even if it has entered the terminal for a couple of minutes. But what the heck. It's a small price to pay for the brilliant infrastructure created for an almost hassle free experience.

Some 45 years ago; Air India was owned by the Tatas and it was rated as one of the finest in the world. Singapore Airlines (SIA); a fledgling start up at that time sought inspiration and training from Air India. The Air India of today is not a patch of what it was under the Tata flag while SIA has established itself as a hallmark in the aviation circles. Some 12 years back; Tata along with SIA made a bid to buy back the airline from the government of India - and failed. I would say providential that it did fail because it has now got a fresh start with Vistara to groom a world class airline that India can be proud of.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Flying Comfortable & Relaxed

Following up on my blog on seat discomfort and Airbus's attempt to create saddle seats, there is a new development. Yes Airbus strikes yet again. In an attempt to make a uncomfortable, stressful and intolerable flight desirable to the passenger; it has patented a seat with a VR (Virtual Reality) helmet that in a way partially hypnotizes your senses away from all that is bothering on a flight like crying babies, badly behaved co passengers, lack of legroom, possibly no recline, tight seats, no entertainment or reading material, bad food (if at all served), and the list can go on.

The intentions may all be right but then if the flight or craft is not designed with real passenger comfort in mind; then, everything on the plane can break down except the VR helmet cause if it does then all hell may break loose on the aircraft.

Think of it; airlines can stop serving free booze, limit a passenger's need to take loo breaks, hit on the stewards (any sex), offer almost no choice in entertainment, have no cases of air sickness, and possibly even air-rage. I smell profit.

Thank God my travel days are waning now. It is frightening what an airline could do if permitted to mandatorily force passengers to keep the head gear on as soon as the doors are secured until they let the passengers out again. Influence loyalty, spends, likes, dislikes, and what not. Of course this is just guess work and the head gear may be a few years away and may not be cheap for airlines to implement. But if airlines weigh the cost of carrying 250 persons on saddles with such VR helmets that take away the pain as against just 160 on the same craft using normal seats - then that may not be just a thought anymore.

The Future of In-Flight Entertainment: Virtual Reality?

The Future of In-Flight Entertainment: Virtual Reality?

Monday, September 1, 2014

Seat Fight

A few days back, I read about a mid air fight between two passengers where the flight had to be force landed post a diversion. Reason; the passenger in front wanted to recline the seat and the passenger at the rear was being inconvenienced. Both were fare paying customers and right in their own way - the front person had the right to recline as much as the seat allowed and the person at the rear did not want crushed knees. (There are gadgets called "knee defenders" available that prevent the front seat from reclining to their capacity and apparently after this incident they are now banned on aircrafts). The culprit then has to be the airline for installing seats with such a low pitch (the distance between 2 seats) and allowing it to recline. The airline being a low cost one justifies that it has to maximize the number of seats on board to justify the low fare. But I have seen even full service carriers adopting the same pitch in economy as many low cost carriers to pack in a few more business class seats up front. I have travelled on one budget carrier where the seats do not (thankfully) recline in any row based on the low pitch in all its standardized aircrafts.

Airlines state that the passengers have a choice and know fully well what they are contracting when buying a ticket. True. But the airlines have taken this game a bit too far where there is very little difference left between the low cost budget and full service airlines - be it fare or offering. I refuse to fly a limited service budget airline on any route greater than 90 minutes be it international or domestic. Just not worth it anymore to play the "extras" game for a net saving of 20% or less with all the negative caveats and stress of baggage weight, size, food, water, number of washrooms on board, etc. At times these airlines end up costing more than the full service full fare airlines based on the rigid unfriendly attitude of airline staff in permitting a non conforming bag on board or the over priced extras you buy on board. It's now become more or less a norm not to allow a cain bag weighing more than 7 kgs and conform to the 55-40-20 size including wheels and handle. Most hand bags weigh about a kilo - that leaves 6kgs to take on board. So the passenger is forced to buy bag weight or travel with very little personal effects. Lotions, deo, foam, gels and all the other potential bomb making items we call toiletries have to be in less than 100ml packs or they go into check-in bags (cost). Some airlines have learnt the lesson and are easing up but for most customer is on the bottom of their agenda.

I have read articles on how seat manufacturers are seeing these incidents as an opportunity to rehaul design to make seats more passenger friendly with the new lesser pitch being adopted. Airline seats are by and large quite expensive and even if available; most airlines will not readily replace them based on the overhaul costs. Then again, airlines are being called greedy (like in the article pasted below). Could be, but with most airlines losing money this allegation may not entirely be correct. Airlines counter by saying that high fuel cost, impost, charges and taxes by airports and landing authorities are forcing out profits; and as a result the airlines are being pushed to their limits to collect revenues from whatever possible sources - even at the cost of passenger comfort,safety and satisfaction.

An airline used to have the tagline "Fly the friendly skies". That was many years back when flying was fun. Today, I go into a depression at the very thought of taking a flight. Flying is no longer what it used to be and all the constituents that make up air travel are blaming each other for the mess.
While the blame game is on - the seat fights will only keep growing as humans genetically have started becoming taller and fatter while the net area occupied per seat is getting smaller by the day. This form of passive hijack by ordinary passengers will soon be a norm rather than an exception. Surprisingly, no one seems to care.