Credit card based lounge access at Indian airports

Airport lounges are a critical benchmark, and a key selling point for airlines across the world. Be it for their premium class passengers or their loyal and frequent fliers, airlines spend millions of dollars on these oases of peace, calm, exclusivity and privacy and rightly so. In this day where passengers are treated more like cattle than humans, a little tranquillity helps soothe the nerves.

So where does that leave the mere economy class passenger who is not a jet-setting road warrior with thousands if not millions of air miles under their belt?

To escape the madding crowd, a relatively simple answer is credit cards.

Many credit card issuing companies offer airport lounge access with their premium level credit cards.

Recently American Express unveiled its American Express Platinum Lounge at Terminal 1C at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai. Amex has a similar lounge at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. Access to both these lounges are free for The Platinum Card (charge card) holders, but holders of Platinum Credit Cards like the Kingfisher Card will be charged an entry fee.

Lounge guests can obtain snacks or a full meal with table service.

Probably the best airport lounge access program in India comes from MasterCard. Typically offered at the Platinum level, MasterCard has teamed up with the Oberoi hotels group to offer lounge access program at five metro airports across India.

International terminals

1. Mumbai Clipper lounge – Terminal 2B
2. Kolkata Clipper lounge
3. Chennai Clipper lounge
4. New Delhi Clipper lounge
5. Bangalore Executive business class lounge

Domestic terminals

1. Mumbai – Clipper lounge at Terminal 1B on the first floor
2. Mumbai – Clipper bar & restaurant at terminal 1A on the mezzanine
3. Mumbai – Clipper lounge bar inside the security hold area of Terminal 1B
4. Kolkata – Top desk restaurant and bar
5. Kolkata – Clipper lounge in the departure area
6. Cochin – Clipper restaurant and bar

Please check with your bank if they are participating in the lounge program, and if your Mastercard is eligible. From research we found Citibank, SBI, HSBC, HDFC and RBS participating.

The lounge access program is only meant for cardholders of MasterCard issued in India. The lounge operator will take an authorisation for Rs. 25, which will be reversed, and will allow access to the lounge only upon successful authorisation of the MasterCard. Also you are allowed only one entry per day per card holder.

ICICI customers are the unlucky lot here. ICICI is deep with VISA, and unfortunately VISA has no lounge access program that we are aware of. For the few MasterCards ICICI does offer, the bank's website does not indicate the bank's participation in the lounge program.

Read more »

JetLite unveils new crew uniforms and cabin branding

JetLite, the former Air Sahara and now wholly owned subsidiary of Jet Airways India Ltd, has unveiled a new uniform for its staff as the airline commences a strategy of brand enhancement.

Unlike the very modern and western look projected by the cabin crew uniforms of parent Jet Airways, the new blue and white uniforms of JetLite, with their embroidered hip length 'bandh-gala' or closed collar jacket, designed by Italian fashion designer Roberto Capucci, draws from the traditional Jodhpur style from the state of Rajasthan, blending it with a contemporary look. Capucci has also designed the uniforms of the Jet Airways cabin crew. The badges are in the airline's base colour of light sky blue colour.

Since its acquisition of Air Sahara in 2007 and subsequent renaming to JetLite, the branding of the carrier has been in limbo. Industry watchers were unsure of Jet's plans for its low cost subsidiary and whether the airline would be absorbed in to the parent. Ongoing litigation between Jet Airways and the original Sahara group forced Jet to commence another all economy service called Jet Airways Konnect. It appears that Jet has taken a decision to keep JetLite as a clear separate brand as JetLite aircraft cabins are also being refurbished in line with the new colour scheme. However the airline has not provided any details.

JetLite operates a fleet of 23 aircraft, which includes 17 Boeing 737 series and 6 Canadair Regional Jets 200 Series. The airline flies to 25 domestic destinations and 2 international destinations (Kathmandu and Colombo), operating over 110 flights a day, on average.

Read more »

Video: Virgin Atlantic introduces new livery and brand identity

Virgin Atlantic Airways recently unveiled a new aircraft livery and brand identity for the airline. The new design which will be applied progressively to all of the company’s 38 aircraft, was showcased on one of Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 747-400 aircraft G-VROC named Mustang Sally. The carrier last had a makeover in 2005.
The Virgin Atlantic name, previously on the front end of the fuselage is now emblazoned across the whole of the aircraft in a fine custom drawn font. The undercarriage of the aircraft now features the new Virgin Atlantic logo in dark purple – making the aircraft more easily identifiable when taking off and landing.

Other new features include:

• Virgin script on the inner side of the aircraft winglets, visible to passengers onboard the plane
• An entirely new paint system on the new livery specially developed to achieve a very reflective depth of metallic colour. This colour is unique to the carrier.
• The iconic, flag-carrying, flying lady has now had a subtle makeover holding a larger Union Jack flag.

Over 450 litres of paint was used for the aircraft and took about 3,500 man hours to paint. However, the new paint process has been simplified to reduce effort and material usage. The new paint is also more durable, so aircraft will only require re-painting once every ten years.

Steve Ridgway, Chief Executive of Virgin Atlantic comments indicate that Virgin will deploy this new livery for it's soon to be inducted Airbus A330-300 aircraft.

The new livery uses an entirely new paint system which is unique to Virgin Atlantic – a first on commercial aircraft. It has been specially developed to achieve a highly reflective depth of metallic colour.

The new livery and logo were developed by Johnson Banks, in collaboration with the in-house brand design team, led by Joe Ferry and Nina Jenkins.

Read more »

DFW Airport unveils memorial for Delta flight 191

I still remember it as vividly as any recent memory. 25 years ago today, August 2, 1985, it was just after 6pm in the evening and like most residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, I was just sitting down to dinner and watching the prime-time evening news.

At 18:05 (00:05+1 Z) a six year old Delta Airlines Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar registration N726DA performing flight 191 from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was on a routine final approach to runway 17L, under the command of Captain Edward "Ted" Conners, with First Officer Rudolph Price and Second Officer Nick Nassick (yes, these were the days of three cockpit crew).

In a mere 38 seconds the plane crashed killing 135 people -- 8 of 11 crew, 126 of the 152 passengers and one person William Hodge Mayberry while he was driving on Highway 114.

View a video animation here.
Download the full NTSB report here.

Along with the world, I watched with horror at the events unfolding, and those few survivors being taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital with its world famous burns unit, in down-town Dallas.

I was a recently arrived student at the University of Texas at Arlington, and did not have any transportation to travel those 35 miles to Dallas. With a lack of public transportation, I sat, in mute frustration, unable to respond to requests for blood donation.

It was an evening etched, nay burned, in to my memory.

25 years on, the scars on the fields north of runway 17L are erased, but memories remain; and most importantly, flights today are safer, all thanks to lessons learnt on that soggy darkened and thunderous evening.

In 30 minutes time at 0930 (1530Z), the Dallas-Fort Worth International airport will unveil a memorial to those involved in the horror 25 years ago -- those who died, those who survived and those who rescued. The memorial is located at Founders Plaza, which, Bangalore Aviation readers will recall, is also one of the best locations in the world for plane spotting.

Read more »