She Flies!!!!! Airbus A350 XWB first flight in pictures

Congratulations to the Airbus team. The A350XWB has taken-off on its maiden flight from Toulouse Blagnac airport in France. Till the official pictures come, a few screen shots from the streaming video from Airbus.

Awaiting behind the delivery flight of the Cebu Pacific A330

The Airbus wide-body flight line. Dominated by A330s and an A380. Compare the larger A350 with the smaller A330.

Getting ready to taxi to holding point on the runway. The chase plane, a SN-600 Corvette is on the adjacent exit.

The A350 with the Airbus flight line behind.

The chase plane readies for take-off.

At runway holding point.

All lined up.

Start the take-off roll

Lift-off!!!!!!



In the air. The flaps and landing gear are kept lowered till the basic flight manoeuvres are completed and the crew finds the aircraft configuration "clean".

In the air

Approaching runway 32L to land

Touchdown!!!!

Exiting the runway

Flight test engineer Pascal Verneau waves an Airbus flag to celebrate the completion of a successful first flight. 

Video feed courtesy Airbus
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Watch the Airbus A350 XWB first flight live

The Airbus A350 XWB is performing its first flight today, June 14, 2013. You can watch the video feed live.

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Official photo: Airbus A350 XWB takes-off on its first flight

The first official photo from Airbus S.A.S. showing A350 XWB MSN001 F-WXWB taking-off on her maiden flight.

Airbus A350 XWB MSN001 F-WXWB taking-off on her maiden flight

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The Airbus A350 XWB journey - behind the scenes videos

by Devesh Agarwal

Ahead of the first flight of the Airbus A350 XWB a set of videos from Airbus which gives us behind the scenes explanations on some aspects of the aircraft design, development, testing, manufacturing, and hand-over to the flight testing crew who will fly the aircraft today.

Like the Boeing 787, the A350 XWB heavily relies on composite materials to lighten the airplane. This video explains the use of composites in the A350. It is largely in French so you will have to follow the sub-titles.



The Final Assembly Line (FAL) is where all A350 airframes are built including the MSN (Manufacturer's Serial Number) 5000 series which were used for static testing on the ground, and MSN001 which will fly later today, god willing, weather permitting.



Prior to any form of flight, the airframe is tortured using special static testing rigs. Observe how the wing is flexed to a deflection of over 5.3 metres (17.38 ft), that is almost two floors of a building.



The first flyable prototype MSN001 is fitted with the Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines, the most powerful engine mounted on any Airbus airframe till date. Even more powerful than the Trent 900 engines on the A380; but then the A380 is powered by four engines, while the A350 is a twin jet.



The A350 XWB MSN001 is painted for flight.



After the first flyable prototype MSN001 is assembled, the manufacturing team turns the aircraft over to the flight test team, which accepts responsibility of the aircraft on behalf of the Engineering Division at Airbus. The flight test team then readies the aircraft and tests prior to the first flight.



MSN001 does not contain much of a passenger cabin. It is filled with mountains of test equipment.



The engines on MSN001 are powered up for the first time.



Fernando Alonso, who shares his name with the world champion Formula 1 Ferrari driver, joined Airbus in 1982 and is the head of Airbus Flight and Integration Test Centre. He will lead the flight test activities for Airbus.



Watch the A350 XWB first flight live.
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A new plane flies today - live coverage of Airbus A350 AWB first flight

The old adage is "God willing, weather permitting"........

If all goes well, we shall see the first flight of a brand new aircraft, the Airbus A350 XWB. Airbus indicates the A350 XWB first flight is planned for today, weather conditions permitting.

The A350 will be the first new commercial aircraft model, excluding variants of existing models, from the stables of the two behemoth airframers, Boeing and Airbus, in almost three and a half years.

The Boeing 787 made its first flight in December 2009. The last new aircraft from Airbus was the A380 double-decker super-jumbo which first flew in April 2005, over eight years ago.


The A350 XWB “MSN1” will take off from Toulouse-Blagnac airport at around 10:00 am local time (08:00Z, 13:30 IST). You can view live coverage on the special A350 first flight website starting from 07:00 UTC, 12:30 IST.

The A350 XWB is the all-new mid-size long range product line comprising three versions and seating between 270 and 350 passengers in typical three-class layouts.

