Trip report: Air France A330-200 business class Bangalore Paris Mumbai – new service attitude is producing results

by Devesh Agarwal 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…

Bangalore International Airport introduces official airport app for BlackBerry smartphones

by Devesh Agarwal The operator of the Bengaluru International Airport, Bengaluru International Airport Ltd., has announced the launch of its official ‘Airport Guide Application’ for BlackBerry® smartphones for all information relating to services at the airport. The free app is designed for both BlackBerry® 10 and BlackBerry® OS smartphones (running OS 5 or higher), and…

Bangalore airport shut down as IndiGo flight veers off runway

by Devesh Agarwal IndiGo Airbus A320 VT-IGV at Bengaluru International Airport. Photo copyright Vedant Agarwal. Used with permission. At approximately 20:10 (14:40Z), an IndiGo Airbus A320-232 registration VT-IGV performing flight 6E-125 from New Delhi to Bangalore, with 110 passengers and six crew (two pilots, four cabin crew), veered off the runway 27 while attempting to…

Write to AERA about proposed airport charge hikes at Bangalore

The Bengaluru International Airport Ltd. (BIAL), which operates the Bangalore airport, is proposing hikes in User Development Fees (UDF) of up to 750%!!! From the existing Rs. 231.40, BIAL has proposed to the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), revised UDF of Rs. 1,729.43. Even international passengers will see an almost doubling of their UDF from…

Visa on arrival service now operational at Bangalore

by Devesh Agarwal The Visa on Arrival service is now operational at the Bengaluru International Airport. Visitors from 11 countries, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, Philippines, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Finland, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia are eligible for this service. The visa will be issued at the immigration desk and will be valid for a maximum period…

Bengaluru International Airport renamed as Kempe Gowda International Airport

The renaming of Bangalore’s Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) to Kempe Gowda International Airport received approval from the Union Cabinet yesterday. The lower house of the state legislature, the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, passed a unanimous resolution on December 10, last year and the upper house, the Karnataka Legislative Council, also passed a similar resolution two days…