Etihad Airways introduces 'Flying Nanny' service aboard long duration flights.

by BA Staff

Etihad Airways has introduced 'Flying Nanny' service, a dedicated in-flight child care assistance program for families, on its long-haul flights, Identified by a bright orange apron, the Flying Nanny provides a 'helping hand' to families and unaccompanied minors.

Video below the fold

During the past two months 300 Etihad Airways cabin crew members have completed enhanced training for the role. A further 60 will be trained in September and 500 Flying Nannies will be working across Etihad Airways flights by the end of 2013. The course includes in-depth training, from the world renowned Norland College, concentrating on child psychology and sociology, enabling the Flying Nannies to identify different types of behaviour and developmental stages that children go through and how to appreciate the perspective and needs of travelling families.

In addition the course also covers many different creative ways the Flying Nanny can entertain and engage with children during flights. The airline said

“The Flying Nanny will liaise with parents and use their experience and knowledge to make the travel experience easier. This includes helping serve children’s meals early in the flight and offering activities and challenges to help entertain and occupy younger guests.”

Many of these activities derive from a special kit which contains straws, stickers, cardboard and other items which the Flying Nanny uses to teach simple arts and crafts such as creating special greeting cards for friends and family.

The Flying Nanny will also frequently use service items such as paper cups which can be made into hats and the Japanese art of origami to fold paper into sculptures. All activities are designed so the Flying Nanny can leave the children to produce and complete on their own.

A key on-board highlight is set to be the creation of sock puppets which uses stickers from the Flying Nanny kit as eyes and the socks from the guest’s travel pack.

In addition to the arts and crafts, the Flying Nannies can also teach children simple magic tricks which helps retain their focus and interest while seated.

For older children, the Flying Nanny is equipped with simple quizzes and challenges to keep them occupied as well as taking them on tours of the galley during quieter moments of the flight.

Towards the end of the flight the Flying Nanny will help parents by replenishing milk bottles, and offering items such as water, fruit and other snacks especially if the family is transiting to another flight.

The Flying Nanny will also advise families that are transiting at Abu Dhabi about the various baby changing and child facilities at the airport, as well as informing them that there is a children’s play area at Gate 32 in Terminal 3, and in the premium lounges.

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Videos: Singapore Airlines launches its new ad campaign "The lengths we go to"

by Devesh Agarwal

Iconic national carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) has launched a new global brand campaign named “The Lengths We Go To”, showcasing the airline’s commitment to putting the customer at the heart of everything it does.

Explaining the thinking behind Singapore Airlines service experience, and the brand campaign, Singapore Airlines’ Executive Vice President Commercial, Mr Mak Swee Wah, said

“Making every customer feel at home when they fly with us has always been the cornerstone of our service philosophy. Our customers’ preferences have always been the foremost consideration in the curation process for our new products which are sourced from all over the world. This new campaign sets out to reaffirm this commitment.”

Tan Pee Teck, Senior Vice President of Product and Services at Singapore Airlines, along with three of his colleagues explain the customer centric focus of Singapore Airlines in this video which also shows insights on the rigorous training regime that goes to make the iconic Singapore Girl cabin crew.



Mak further explains

“The scenarios in the advertisements are examples of our commitment to delivering a special experience to our customers, with the Singapore Girl symbolising the lengths we go to. Despite the progression of time, the essence of the Singapore Girl and her gentle, caring ways remain especially relevant today, in an increasingly competitive environment where service excellence is the key differentiator,”

And the Singapore Girl, plays the protagonist in all three commercials which were filmed on location – Fujian in China, Glasgow in Scotland, and Venice in Italy – and involved local production crews of hundreds of people.

The first commercial depicts how SIA tailors quality products to suit the needs of its customers. A tea plantation and teahouse in Fujian were selected as the setting as this is the region from which SIA sources Jasmine tea.



The second commercial illustrates how SIA delivers the comforts of home through innovative products and services. Renowned Glasgow-based Andrew Muirhead and Son, Europe’s oldest tannery, was used as the filming location as it is where the leather used in SIA’s Business Class seats is produced.



The third commercial demonstrates SIA’s focus on curation to offer customers the best entertainment from around the world. It is set in Venice and features the Venice Film Festival, for which SIA is the Official Airline this year.



The commercials will be released progressively over three weeks, with the first being broadcast from today. A combination film, incorporating all three advertisements, will be released later this month.

The airline has also made a video showing the making of the advertisements.

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Ryanair enhances consumer security on Ryanair.com

Earlier today, European ultra-low cost carrier (ULCC) Ryanair launched a new customer verification system on the Ryanair.com website. Find the details below. 

20th August 2013

Ryanair, Europe’s only ultra-low cost carrier (ULCC), today (20 Aug) launched a new consumer verification security system on the Ryanair.com website, which offers increased security when booking Ryanair’s lowest fares on Ryanair.com.