In the mean time, three videos for your enjoyment. One an accelerated timeline of MSN1 being assembled, the second, the painting of MSN1, and the third explains the Rolls Royce Trent XWB, the most powerful engine on any Airbus aircraft till date, even more powerful than those on the A380.

You can also see the A350 performing its taxi testing earlier this week prior to the first flight.


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Gary Toomey new CEO of Jet Airways

Jet Airways (India) Limited, today announced the appointment of Mr. Gary Kenneth Toomey as its new Chief Executive Officer. The appointment follows the resignation of Mr. Nikos Kardassis who left the airline after serving two terms as Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Toomey, 58, an Australian national, previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Air New Zealand Group and as Chief Executive Officer of Airlines PNG in Papua New Guinea during their periods of major expansion. Prior to these roles, he was Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Qantas Airways Limited and before that Chief Financial Officer of the domestic carrier Australian Airlines.

Mr. Toomey served as a director of Qantas from 1993 to 2000, Fiji’s Air Pacific from 1998 to 2000 and ANZ Bank from 1998 to 2001, and was a member of the Chief Executives' Board of Star Alliance in 2001. In 1996, while with Qantas, Mr. Toomey was named by Global Finance Magazine as one of the world’s Top 25 Chief Financial Officers. Mr. Toomey's tenure at Air New Zealand group, was extremely stormy, and he left the group under tenuous circumstances, even receiving death threats from employees of Ansett Australia.

Mr. Toomey’s appointment is subject to necessary regulatory approvals including security clearance as may be required. Capt. Hameed Ali will continue as the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Jet Airways, pending regulatory approval of Mr. Toomey’s appointment.
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Indian Air Force's first C-17 en-route to India

by Devesh Agarwal

India's first Boeing C-17 Globemaster III transport airlift aircraft, CB-8001, is en-route to India after completing its almost six month long flight test program at Edwards Air Force Base in Palmdale, California, USA, which began following the aircraft's delivery to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on January 22. Boeing is expected to deliver four more C-17s to the IAF this year and the balance five in 2014.

Curiously, while the C-17 a global distance airlifter, the delivery flight which took off Tuesday night India time, will stop at many places along the way and arrive at its base, Air Force Station, Hindon, outside the capital New Delhi only on Monday June 17th.

The arrival of the first C-17 is almost two years to the date, after the original $4+ billion procurement deal for 10 aircraft was signed in June 2011. With the 10 aircraft, the Indian Air Force will be the largest operator in the world after the US Air Force. Boeing has delivered 254 C-17s, including 222 to the U.S. Air Force and a total of 32 C-17s to Australia, Canada, India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations.

India is expected to sign a follow-on order for more C-17's shortly.

Boeing will support the IAF C-17 fleet through the Globemaster III Integrated Sustainment Program (GISP) Performance-Based Logistics contract. The GISP "virtual fleet" arrangement ensures mission readiness by providing C-17 customers access to an extensive support network for worldwide parts availability and economies of scale.
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Finnair to re-paint Marimekko livery A330 due to copyright violation

Finnair will be re-painting its Airbus A330 OH-LTM with the blue-forest livery based on the Marimekko print Metsänväki (“Forest Folk”), unveiled earlier this month. Read the story here.

As per the airline
We introduced the Marimekko livery with the Metsänväki (Forest folk) print on May 7, as a part of our cooperation with the Finnish design house Marimekko. On May 29th, Ms Kristina Isola, who was the designer of the Marimekko pattern we used in our Airbus 330, admitted that she had used the original work of an Ukrainian artist Maria Primatshenko as the basis of her design. Ms Isola apologized for this and said she regretted it deeply. The news came as a surprise to both Finnair and Marimekko, who had introduced the pattern to their selection of designs in 2008. Ms Isola has worked for Marimekko for decades.

Finnair immediately took action and we had the pattern removed from our aircraft, as we take intellectual property rights very seriously.
The airline also has an Airbus A340 painted with the Marimekko designed Unikko (poppy) print, and will continue to use it.

Finnair will also continue its cooperation with the Finnish design house and use tableware and blankets, specially designed for it, by Marimekko.
Our cooperation with Marimekko continues, and we have introduced the tableware designed by Marimekko especially for Finnair use into our aircraft in mid May, and one of our Airbus 340s is painted with the iconic Unikko (poppy) pattern by Marimekko. The case with the other print used in the aircraft was very unfortunate, but it does not impact the good cooperation we have with Marimekko.
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Lounge Report: Iberia domestic lounge at Barcelona El Prat airport

Guest post by Vishal Mehra

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 varying consistency. You can read them here.

