Trip to India
Instead of making one giant block of text, I'll separate my travel experience into various categories:
Jet Airways
I flew by Jet Airways, advertised as "India's Finest International Airline", from New York JFK to New Delhi via Brussels. I had heard good stuff from others, but I was nonetheless impressed. I flew on brand new Boeing 777s and the crew was friendly and prompt.
The best feature was having video-on-demand. There was a large selection of movies, which I watched during the Brussels-New Delhi leg as I tried to stay awake (I try to time my sleep on aircraft so as to adjust to the destination time and avoid jet lag). In the course of the 7 hour flight, I watched Rambo IV, The Golden Compass, and a chick flick whose name I do not remember. Rambo IV was awesome (which Rambo or Rocky movie is not?), The Golden Compass was OK (certainly not the Lord of the Rings which they compared to), and the chick flick was, well, a chick flick!
Now that I've sufficiently proven my masculinity, let me move on. Food on the flights was good and it certainly was a matter of pride to see the many non-Indians flying on the JFK-Brussels sector audibly marvel at the quality of the airline. Unlike the perennially awful state-owned Air India, Jet Airways is a sign of India's arrival on the international stage.
The best feature was having video-on-demand. There was a large selection of movies, which I watched during the Brussels-New Delhi leg as I tried to stay awake (I try to time my sleep on aircraft so as to adjust to the destination time and avoid jet lag). In the course of the 7 hour flight, I watched Rambo IV, The Golden Compass, and a chick flick whose name I do not remember. Rambo IV was awesome (which Rambo or Rocky movie is not?), The Golden Compass was OK (certainly not the Lord of the Rings which they compared to), and the chick flick was, well, a chick flick!
Now that I've sufficiently proven my masculinity, let me move on. Food on the flights was good and it certainly was a matter of pride to see the many non-Indians flying on the JFK-Brussels sector audibly marvel at the quality of the airline. Unlike the perennially awful state-owned Air India, Jet Airways is a sign of India's arrival on the international stage.
New Delhi
It had been a good 15-and-a-half years since I had last stepped foot in the nation's capital. While I had read about the changes that had happened, I am very impressed by the absolutely wonderful state of the infrastructure in the city, infrastructure that makes Bangalore (supposed "Silicon Valley of India") look like a village. Don't believe me, check out the photos.
An intersection near the hotel I stayed in a Tibetan area of Delhi. In Bangalore, this road would be a large arterial road and a point of pride for the city's residents. In Delhi, I noticed quite a few roads of this size.
A water cooler by the roadside. The government in Delhi has placed these kinds of coolers all over the city so that citizens who cannot afford to buy bottled water always have refrigerated water available, a very useful service in a city where summer temperatures can soar to 45 degrees.
We drove through a couple of green spaces, such as this park, en route from the hotel in the northeast of Delhi to the airport in the southwest of Delhi.
One of the more chaotic intersections we encountered proving that Delhi is still, after all, a part of India.
Another road in Delhi, where there was a green median separating us from oncoming traffic.
And as a not-so-concealed easter egg, here's a photo with cows, once again proving that Delhi is a part of India.
If our government tells us that they have to remove all the circles in Bangalore because there is too much traffic for them, how come Delhi still gets to keep its circles?
Ongoing construction on the Delhi Metro's line to the airport.
Entrance ramp to the national highway that heads down past the airport to Gurgaon. I think in Bangalore, our highways themselves are about as large as this.
National Highway 8 within New Delhi. Count the number of lanes on this side of the median.
Perhaps the one area that Bangalore fares better than New Delhi. Our Vayu Vajra and Suvarna buses are far better than the buses that the Delhi Transport Corporation plies to the airport, but then the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation is one of the more modern bus systems in India.
Delhi will also soon be deploying air conditioned buses to complement these non-AC buses to the airport. More importantly, Delhi will have a Metro connection to the airport by 2010.
The beginning of the flyover near the airport.
The exit towards the domestic airport.
Getting ready to take the exit. I wonder how many years we are from such roads in Bangalore. We have flyovers but not of these size.
Construction at Delhi airport; I wonder if that is the new terminal.