Delivered through CardinalCommerce’s Centinel® technology platform, the new system has been introduced across all Ryanair markets and provides consumers with enhanced fraud protection during the payment process, delivering increased security for all Ryanair passengers.

Ryanair’s Robin Kiely said:

“Ryanair is continually striving to improve the customer experience of our 81.5m passengers and we have introduced a new consumer verification system on our Ryanair.com website, which will further improve the security of Ryanair.com for our 81.5m passengers – and make booking our ultra-low cost flights even more secure.”

CardinalCommerce’s Alasdair Rambaud said:

“We’re delighted Ryanair recognises the ongoing value of deploying Verified by Visa and MasterCard® SecureCode®, and chose Cardinal because of our years of experience, understanding and knowledge as pioneers of consumer authentication. We look forward to working with Ryanair and providing their consumers with an even better booking experience.”

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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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Video: Emirates aims to improve in-flight customer service using Windows 8 HP ElitePad 900 tablets

Dubai based Emirates airline, is deploying a line-of-business application for improving in-flight communication and customer relationship management. Called Knowledge-driven Inflight Service (KIS), the airline is equipping its in-flight Pursers with over 1,000 HP ElitePad 900 tablets running the KIS application on Windows 8.

As the video below shows, the KIS application will download passenger data at the start of each flight, which the Pursers, who are the cabin-crew lead on flights, will use, to brief the cabin crew and help them devise service delivery that best meets the personal preferences and needs of the passengers. The crew can also use KIS to easily conduct in-flight upgrades to business class or first class for Emirates Skywards members, as well as record critical customer feedback that is immediately routed to Emirates headquarters on landing.



Emirates is the first global customer of the HP ElitePad 900. The device, announced by HP in October and will be available to customers in January 2013, is built on a Windows 8 operating system with a touch-optimized user interface, with its unique Live Tiles information clustering.

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Exclusive interview: Giorgio De Roni - CEO GoAir - Part 2: We first deliver results, we do not over-promise.

Continuing from part 1 of the interview with the the soft spoken CEO of GoAir, Giorgio De Roni, who has quietly turned around the Wadia family promoted airline from a rock bottom position, dismal market share, and reputation for frequent cancellations, to a top performing contender in the Indian airline industry, with some of the best performance parameters in the industry.

In the concluding part of this broad ranging two-on-one interview with Devesh Agarwal and Vinay Bhaskara, De Roni, shares his management mantras, techniques and methods utilised in the turn around of GoAir.

Q: How are things developing at GoAir and in the Indian airline industry as a whole over the past year?

Well the industry is going through a challenging period due to many issues in the market.

Certainly and foremost the cost of fuel and taxation on fuel. We have recorded an increase of 7%, which is a huge increase given that fuel represents more than 50% of our total costs.

Then we have a market that I’m fully confident and sure that in the medium to long term is growing. But unfortunately in the latest few months, we have recorded a drop in respect to last year, and that is a big concern in the short period.

We have some infrastructure bottlenecks and again this is penalizing airlines in India.

That said, I remain confident in the growth of the Indian aviation sector. We might require some revision of the regulatory environment which is a little bit old fashioned. If I’m not wrong the base of the legal framework is dated 1934, so even before the Chicago Convention.

I feel that some commitment from the government to revise and improve efficiency in the system is necessary. I feel confident that all stakeholders will be able to deliver us such an environment.

In my view, a country with 1.2 billion people should have a much stronger aviation sector. Definitely there is an opportunity to create a hub in India, and there is probably also a space for more than one hub. But we need some efficiency in all of the systems.

Q: Till a little more than a year ago, GoAir did not enjoy the best reputation in the industry in terms of dispatch reliability. In the last 1.5 years, that has turned around literally 100%. GoAir ranks, right at the top in terms of least cancellations and best on-time performance. Can you share with us what were the issues confronting GoAir and some of the steps you took to solve them when you joined the airline?

Well I think that quality to customer is one of the pillars of any airline, and we are committed to deliver value for money. Definitely I am aware that in the past, GoAir was suffering in terms of on-time performance. We are now averaging around 90%. And notwithstanding the high on-time performance, we also have high aircraft utilization, because in July we achieved 13 block hours per aircraft per day, which is remarkable for a narrow-body airline.

I think that the only thing that I am trying to reach within the organization is trying to deliver consistent strategy, and a consistent approach throughout the management team and down to the front line. We are investing hugely in terms of training and hugely in processes and procedure. We were IOSA approved [IATA Operational Safety Audit] at the end of 2010. Since it is a 2 year approval, we are now going through the renewal of that certificate. All these aspects are contributing to keep our quality and standard of performance high.

IOSA? We didn’t know that you had undergone IOSA. We only knew that Air India had undergone IOSA.

Well, one of our characteristics is not to overpromise, but first to deliver the result and then communicate. Sometimes my shareholder [Wadia family] blames me, saying that we [GoAir management] should be more proactive in communication.