This was my first time flying Iberia, my first time flying to Madrid, my first time flying to Lisbon and of course, my first ever ride in Business Class.

I had few British Airways Avios Points to spare and as British Airways (BA) and Iberia (IB) are part of IAG, their miles are interchangeable on each other flights. So after speaking with a BA representative on phone and finding the same availability on their site, I was able to book BCN-MAD-LIS online, and in the process saving myself some phone booking fees as well. Just for reference sake, the same flights in Business Class were coming out at Rs 16,000, with economy at Rs 6,300 approximately.

Iberia domestic lounge at Barcelona El Prat airport
I also chose to have a slightly longer layover at Madrid Barajas Airport, almost three hours, as it was my first time at that airport and I wanted some extra time to check out the terminal's famous wavy ceilings and of course the flagship Iberia Sala Lounge.

This is the first part of my three-part report of the trip, focusing on the lounge experience at Barcelona’s El Prat International Airport. Keep in mind, that my first flight was Barcelona to Madrid, thus I’m able to document only the relevant domestic lounge for Iberia.

Reaching the airport two hours in advance, so I could check out the Business Class Lounge, had its advantages. There were no passengers in the premium check-in lane and I must admit feeling a little bit giddy with my first ever foray into it. The lady at the counter was nice enough to suggest that my mobile boarding pass may not be comfortable for everyone at the airport and offered me the old-school paper boarding passes. My baggage got tagged as priority for the first time ever and I could not avoid a smile seeing that.

No view towards the apron or airside
The priority security line was quick and I was through in five minutes for my long walk to the "Puente Aereo" area, which literally means Air Bridge in Spanish. As the Madrid-Barcelona route is the second busiest route in Europe, there's a separate section of the airport, which handles these shuttle flights. To cater to the high corporate demand, the lounge is nearby these gates.

As I entered the lounge, my first impression was the lounge being relatively small but airy.

This was going to be my first flight in business class but I possess reasonable experience about Lounges, thanks to some kind airport/airline folks in the past, and credit card rewards.

The lounge had very few occupants. I decided to park myself at the far end of the lounge, looking out to roads connecting with the airport. Unfortunately this lounge had no direct view of the apron or the airplanes parked.

The lounge however had a reasonable collection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. They had a reasonable availability of juices, along with chocolate drinks and water on one end of shelf. Opposite that, the fridge contained aerated soft beverages, milk, water and beer

The lounge also had a small bar area with choices of wines, spirits but the star attraction for me was of course local Spanish cava (Spanish sparkling wine). The bottle was dipped in ice cold water for that perfect crisp taste.


However, this lounge lacked severely in food options. The shelf next to the bar had few cabinets of breads, croissants and pastries, along with some ready-to-go munch options and I especially took
liking to these potato chips or crisps.

There was a nice little coffee and tea machine available as well, with a variety of flavour options, for those who were looking for a hot drink.

Unsurprisingly there was very little to read in English. All the newspapers were non-English, ditto for magazines. The only option in English was Iberia’s own magazine, which I decided to skip for that time.

With 15 minutes to go until boarding, I decided to pour myself a glass of cava. Free Wi-Fi in the lounge enabled me to check on my emails and get some quick pending work done. Barcelona airport also offers free Wi-Fi to travellers, but it’s limited to 15 minutes in a day, per device. After that it’s chargeable.

Few minutes later sure enough my flight was called out and I proceeded to the nearby gate to embark on my first A320 for the evening.

Coffee bar

Stay tuned for the remaining reports of this journey.

- Vishal Mehra is a digital marketer at a global agency, smitten by travelling and commercial aviation. He tweets a lot and off late has taken to blogging as well. Follow him on Twitter and visit his blog.
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Qatar Airways takes Cambodian children on tour of its aircraft on International Children's Day.


Bangalore Aviation congratulates Qatar Airways on its humanitarian act. The airline recently partnered with Cambodia Airports offering 15 youngsters the opportunity to tour one of its Airbus A330 aircraft on International Children’s Day and celebrating the carrier’s 100th flight to the capital Phnom Penh.
The smiles on the two ladies embracing says it all

Aged between 9 and 12 years, the children were from Pour un Sourire d’Enfant (For a Child’s Smile), a non-government organisation which focuses on educating orphaned children.