Bangalore International Airport ("Seeme-yenne canu airport")
An intersection near the hotel I stayed in a Tibetan area of Delhi. In Bangalore, this road would be a large arterial road and a point of pride for the city's residents. In Delhi, I noticed quite a few roads of this size.
A water cooler by the roadside. The government in Delhi has placed these kinds of coolers all over the city so that citizens who cannot afford to buy bottled water always have refrigerated water available, a very useful service in a city where summer temperatures can soar to 45 degrees.
We drove through a couple of green spaces, such as this park, en route from the hotel in the northeast of Delhi to the airport in the southwest of Delhi.
One of the more chaotic intersections we encountered proving that Delhi is still, after all, a part of India.
Another road in Delhi, where there was a green median separating us from oncoming traffic.
And as a not-so-concealed easter egg, here's a photo with cows, once again proving that Delhi is a part of India.
If our government tells us that they have to remove all the circles in Bangalore because there is too much traffic for them, how come Delhi still gets to keep its circles?
Ongoing construction on the Delhi Metro's line to the airport.
Entrance ramp to the national highway that heads down past the airport to Gurgaon. I think in Bangalore, our highways themselves are about as large as this.
National Highway 8 within New Delhi. Count the number of lanes on this side of the median.
Perhaps the one area that Bangalore fares better than New Delhi. Our Vayu Vajra and Suvarna buses are far better than the buses that the Delhi Transport Corporation plies to the airport, but then the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation is one of the more modern bus systems in India.
Delhi will also soon be deploying air conditioned buses to complement these non-AC buses to the airport. More importantly, Delhi will have a Metro connection to the airport by 2010.
The beginning of the flyover near the airport.
The exit towards the domestic airport.
Getting ready to take the exit. I wonder how many years we are from such roads in Bangalore. We have flyovers but not of these size.
Construction at Delhi airport; I wonder if that is the new terminal.Bangalore International Airport ("Seeme-yenne canu airport")
I am sure that after reading my previous blog posts blasting the airport, you're all curious as to what my opinion of the airport is after traveling through it. Well, the airport looks fantastic and feels truly world class. But scratch the surface and deficiencies immediately appear. Let the photos below do the explaining.
The Good: The inside of the terminal also looks very modern.
The Good: En route to the baggage claim area. The corridor looks clean and modern.
The Good: The baggage claim area.
The Good: They seem to be slightly confused about the name of the city (as is everyone else). The logo to the left and right of the sign states "Bengaluru International Airport" but it proclaims "Welcome to Bangalore".
The Good: The check-in area of the airport.
The Bad: The outside of the airport looks nice, but all visitors have to wait out here. I wonder why they are not let inside the airport. Maybe it's a Government of India regulation ...
The Bad: That's it. That's not one terminal of the airport. That is the airport. After 15 years, we have eight piffling gates at our service and from the number of stairs that can be seen here, many people will still be forced to climb and descend staircases, even in a brand, spanking new airport!
The Bad: I mentioned eight bridges, right? Here are two narrow-body airports parked next to each other and you can see the wingtips are almost touching. This means that two wide-body aircraft (such as Boeing 777, Boeing 747, Airbus A340, etc) cannot be parked next to each other. In times of heavy international flight presence, this reduces the number of effective gates to five! Seeme-yenne canu airport indeed.
The Good: As you can see, the airport looks very nice as seen from the plane.
The Good: The all glass facade facing the planes looks modern and international.
The Good: The glass gates also look very nice.
The Good: The inside of the terminal also looks very modern.
The Good: En route to the baggage claim area. The corridor looks clean and modern.
The Good: The baggage claim area.
The Good: They seem to be slightly confused about the name of the city (as is everyone else). The logo to the left and right of the sign states "Bengaluru International Airport" but it proclaims "Welcome to Bangalore".
The Good: The check-in area of the airport.
The Bad: The outside of the airport looks nice, but all visitors have to wait out here. I wonder why they are not let inside the airport. Maybe it's a Government of India regulation ...
The Bad: That's it. That's not one terminal of the airport. That is the airport. After 15 years, we have eight piffling gates at our service and from the number of stairs that can be seen here, many people will still be forced to climb and descend staircases, even in a brand, spanking new airport!