Well my view is that we have to communicate only what we are able to deliver. And definitely IOSA is a good achievement.

But in the end, does a passenger choose GoAir for being IOSA certified? No I don’t think so.

I think that it is more important to deliver on-time performance, and good service, both on-board and on the ground. And that is why we are investing significantly in training.

Q: You mentioned that GoAir is achieving 13 hours aircraft block utilisation time, That is almost 20% or 30% more than IndiGo or SpiceJet. You appear to have probably the best aircraft utilization in the country?

Well last year we received an award by Airbus for being the best operator of the A320 in whole of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa in our fleet size. [Editor's note: A320 behemoths AirAsia and IndiGo are in the same geography]

And this is remarkable because of course the higher utilization continues to keep fixed costs more efficient , but also it is remarkable because it is accompanied by a very good on-time performance.

Q: How long are you looking at keeping the same level of aircraft utilization?

I hope that as soon as we get approval, we can start operating on international flights and increase the aircraft utilization by adding some flights at night. Of course on a daily basis we need to carry out maintenance checks on all the aircraft. And these keep the aircraft grounded for 3.5~4 hours every day, so the limit for the utilization is 20 hours.

We have a turnaround time of between 25 and 30 minutes depending on the size of the airport and efficiency of the airport in providing turnaround services. And that’s the limit I cannot go beyond.

Because our first departure is at 05:15 and our last arrival is at 01:00 the following day. Of course not all of the aircraft have such an intensive utilization, but we manage to have a pretty good utilization.

Q: So does this high utilization change the timeline on heavy maintenance checks for the A320s?

We do have C-checks. Another policy of the company is to keep the fleet as young as possible, because this brings efficiency in maintenance and efficiency in fuel consumption, and a good product to our customer. It means that C-checks. Yes we have undergone 8 C-checks for the fleet. These keep the aircraft grounded for around 3 days. We outsource the C-check maintenance. We also have engines updated but considering that we have spare engines, the high utilization is not as much of a concern.

Q: Many Indian carriers are moving to the concept of "power by the hour" with engine manufacturers. Is GoAir using this business method?

[Editor's note: In this business method, airlines agree to pay engine manufacturers a unit price per hour of usage of the engine. The manufacture is then responsible for the performance and maintenance of the engine.]

We do not do so currently, but we are exploring this method. If it saves us money and helps us improve our despatch reliability we will consider it most strongly.

Q: Can you share some of your operational numbers? What are your average number of flights per aircraft per day?

We operate roughly 100 nonstop flights, but the network is constructed to offer as many “via” [connecting] opportunities as possible, particularly via Delhi and via Mumbai. And we carried roughly 3.5 million passengers last year and we have a target of 5.5 [million]. Why? Not only due to the increase of aircraft, we grew capacity by 22% as well.

Q: So you will be targeting growth up to 5.5 million passengers this year?

Yes 5.5 million. Due to increasing capacity by 22% and a higher seat factor. We also slightly increased the productivity by 15 minutes – which is peanuts. But at the end of the day, we can deliver some positive results.

Q: How many rotations do you achieve on average per aircraft per day?

We achieve 7.6 legs per aircraft per day.

[Editor’s Note: Mr. De Roni clarified that he meant 7.6 one way flight segments per aircraft per day.]

Q: Can we ask you for CASK or RASK numbers? (Cost per Available Seat Kilometre, Revenue per Available Seat Kilometre)

Sorry No.

Q: You mentioned the enhanced connectivity that you are looking at through Delhi and Mumbai. Looking forward, how much do you want to grow connections? Will it play an increasing role in the business model or will the primary focus still be point to point connections (P2P)?

Well the main focus will continue to be on point to point, but definitely connectivity might increase without diluting the overall revenue. Furthermore, we also must consider that due to some infrastructure bottlenecks, it wouldn’t be easy to add additional slots in Mumbai or at peak times in Delhi. So we also have a strategy to increase our presence in other areas of the country. We are already relatively strong in the Northwest; in Jammu and Kashmir we are the market share leader in Srinagar. We have recently deployed second aircraft nonstop at Bangalore Airport and the January A320 delivery will be most probably deployed in the South of the country, bypassing both Delhi and Mumbai.

Q: What do you see happening in Mumbai with regards to an integrated terminal? Will it be something similar to Delhi where you have an LCC terminal and a separate integrated terminal.

First of all, I am not Indian and I am not particularly able to forecast Indian decisions. And even if I am able to forecast, since it is sometimes a frustrating experience, I prefer to keep to what is the final the result.

Because media coverage is unpredictable – one week they say that FDI will be approved by Friday, the next Saturday, it is next month, and the next month, it is in a few months time.

So I have the habit of let’s see what happens and planning consequently.

Q: The reason we ask is that if in Bombay they structure the integrated terminal similar to Delhi, will the cost structure be similar to Delhi?