From visiting the cockpit to meeting the crew, the youngsters were thrilled to see the aircraft up close and personal,. The smiles continued as Qatar Airways’ cabin crew gave away special gifts onboard. Through this initiative, Qatar Airways hopes to open up the wonderful world of aviation to these children inspiring them to become the aviators of tomorrow.

The event also coincided with the celebration of Qatar Airways’ 100th flight to Cambodia’s capital city. Qatar Airways has been operating daily flights from Doha to Phnom Penh International Airport since February.
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French air traffic controllers strike affects flights

Update on June 11th, 08h00 Paris local time

Several different unions representing French Air Traffic Control (ATC) under the French Civil Aviation Authority have called for industrial dispute from June 11 up to June 13, 2013. Controllers are striking over a plan to unify European airspace which will ensure greater efficiency and cope with the projected increase in traffic.

As a consequence, on request of French Civil Aviation, all airlines operating within or to France have to reduce their flight schedules by 50% for this period. This has caused a ripple impact across flights. Greater on medium and short haul flights (domestic France, intra-Europe, North Africa, etc.), and less on long haul flights.

Bangalore Aviation recommends passengers travelling to or from or within France to contact your airline immediately to determine the level of impact, if any. Many airlines are permitting changes to itineraries without fees.

Air France update page
SWISS update page
Lufthansa update page
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Lufthansa to lower take-off acceleration altitude globally to save fuel

Lufthansa is set to change its take-off procedure for all departures outside Germany, and implement one standard, worldwide.

As of 1 June 2013, the airline will lower the acceleration altitude, for using the climb thrust and for further accelerating by its aircraft that are taking off, from 1,500 feet (approx. 457 metres) to 1,000 feet (approx. 305 metres).

What does 1000-foot acceleration altitude mean?


Immediately after take off, an aircraft usually ascends at a constant speed with the flaps extended until it reaches a certain altitude. Modern aircraft generally do not use the maximum thrust available at this point, but rather a reduced level of take-off thrust. When the aircraft reaches an initial target altitude, the engines’ thrust is switched to climb thrust.

As the aircraft continues to take off, it has to accelerate so that the flaps can be retracted and it can climb to its cruising altitude at a higher speed.

As passengers we experience this flaps retraction, which leads to a momentary reduction of lift in the wing, by a sinking feeling.

Soon after that the aircraft starts speeding up and the nose is raised higher to continue the climb.

The altitude at which the speed increase begins is called the acceleration altitude.

By reducing the altitude from 1,500ft to 1,000ft above ground level (AGL), decreases the wind resistance when the flaps are retracted, thus lowering fuel consumption. Lufthansa expects that changing the procedure at Frankfurt alone would save around 2,200 tonnes of fuel per year and a reduction of around 7,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Globally, Lufthansa will save around 6,000 tonnes less kerosene, around 18,000 tonnes less CO2.

A reduction in the acceleration altitude from 1,500 feet to 1,000 feet is permitted under ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation "pronounced Eye-Kay-Oh") regulations and is standard practice at most German and international airports and is already used by many airlines as it leads to lower fuel consumption and a reduction in CO2 emissions.

Lufthansa has already notified the German aviation regulator the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA), or "Federal Aviation Office" of the modified procedure, and has received approval. The German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development have already granted Lufthansa permission to change the procedure.
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Trip report: Air Canada Executive First Boeing 777 Frankfurt Toronto, 767 Ottawa London Heathrow

On a recent trip from Bangalore to Dallas-Fort Worth I flew Air Canada international for the first time in my life.

The first trip was from Frankfurt to Toronto Pearson on their Boeing 777-300ER and thanks to mother nature, and two very efficient and caring customer service executives at United and Air Canada in Boston, from Ottawa to London Heathrow in the Boeing 767-300ER.

Air Canada Executive First Suites on their two class Boeing 777-300ERs


Both trips were in the Executive First Suites cabin product which the crew call "The Pods". On the 777s the mini-suite seats are found in the airline's two-class 777-300ER and all 777-200LR aircraft, in a four abreast 1-2-1 configuration, while on the 767 and A330 they are in a 1-1-1 three abreast configuration

Frankfurt to Toronto. AC873. Depart 10:00 Arrive 12:15. All times local.
Boeing 777-300ER. C-FITW. Seat 1K. 29-Apr-2013.