The Bad: I mentioned eight bridges, right? Here are two narrow-body airports parked next to each other and you can see the wingtips are almost touching. This means that two wide-body aircraft (such as Boeing 777, Boeing 747, Airbus A340, etc) cannot be parked next to each other. In times of heavy international flight presence, this reduces the number of effective gates to five! Seeme-yenne canu airport indeed.
We still are forced to go to the airport at odd hours of the morning to catch flights since there is not enough capacity and Albert Brunner's plans do not include a second runway for another 12 years, despite the aircraft being over-capacity in its first year.
Finally, there is the issue of there not being any coffee vending machines for the staff. Albert Brunner says that they can buy coffee from the stores at Rs. 50 a cup like anybody else. He says that vending machines will reduce the international quality of the airport. I wonder if he's paying the staff international wages. I am sure they would love to be paid at the U.S. minimum wage of $7.50 (Rs. 320) per hour, in which case they will gladly avail themselves of "international standard" coffee at the international-standard shops!
Albert Brunner cannot live under the delusion that the airport should be completely international while providing his workers third world wages. For a person in the U.S. making minimum wage, a $5 cup of coffee is about 40 minutes' work. For a person in India making Rs. 5,000 a month (a relatively large amount), a Rs. 50 coffee is about 2.5 hours of work. Do the math!
Finally, there is the issue of there not being any coffee vending machines for the staff. Albert Brunner says that they can buy coffee from the stores at Rs. 50 a cup like anybody else. He says that vending machines will reduce the international quality of the airport. I wonder if he's paying the staff international wages. I am sure they would love to be paid at the U.S. minimum wage of $7.50 (Rs. 320) per hour, in which case they will gladly avail themselves of "international standard" coffee at the international-standard shops!
Albert Brunner cannot live under the delusion that the airport should be completely international while providing his workers third world wages. For a person in the U.S. making minimum wage, a $5 cup of coffee is about 40 minutes' work. For a person in India making Rs. 5,000 a month (a relatively large amount), a Rs. 50 coffee is about 2.5 hours of work. Do the math!
posted by Vivek at 7:15 AM
4 Comments:
Great post, and nicely illustrated. My guess is visitors are not let inside the airport to minimize the impact of a terrorist bombing attempt.
Now that I've sufficiently proven my analytical skills, let me move on.....
I know, one would imagine that the airports authority would be similarly endowed with such analytical skills to realize that one can do just as much damage by exploding a bomb right outside the airport than they can by exploding it just inside!
I would love to see a U.S. style set up in Indian airports where visitors are allowed inside the airport up until the security check area.
Hi
I am Abhishek from http://delhidekho.com. We are a news and information site about Delhi
We want to build a photo gallery about Delhi. So would like to take your permission to take photos from your blog
We will give your blog link in the credits
Also any informative posts about Delhi which you want to contribute.. Do mail us at delhi.dekho@gmail.com
Thanking you in anticipation
Abhishek
Delhidekho.com Team
Dear Vivek,
We really appreciate your blog and the manner in which you outlined information on the airport was very succint and shared with us areas that we will look into and improve.
We would take this opportunity to share some facts with you on the airport:
Visitors can enter the airport in the arrival terminal, they need to purchase a ticket and will be allowed in. As per the Govt of India regulations no visitors are allowed in the departure side of the terminal
Currently what you have seen of the airport is only the 1st phase of the airport, it is not yet completed and the final size of the airport will be much bigger than what you have seen. Please click on the link to see what the final airport would look like:
http://www.bengaluruairport.com/portal/page/portal/BIAL_PageGroup/BIAL_ABOUT_HOME/11_BIAL_ABOUT_MASTER_PLAN_PROJ_PHASES
In terms of capacity
The new airport will be able to handle more than 12 million passengers annually. The Terminal Building is equipped to accommodate 2733 passengers at peak hour.
Passenger transfer (domestic and international) under one roof
-Short ways for passenger convenience
-Common use of check-in counters
-Passenger experience combines business and leisure
The final airport capacity on completion will be able to handle a capacity of approximately 50 million passengers a year.
I do hope this helps give a clearer idea on the airport. Please do continue to share your feedback,
Regards,
BIAL Communications Team
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