Yes. And it will create inefficiencies in the cost structure if we have to share activity between two terminals. So I do hope that this kind of consideration will be analyzed before any sort of decision is made.

[Editor's note. Please see part 1 of this interview where Mr. De Roni explains how high fees are impacting Delhi airport with reduced traffic]

You recently asked the DGCA to grant you a waiver from the 5-year and 20-aircraft rules for international flying. How confident are you in receiving a waiver, and would this signal a shift in strategy towards more international flying?

No, the core business will remain domestic. I personally see a strong potential for more growth domestically, considering that only 60 million passengers travelled by air last year out of 1.2 billion people.

If there are opportunities to fly internationally, I feel relatively confident to be authorized to fly internationally.

We already have, as you know, the 5 years of experience required, but we are flying less than 20 aircraft. I do not see why foreign airlines are allowed to fly international flights to India with just 1, 2, or 3 aircraft and Indian carriers are not allowed.

In my view, allowing GoAir to fly international, will increase opportunities for employment, flows of currency and tourism, and will serve the economy of the country better, and at the end of the day, it will create a dynamic competitive environment to the benefit of the final customer.

[Editor’s Note: Just to give some examples of this disparity. Avia Traffic Company, an airline with 5 aircraft that is banned in the EU, is allowed to operate in to India. Bhutan's Druk Air with just 3 aircraft, and several sketchy Afghan airlines with very small fleets, operate non-stop international services into Delhi? Yet GoAir with its now sparkling reliability and safety record is not allowed to do so?]

Q: Looking at your network, Mumbai and Delhi seem to be roughly equal in size. Will you increase in Delhi?

We are slightly more present in Delhi, historically due to a lack of slots in Mumbai. But definitely also due to the fact that the cost in Delhi has increased greatly. Thus the expansion plan will mostly be outside Delhi.

Q: One thing we’ve noticed is that the bulk of the expense at Delhi Airport seems to have occurred on Terminal 3. Yet GoAir, SpiceJet, and IndiGo passengers, who do not use T3, are made to pay fees for T3. Your comments?

Unfortunately, this is the common approach to airport development. And with this kind of approach we have weaknesses in the efficiency of the system. We have to survive anyhow.

Thank you sir for the revealing details. It was a pleasure.

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Review: Lufthansa's new Business Class onboard its Boeing 747-8i and Airbus A330-300 Mumbai Munich

Following an excellent trip in India, I started off on my return flight to the US. I got to Mumbai Airport around 22:20 (10:20pm) for my flight to Munich at 01:07.

Mumbai airport - A series of bottlenecks

Right now Mumbai Airport is in a bit of a transition phase as they construct the new integrated terminal so I suppose this is forgivable, but the ground-side experience at Mumbai’s Terminal 2 is just plain awful right now. Call it a lack of CISF personnel or a lack of planning, but all passengers are funnelled in to just two doors, and at peak times for international departures, 9pm onwards, the lines can extend up to 30 minutes long, and it’s a humongous bottleneck that the team at Mumbai airport must look in to on top priority.

Once you get into the terminal, it gets a little bit better but not much. In my case, Lufthansa’s local station manager came over and showed me to the first class check in line. Checking in was a breeze, and I headed over to the second bottleneck at Mumbai Airport, the immigration line. Now I’ll hope against hope that this issue will be fixed once the new integrated terminal comes up, but based on experiences of passengers at T3 in New Delhi, there are just not enough immigration counters or personnel to serve the peak demand both inbound and outbound. Wait times for the premium classes are 20~30 minutes and economy class from 45~60 minutes. I understand why most travellers from India are loathe to connect from domestic to international at hubs, especially Mumbai.

From this bottleneck, you are immediately funnelled into the next bottleneck -- the security check. Another 30 minutes, again thanks to a lack of adequate personnel. A lack of adequate English language knowledge and both the CISF end and many foreign non-English speaking passengers adds to the delays. These are issues the Ministry of Civil Aviation must address if they intend to succeed at hubs and improve tourism. The CISF too needs to explain why is it cannot provide adequate personnel and rendering such a poor service when it receives at least Rs. 130 per departing passenger.

I immediately headed to the Lufthansa Business Lounge opposite Gate 6, which was excellent (review to come soon).

Lufthansa LH765 Mumbai - Munich 

Around 1215, I left for the gate so that I would be able to board the plane early and get some unencumbered shots of Lufthansa’s new business class seat. Unfortunately, the boarding was on a remote gate and in-explicably there was no separate boarding for premium class/frequent flyer passengers versus economy class passengers.

Flight #1 LH765 BOM-MUC 0107-0555 Seat: 8K(business, aisle)- new business class product Aircraft: Airbus A330-300 (2-2-2 business configuration), 90% full.

I got onto the plane and managed to snap a few good shots of the business class seat before settling in. Immediately once we got into the air, the Lufthansa flight attendants immediately came around with hot towels, which were very useful given my state after running around Mumbai Airport.