Air Canada Executive First Seat 1K on the two class Boeing 777-300ER

The seats open out to 191cm (6’3") long in lie-flat mode, and is 53cm (21") wide. Each pod is equipped with a 30 cm (12") touch-screen TV married to an Audio-Video On Demand (AVOD) in-flight entertainment (IFE) system, and fitted with noise-cancelling Sennheiser headphones. The seats also offer a single-pin audio jack for your own headset. Pillows and a duvet are standard.

Seat 1K on the 77W lacks a window. Comfort of the seat is good. Lots of nooks for storing small items. Can get confusing for the first timer. Did not notice the plugged in Sennheiser noise cancelling headsets in the nook to the right of the seat. Fresh foam covers for the speakers are provided. Also did not notice the bottle of water tucked in left nook (see the second seat in the picture above). The amenity kit is minimal and nothing to write home about.

The seat has nice padding not too firm, and not too soft. I had a comfortable sleep, though, thanks to my excessive international travels back in the 1990s and early 2000s, my sleep patterns are permanently damaged and I cannot sleep for long periods of time.

The "pods" offer a sense of privacy, but are completely individual traveller focussed. There were some couples travelling on the flight and they had to keep getting up to talk to each other. Also the mini-suites do not offer too much of a window view, so any claustrophobia gets magnified.

Was offered the obligatory hot towel, and it was better than what I have experienced on US carriers, but thinner and colder than those on Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines. A choice of water, orange juice or Champagne is offered before the flight.

Unlike the forward facing seats of most business class which allow you to quietly switch on the flight path display and watch while the plane taxies and takes-off, the Air Canada screens are mounted on the side wall and must be opened 90 degrees for viewing. The crew comes around and shuts all the screens once the safety video completes.

Post take-off, the drinks trolley is wheeled out and warm almonds accompany. I was overwhelmed by the extreme generosity of the Canadians when it came to serving alcoholic drinks. Wine, including the fortified Port which is around 20% alcohol, were poured like water, and one could quickly find themselves floating well above the aircraft's cruising altitude if not careful. Since I sampled all the wines, I had to keep raising my hand to stop the crew from over-pouring the wines. I found the whites being served at almost room temperature 

Once the cabin is darkened, the funky blue LED lighting under the screen and around the seat give some very exotic effects.

The meal service is a five course offering. A good selection of hot breads are offered, and the appetizer plate is switched out for the main course, and finally the dessert.


I was very surprised, almost shocked, at the wine list. Air Canada, the national carrier of Canada, does not feature even one wine from Canada, in its wine list, which is made up of rather mediocre but quaffable $6~$10 wines from Southern France, South America, and California. Given the wine culture in Canada, this should be something the carrier must look to improve.


The quantity of food is ever so slightly on the lesser side, but you can make it up with some additional bread.

Staff service is by and large good. I found the Air Canada cabin crew far more responsive and hospitable compared to their US counterparts, and I certainly appreciated the crew's effort to serve my tenderloin as close to medium-rare as possible, something most Asian, and many European carriers just do not do.

Arrival at Toronto was decent. For a connection to the Toronto - Dallas Fort Worth leg, there was a long walk, and then a long wait to enter the US immigration pre-screening, since your name comes up on the screen only after your bags are put on the baggage belt and their photograph is available to the CBP officer.

The US Immigration is followed by a stringent security but regular metal detectors. Immediately after security there is a very nice Air Canada lounge, equipped with the best business centre I have seen till date. Free computers, printers and photo-copiers. Even mobile phone printing, and internet printing.

After almost 20 hours travelling, the first thing I did was take a nice, long, hot, shower. Finally refreshed and not smelling like some over-ripe fruit, I headed across to the food and drink section. Given that it was around 2:30pm by then, there was no food. Just some dry tid-bits. The food was finally refilled around 5pm with salad, soup, and some hot food. Almost the whole lounge, including me, descended on the food like it was going out of fashion. So after went down to catch my YYZ-DFW flight. Was very tired by then. Got on board. Ate something, and passed out.

Ratings*: Flight 7/10. Transit 5/10. Lounge 8/10

Ottawa to London Heathrow. AC888. Depart 22:30 Arrive 10:15. All times local.
Boeing 767-300ER. C-FXCA. Seat 8K. 09-May-2013.

The counter agent staffing the United GlobalFirst counter at Boston Logan saw me coming, and decided to walk away from her counter, leaving me to wait for the BusinessFirst counter to open. I must thank that snooty woman for abandoning her counter, because Joanne at the BusinessFirst counter turned out to be very courteous and super efficient. Thanks to bad weather at Boston, my Boston to Washington Dulles flight was delayed and this would cause me to miss my United Dulles to London Heathrow connection. While she was thinking of options, I informed her that I remembered there was a Boston-Halifax-London connection on Air Canada. Joanne promptly contacted her counterpart at Air Canada Boston, and in little over five minutes I had a new re-routed ticket Boston-Ottawa-London Heathrow. Thanks once again Joanne.

The Boston Ottawa trip was a all-economy CRJ200. I found the transit connection sort of odd. I had to go through Canadian immigration, pick up my bags, go through Canadian Customs, detour through a side door, check-in my bags in, again, for the Ottawa London flight, undergo security, and then board the aircraft. Ours was one of the last flights to board. By this time, all the duty free shops were closed. Sorry Canada, you missed earning some duty free dollars.

This time, I got the last seat, 8K in the cabin, and in the photo below, you will get a better appreciation of the slightly claustrophobic feeling one gets in the "pods".


The crew on this flight were not as hospitable or responsive when compared to their AC873 colleagues. I almost got the feeling they wanted to just complete the service and get some sleep, but still the service was decent. Professional, but lacking warmth.

A generous helping of Gin between the water and tomato juice

The main course selections for the dinner were good, and this time I got my steak medium-rare and bloody. Just as a good cut of beef should be served.


Morning arrival faced the usual delay in the skies over London. Our flight did the obligatory race-track loops before getting clearance to land. After landing, we had to wait on the taxiway, as our gate was occupied by another aircraft that had technicaled. After about a 20 minute wait we finally embarked.

The usual long walk-run to Heathrow's chronically under-staffed immigration counters. Business class passengers have a separate set of queues, but this turned out to be a curse, as one of the two counters was busy processing the rejection of an arriving passenger, and the other counter had its share of complex cases which took much longer to process. After an almost 45 minute wait, an additional counter was opened up, and at the other counter, the rejection too was processed, so the queue moved along and I passed through immigration quickly. By the time I reached baggage claim, the bags were just arriving. Collected and was soon on my way.

Air Canada offers an arrivals lounge service at London Heathrow, but I did not use it.

Ratings*: Flight 6.5/10. Arrival 4/10.

*After almost ten years being pampered by Singapore Airlines, I am spoilt when it comes to service level expectations. So my reviews tend to be a little on the stiff side.
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Travelling with new lower check-in and carry-on hand baggage allowances

by Devesh Agarwal

Last month, I flew more than 50,000 miles across many nations, and airlines, and in the process experienced the carry on hand baggage and check-in baggage rules of different airlines, countries, and airports and to a chance try out new lightweight luggage. [Disclaimer: I have not received any benefit, in any form, from any of the airlines or luggage companies I have referred to in this article.]

Hopefully the tips below will help dealing with the reduction of checked-in baggage allowances in India to 15 kgs and the hand carry on baggage limits of Europe and Asia of 22"size and 7 kgs weight.

1. Check with your airline

Checked baggage weight allowances vary from country to country and airline to airline. In India, some airlines like Jet and Air India have reduced it to 15 kgs, while SpiceJet and GoAir still offer the traditional 20 kgs. Across the world, legacy carriers still offer the standard 20 kgs. To, from and within the US, the piece concept applies and the weight limit is 50 lbs or 23 kgs per bag.

However. you may have a domestic connecting leg on a local carrier in Europe or the US which may have lower baggage allowances than your international carrier. So you can carry one or two pieces free of charge to the US, just to have American, Delta, or United charge you checked bag fees for that leg from New York to Boston. Check with your airline or travel agent about the baggage allowances right till the very end of your trip. Try to get the information in writing. 

2. Carry less

We Indians love to carry stuff. Do you really need to carry so many things? One pair of pants and may be a pair of jeans will last for a whole week. Most hotels in the US and Europe have washing machines, and irons and ironing boards. Carry fewer clothes and use the facilities. Innocuous items like books, paper, food are actually quite heavy. Do you really need to carry the whole business file of the customer?