Following this, they came around with a drink service along with some nuts, which while delicious, weren’t served warm as they are in some other business classes. Still, a meal followed in which I had an excellent Asian vegetarian palate, though the highlight was definitely the apple raisin pie for dessert, as well as the excellent bread basket. A hot dessert might have been in order, though this is just nitpicking.

Following this meal, I decided to check out the selection available in Lufthansa’s AVOD (Audio Video On Demand) in-flight entertainment system (IFE).

The content offering is sparse (especially in comparison to Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and even United). After some deliberation, I decided on the pilot for 2 Broke Girls on CBS (rapidly becoming one of my more favoured shows – for those that don’t know, I’m a TV savant – I regularly follow some 20-25 shows year round), followed by Battleship, an incredibly contrived big budget action film with gaping plot holes. Still, the impressive visuals from Battleship were pretty awesome on Lufthansa’s massive AVOD screen in the new business class.

I decided to test out the full extent of Lufthansa’s new lie-flat product. And I have to say that the seat passed with flying colours. Lufthansa has this fantastic seat control system which allows you to adjust every single aspect of your seat, including the firmness, and it was pretty awesome for someone like me, who is a bit of a quirky sleeper. I slept like a baby and it was pretty much the best business class seat I’ve ever been in (out of 15 airlines) from a sleep perspective. I managed to squeeze in around 5 hours of sleep before waking up to an excellent breakfast service that finished around 30 minutes before our touchdown on-time in Munich.

Conclusion - Great seat, fantastic bed, excellent cabin crew

As a whole I would judge the new Lufthansa business class product as excellent. This is not to say that there are no flaws. The AVOD IFE content offering is a bit sparse, though this would be mitigated once Flynet (inflight WiFi) is available. Of course the use of your own devices over WiFi becomes less relevant if they run out of battery 3 hours in, so I think it’s critical for Lufthansa to add proper in-seat power outlets and really take Flynet to its full potential, perhaps using the hybrid outlets that accept both US and European plugs.

Edit: A Lufthansa spokesperson informed me that Lufthansa does in fact offer vegetarian meals, so it must have been a communication error on my part that precluded me from getting a standard vegetarian meal.

However, these short-comings are more than overcome by the incredible seat and something that I’ve grown to consider a huge Lufthansa asset; their cabin crew. On my last five to six Lufthansa long-haul flights, I’ve had great flight attendants in both economy and business class. I later found out from Devesh, that Lufthansa has been training its cabin crew with its partner, Singapore Airlines, which is famous for its "Singapore Girl" cabin crew.

I observed the Lufthansa cabin crew always extremely professional and courteous, but they have this critical extra touch of care and attention. Throughout this trip, from Newark to Frankfurt to Bangalore and from Mumbai to Munich, what struck me was the care and attention the LH cabin crew devote to helping out elderly passengers with mundane inflight stuff; like getting up to go to the bathroom, and dealing with wheelchairs and baggage post-flight; something we younger passengers take for granted.

Kudos to Lufthansa’s flight attendants for their excellent service; like their counter-parts in Singapore Airlines, the cabin crew adds those critical extra touches to the overall experience, that makes the difference between good and great.

So overall, I’d rate this a solid 8.5/10, falling behind because of the limited in-flight entertainment content and the limited amenity kit (though the kit bag itself was awesome), and limited food options, but these short-comings may not matter as much to the corporate traveller to whom, rest and service is critical, and there the new business class seat would get a rating of 12 out of 10 if it were possible, and the cabin crew a solid 9.5/10.

It is, by far, the best business class product offered ex-Bangalore today.

All we can say in closing, competitors ........ look out.

Editor's note: Lufthansa commences its Bangalore Frankfurt Boeing 747-8i service later tonight. This is the same Business class found on this new aircraft. Vinay's economy seat was paid for. Thanks to Lufthansa for upgrading him to the Business class on the Mumbai Munich sector operated by an Airbus A330-300. Lufthansa is upgrading its A333 fleet to the same new business class as the B748i progressively.

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Indian airlines should implement United's 'flat tire' rule and put late-coming passengers on next flight

Photo copyright Weltenbummler. Licensed under CC.

It is a well known business fact, that satisfaction and trust are created when contracts are balanced. Yet, globally, airline ticket contracts are extremely one-sided in favour of airlines, especially when it comes to flight delays and cancellations. In India, while the aviation regulator DGCA has rules on facilities to be provided to a passenger in the event of a delay or cancellation of a flight, it also has a provision of "circumstances beyond an airline's control". With peak hour demands at major airports, outstripping runway capacity, the unfortunate reality, is, that airlines in India, do delay or cancel a reasonable number of flights. The almost universal reason given, is, "circumstances beyond our control".

Yet, if a passenger cannot reach the airport in time, due to reasons beyond their control, a traffic jam, a procession, an accident, or even a tyre puncture, they stand to lose the entire ticket cost, due to being a "no-show". The fear of this loss results in late passengers risking their life and limb, along with those of fellow road users, in a crazed rush to the airport, or even the few ultra-stupid ones who decide to call in a bomb-threat.