The airlines have reduced allowance by 25% (from 20kg to 15kg). Reduce what you are packing by the same 25%. Use intelligent packing solutions like Pack-It™ folders which compact your clothes and keep them crease-free.

3. Lightweight luggage

Time to trade in the old war horse but heavy suitcase for the new crop of lightweight bags. Till last month I was using my long trusted TravelPro Platinum series bags which have lasted me at least 500,000 miles. But each bag weighed about 9 kgs when empty. The new lightweight bags weigh as little at 4kgs for a 29 inch four wheel spinner. In India I recommend Samsonite which offers light series like BLight, Lift, and Optimum. American Tourister does not have light enough luggage.

In the US, after trying many a bag, I opted for the TravelPro MaxLite 2 29" spinners. Ultra-light. Strong. Competitively priced. I bought mine from eBags and WayFair. Unfortunately TravelPro is not sold in India.

In the UK, and soon to be launched in India, there is a brand called IT Luggage which deserves a look. The company offers a series of luggage called "world's lightest". I bought a 22" upright which weighs a lean 3.5 lbs (1.58 kgs). Even full, the bag still passed the 7kg test.

And if you are buying a new bag, get away from the traditional black and red. Try getting, blue or charcoal or some other colour that will differentiate your bag.

4. Smaller carry on hand baggage

While some US airlines permit 24" (60 cm) bags, the global standard is now 22" (55 cm) and in the case of no-frill carriers like RyanAir and EasyJet the size is being pushed down to 20" (50 cm).

In India many airlines are opting for small turbo-props like the Q400 or the ATR72, while in Europe and the US, may routes are on RJs (Regional Jets). These aircraft have very small overhead bins and the carry-on bag which fits in an A320 or 737 jet, has no chance in these smaller aircraft.

On long distance flights, carry-on luggage space is getting used for other frills. Like your in-seat video and fancy on-demand in-flight entertainment system? The control box now sits underneath your seat, where your bag used to go.

My camera bag with its big telephoto lenses frequently weighs more than the 7kg limit. I normally do not face a problem as most airlines recognise the fragile nature of the equipment, with the exception of London Heathrow airport.

From extensive personal experience, I advise travellers to avoid London Heathrow airport, which forces all airlines to stringently implement the 7kg hand baggage weight limit, even in business class. I have not experienced any other airport in Europe or North America imposing this.

Based on reports from family members, friends, and personal observation, Emirates airline actively enforces the 7kg hand baggage weight limit on economy class, by weighing hand bags at almost all stations. The airline is especially vigilant on flights to and from the Indian sub-continent. If you are a premium passenger, don't worry, you are forgiven all sins.

5. Expandable carry on hand bags

Fast becoming a no-no. Expansion sections require additional zips and material, and that adds weight. Also, when we expand the bag, it becomes bigger and can no longer be carried on board. You will need to check it in, and wait for it after landing losing the advantage of carry-on "get-up and go" speed.

6. Use the overhead bins properly

One of the things that makes my blood boil is the casual manner in which most Indians, just toss their bag in to the overhead compartment. All to often we find an oversize bag or a small valise in the bin put sideways, eating up the space for two bags. I also loathe those bin hoarders who will put their bag in the overhead bin above your seat and then go and sit few rows back.

Its time to give such inconsiderate cabin mates dirty looks, if needed a talking to, and for you to stand-up for your rights. But then, we must practice what we preach.

7. Get Status

Become an elite customer of the airline. Either by flying with them, or getting a co-branded airline platinum credit card. Elite customers are given additional baggage allowances and priority boarding which allows you to get to that precious overhead bin space ahead of the others.

Photo courtesy of Jaktogo
8. Wear your luggage

If you are flying the ultra-cheapo RyanAir or Spirit Air who charge for carry on baggage, consider the new fad of ‘wearable luggage’ or ‘luggage jackets’. These allow you to pack almost the equivalent of a carry on bag worth of stuff. In fact in some cases, the jacket turns in to a bag and vice-versa. Check in wearing the jacket, board and convert it to a bag and put it in the overhead bin.

Yes who may look odd wearing this huge jacket, but who cares. With the money you save on baggage fees, go have a party, or buy a new outfit. Relish the fact that you, the customer, had the last laugh, not the airline.

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