Why this double standard? If an airline can have its flight delayed by "ATC delays" (read air or airport traffic jam), then why cannot a passenger be held up by road traffic jam? Both situations are unintentional, caused by "circumstances beyond control". In the world's largest democracy, what is stopping us from practicing this fundamental tenet of equality? This thought has been vexing me for many years.

I am not advocating a blanket refund policy for "no-shows". Such a policy would be instantly abused into oblivion, and will be unfair to airlines. However, there surely must be some middle ground?

The solution comes from United Airlines via consumer rights activist Christopher Elliot's article. It is called the 'flat tire' (tyre puncture) rule.

In essence the rule says, if you have a flat tire on your way to the airport, or are otherwise delayed because of circumstances beyond your control, United will put you on the wait-list for the NEXT flight to your destination at no extra charge. Yes, no extra charges!! No change fee, no fare differential, no "no-show" fee, nothing. If there is a spare seat of the next flight, after clearing that flight's confirmed and previously wait-listed passengers, United will put you on that flight.

To qualify for the 'flat tire' rule, the passenger must arrive at the airport within two hours of the original scheduled departure.

It is an ethical policy that treats the customer with fairness and a modicum of humanity. By accepting the fact the passenger was delayed by uncontrollable circumstances, over a period of time, customers to will reciprocate that acceptance of delays by the airline.

Will such a policy be beneficial for the aviation industry in India? Yes. Is it required? Again Yes.

When faced with doubts and questions, Rotarians apply the "Four-Way Test" asking these questions :

• Is it the TRUTH?
• Is it FAIR to all concerned?
• Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
• Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

United's 'flat tire' rule meets the test in all ways.

• The rule is based on trust and truthfulness between the passenger and airline.
• It creates a level of equality in the contract, which makes it fair to both, the passenger and the airline.
• By putting the passenger on a wait-list for the next flight, the airline is not losing any money, while by accepting the customer on his/her word it builds goodwill for the airline and improves customer loyalty (friendship).
• This creates a beneficial win-win-win situation for the passenger, the airline, and those on the road, who lives are not risked in the mad dash to the airport.

Is there a potential for abuse if such a rule is offered in India? Sure there is. Any privilege can be abused, and not just in India.

One must ask these questions though. In today's hectic schedule driven world, would a passenger knowingly disrupt their schedule? It is important to note, the rule can call for the airline to put the passenger on the wait-list for the next flight, not some flight in the future, and it does not guarantee a seat on the next flight. If the next flight is full or the passenger cannot be accommodated, then he/she gets wait-listed on the next flight after that. The passenger has to be present at the counter when the waiting-list of each flight is cleared. Will a passenger knowingly be late and want to endure such uncertainty? I doubt it.

What are your thoughts? Share them via a comment.

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Opinion: Travel agents to charge service fee. A smart move, but they will have to earn it.

As domestic full service carriers like Air India and Jet Airways are cutting back on their commissions, travel agents in India have decided to charge a service charge of Rs 225 from July 16 on tickets of full service carriers, issued by them.

In this age of skyrocketing expenses, airlines are desperately trying to curtail costs. Ticket distribution and sales is a major portion. As per its annual report, Jet Airways indicates ticket distribution and sales costs are Rs. 1,261 crore (Rs. 1.25 billion) or about 10% of its annual expenditure. Air India is estimated to spend about Rs. 1,000 crore or 6%.

Full service domestic carriers have been paying travel agents 3% commission. Many international carriers like Air France-KLM, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Lufthansa pay none, while Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, Gulf Air and Sri Lankan Airlines pay from 1% to 5%, but even these airlines are heading towards the zero commission regime.

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Customers are increasingly demanding better value for their money spent. In these hard economic times, my customers are demanding that I cut costs, improve service, and be available to them when they need me. In return I am guaranteed only an opportunity to do business, not the business itself.

Travel agents cannot depend on their age old defence that they are entitled to a commission on tickets they sell.

Any entity in business or service, survives only on the value they add in the supply chain. The day someone or something else improves the value chain, existing links will be re-aligned. Who amongst us, dear readers, will not welcome a 3% reduction in airfare in lieu of the commission airlines pay the agents?

Over the years, technology has caught up with the agents. Today, customers are perusing the internet and obtaining the best value for their money. For a routine trip with minimal support services the internet is convenient. However, travel if anything, is not routine. For long I have propagated, that travel agents must start earning their incomes and not remain air-ticket churning machines, who are being easily replaceded by an internet search engine.

Travel agents in India will be well advised to read what my friend, Brett Synder, The Cranky Flier offers -- a travel concierge. They need to start offering genuine help services to their customers when their customers need it, and wherever they need it.

A dear friend, who also happens to be a dynamic travel agent, gave up many corporate clients who were non-remunerative and has started offering improved and diversified, travel related services, to individuals willing to pay it, and is thriving. I am waiting for him to take it up a notch and become a true travel concierge.

The imposition of the Rs. 225 service fee is a smart move by the travel agent fraternity in India. It is along the model followed in most parts of the world and afford customers the choice of paying the agent, or going directly online to the airlines' websites.

One has to gauge the impact on online travel agents (OTAs) like Travelocity, MakeMyTrip, Yatra and others, who will need to work very hard to differentiate themselves, given the fact that they use, and therefore offer, a very similar front end to airline websites, complete with the restrictions, like for example on complex routings etc.

For these types of tickets passengers would be well advised to go to their friendly neighbourhood agent.

Share your thoughts on the travel agents' commissions, their future, and what they need to be doing. Post a comment.

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Virgin America to take delivery of 6 A320s in the first half of 2012 (and other news)

Late last week, San Francisco based Virgin America announced their latest destination, Philadelphia, which will be served from Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Flights will begin in April with two daily flights from LA and one from San Francisco, and will increase to 3 and two daily flights respectively.

Schedules for the new routes are as follow: (via airlineroute)

Los Angeles – Philadelphia

VX124 LAX1055 – 1900PHL 320 Daily
VX126 LAX1540 – 2355PHL 320 Daily
VX130 LAX2135 – 0545+1PHL 320 Daily

VX121 PHL0700 – 0955LAX 320 Daily
VX125 PHL1125 – 1425LAX 320 Daily
VX127 PHL2005 – 2255LAX 320 Daily

San Francisco – Philadelphia

VX136 SFO0830 – 1655PHL 320 Daily
VX144 SFO2300 – 0725+1PHL 320 Daily

VX137 PHL0835 – 1155SFO 320 Daily
VX141 PHL1750 – 2110SFO 320 Daily

The routes will be operating from common usage gates in Philadelphia's terminal E.

We spoke with Virgin America's media team regarding the new route and some other occurrences at the airline.

Last year, Virgin America CEO David Cush told me in an interview that their A320s occasionally struggle to make East Coast- West Coast (US) flights nonstop, necessitating the A319s in their fleet. Thus I was surprised to see that Philadelphia was scheduled to be served solely with Airbus A320s. However, Virgin America spokesperson Abby Lunardini stated that there were "No restrictions for PHL, so right now [the flight is] operating on 320s." However, it remains to be seen whether or not the A320s will make this route all the time next winter, and Lunardini did mention that, " as with other East Coast routes, we [can] operate a mix of A319s and A320s on the route depending on time of year flying."

I was also interested to ask about Virgin America's growth plans. Since its inception in 2007, Virgin America has been the fastest growing US airline, with annual capacity increases hovering around 30%. A figure in the ballpark of 30% for Virgin America was quoted in 2011 by Aviation Week, however, the carrier will be taking delivery of six A320s in the first half of 2012 – which will be the total number of aircraft that they take new delivery of this year. 6 new planes would likely necessitate increased utilization of current aircraft to meet capacity targets. Virgin America neglected to provide specific capacity guidance for 2012.

Virgin America had a few teething problems problems with their reservation systems earlier this month, after switching from an upstart reservations system back to industry leader Sabre. We expect this move to improve their visibility amongst business travelers. However, the switch did result in a few customer service issues for Virgin America passengers; with reduced website functionality and unsatisfactory call center performance.

To their credit, Virgin America owned up to the issues when questioned, and they believe that the worst of the problems are now behind them.

Here is what Lunardini had to say on the issue of the reservation systems:

Yes, the overwhelming majority of web issues have been resolved – and bookings are operating normally. By way of further background,reservations systems switches of this scale are a once in a lifetime event for an airline, involving the knife-edge migration of millions of records during live operations. Prior to the switch, we additionally staffed our operation, thinned our flight schedules and communicated to guests in advance about the potential impacts. Although our airports ran on time and without related cancellations, as an airline that prides itself on its guest service –we never like to see guests inconvenienced for any reason, including the web errors a sub-set of guests were encountering (ability to change/cancel online,check-in, view Elevate points and other web services) as well as unacceptably long call hold times. We apologized to impacted guests and offered 5000 Elevate points for those guests most impacted.

We made the switch to Sabre because of our growth. We needed to move to an industry standard system that would accommodate our growth, allow us to expand our code-share/interline ability and give guests and teammates better tools.

All told, some interesting news from San Francisco. Readers, do you have a question or thought about Virgin America? Please do let us know via a comment below.

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VIDEOS: The new Southwest Airlines cabin

On Tuesday, Southwest Airlines announced a series of changes to its interior, including the addition of 6 seats to their 737-700 aircraft and a reduction in seat pitch offset by a decrease in recline.

The new cabin also features, "recyclable carpet, a brighter color-scheme, and a more durable, eco-friendly, and comfortable low-profile seat that weighs less than the current seat."

All 372 of the airline's 737-700 aircraft will be retrofitted with the "Evolve" interior beginning in March 2012. Completion is targeted for 2013, and the interior will also be fitted onto the 737-800s which will begin to arrive on property this year, as well as on the carrier's plethora of 737 MAX aircraft which are tentatively scheduled for delivery starting in 2017.

The following video is a time-lapse of the first Southwest 737 to be retrofitted.



Read below for the full details of the new cabin.

The Evolution of the New Cabin Interior Improves Customer Experience and Preserves Personal Space

With a continued focus on Customer comfort, Evolve: The New Southwest Interior retrofit enhances the Customer Experience:

• Modern Cabin Design: The new design incorporates natural, earthy tones combined with Southwest's iconic Canyon blue and clean, aluminum accents for a more modern, fresh appeal. The redesign is inspired by Southwest's past with a nod to the future.
• Lighter and More Comfortable Seat: The redesigned low-profile seat is more durable, made of eco-friendly products, is lighter, and more comfortable.
• Increased Under-Seat Space: The new design allows for more under-seat room for carryon luggage and approved pet carriers.
• Customer Living Space: Reducing the recline from three inches to two inches preserves onboard personal living space while still allowing for ample seat adjustment for Customer comfort.
• Seatback pockets: The new netted seatback pockets are streamlined to provide more knee room.
• Headrest: The fixed-wing headrest provides better neck and head alignment with side-to-side support for sleeping.
• Improved Ergonomics: The combination of the low-profile cushion and fixed wing headrest improves ergonomics by positioning Customers "down and back" into the seat, allowing for better lumbar support, armrest alignment, and increased personal living space.

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Menzies Aviation erodes Lufthansa's passenger service quality at London Heathrow

In December last year I was a guest of Lufthansa and Fraport for a visit to the Frankfurt airport and Lufthansa world headquarters.

Having travelled from Bangalore till Frankfurt, I decided to visit my brother in London after the visit, and would return via Munich to Delhi.

Throughout the trip the on-board service was excellent in both business class (between India and Germany) as well as economy class (between Germany and London). I am spoilt, having flown a million miles on fellow Star Alliance carrier Singapore Airlines with its legendary cabin service standards, and even by these high standards, the Lufthansa cabin crew were good. They were polite, courteous and gracious, and at the same time very professional, and very efficient. Hat tip ladies.

The ground service at Bangalore and Munich airports were exemplary. Frankfurt airport left a little to be desired, but I would put it down to a severe over-crowding and terminal upgrades, more than anything else.

At London Heathrow, where Lufthansa has outsourced its entire ground handling including passenger check-in to Menzies Aviation, I had such a negative experience that all the pleasant memories of the trip were eroded to naught.

The Menzies Aviation personnel could not care less for a Lufthansa passenger, projecting a sullen and completely unhelpful attitude to the point of being rude, even in business class. They follow the rule book to the point of destroying customer experience, and the way they chase every penny of incremental revenue, like over-weight charges, one would think they are paid on commission.

Add to this a lack of adequate staff across all desks from ticketing, to commercial to check-in to boarding, leaves passengers frustrated, disgruntled and downright angry, long before they get on the flight, and also misutilises the few Lufthansa employees at the airport into performing jobs that are actually a Menzies responsibility.

I really felt for the Lufthansa cabin crew ex-Heathrow. They received the brunt of all the negative feelings built up thanks to the poor ground experience which are a result of an outsourced process.

I can fully understand an airline's need to reduce cost, but at what cost? Is Lufthansa saving money if it looses customer satisfaction and brand loyalty in return?

One can only hope someone of influence in Lufthansa reads this article and decides to do a savings vs. loss analysis on their decision to use Menzies Aviation.

I drew parallels with the on-going battle in India about unified outsourced ground handling. The ministry of civil aviation, supported by airport operators and ground handling companies, is trying to force domestic airlines in India to use ground handling companies instead of performing self-handling. Co-incidentally, Menzies has a significant presence in ground and cargo handling operations in India.

Domestic airlines are opposed to the demand of the ministry, since it is requiring inclusion of passenger facing duties like check-in, to be outsourced. The check-in process is a crucial builder or destroyer of the passenger experience. Airlines reward frequent flier brand loyalty with improved ground experiences be it checking-in at a separate or premium class desk or access to lounges, etc.

May be domestic airlines should consider making an example of how Menzies Aviation completely erodes the Lufthansa passenger experience at London along with the airline's brand perception, as a case-in-point to the ministry.

I for one will not fly Lufthansa to London Heathrow as long as Menzies Aviation handles any customer facing task for Lufthansa, nor will I recommend any Bangalore Aviation reader to do so.

Clarification: My travel from Frankfurt to London to Munich were paid for by me. Furthermore, my code of ethics requires me to inform Bangalore Aviation readers with an accurate opinion, especially if negative, even on a sponsored trip.

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