Travel and Fun: October 2008

Assumptions:
1. You are an Indian
2. You are flying economy :-)

It happens quite so many times that people get a last minute information that they are flying and the travel desk just sends them a ticket and poor we just take the flight what was provided. However many companies do give us a lot of options and there are many things that need one's attention when booking a flight. Something which I have experienced :-) thus writing

Connectivity:
Yes, this is priority. As most of the times we may miss the connecting flight and fall into serious trouble. Then it becomes important that you have options to fly to your destination rather than just getting stuck in an alien place. When I was traveling on Air France, the flight to Paris landed an hour late which left me only 45 minutes to run and catch my connecting flight to Houston. Which if I miss then there is no flight till next day morning. Imagine what would I have done in Paris airport for another 24 hours???

However I missed connecting flights couple of times when traveling on British Airways, but never had any problem as the number of flights to destinations in US are enormous.

One more thing to check in connectivity is, they should also have tie up with the local airlines at your destination, neither, due to your continuous delay, you will not be able to fly your local flight as most of them do not reschedule or cancel. Example would be OneWorldAlliance where British and American airlines are members. So, if you missed your American airlines domestic because of British, they would certainly take enough care to see that you are on the next best flight available.

Connecting Point:
Whats there about this??? This is the most important one. Let me start with an example. As told earlier, my flight arrived late at Paris. I was in a hurry to catch a bus to go to the other terminal to get onto my flight to Houston. No sign boards, people don't speak English, you ask for help they are rude. After a hassle I get to the next terminal. The lady who has to check my passport and boarding pass and send me in, says "bonjour". I tell her I don't understand French and she still keeps saying the same thing. After a while I had to explain her that I hardly have few minutes for my next flight then she explains that its "good day" in French. Was it necessary???

Also if you see Airports are very confusing, especially Paris, which may get you lost. Travelling via a small airport is far better and happy as your hassles of changing flights are brought down to a bare minimum.

Another thing to check would be if you can really have some decent food at the connecting airport, cos if you have missed your flight you are bound to miss your meal preference too.

Luggage Handling:
I still wonder why I am unable to place it at the first. However realtime troubles start once you land at your destination and you don't get your luggage. Just imagine you are traveling to a freezing place like Salt Lake City and luggage which contains your warm clothing was missing. Horrible is the only word one can use.

So couple of things to consider are
1. Whats the carrier's reputation when it comes to Luggage Handling?
2. If unfortunately your baggage is missed then how quickly and properly can you claim the refund?

British has great reputation - 50% of the time you are bound to lose luggage. However, they compensate you very quickly and also help you personally. What I mean was, I missed my baggage which was having all my warm clothing. The land staff took me to a room where they had unclaimed items like jackets etc and offered me to take one as I was traveling further to a very cold place.

Food they Serve:
This item may be pertinent to either gourmets or Indian Vegetarians. May be even gourmets can adjust while flying but an Indian Vegetarian is the ultimate sufferer when they either order wrongly or miss their preference.

Suggestion guys, no one can match the quality and taste of vegetarian food that is offered on British Airways. However if you missed your flight then your Asian Veg meal is on the other flight and for sure you have to starve.

So common suggestion is, keep a cheese pizza or some apples/fruit or croissants in your bag. Don't forget to carry eatables with you when you fly. Ofcourse you may not be allowed to carry curd rice or pickles :-)

Courtesy of the staff:
I missed my connection once and my Asian veg order went for a toss. However the crew brought me an apple which was part of their meal. How nice ...

Classes they provide and their reviews:
Kindly read reviews about the classes of travel an airline provides. Some give you a better class than economy for a very little difference in price.

Seat comfort:
A few have 8 seats in a row and few have 9. Air France is comforatble. British is Ok. Lufthansa is pathetic. Also, try to find rows in the front as you can embark or disembark faster.

Tip: Take Emergency exit seats if you are not flying for the first time in that route. Emergency exit seats have lot of space in front and you can stretch your legs. However you may not have a good window view.

Ground Handling:
May not be of much significance however its better to know if you can find helpdesks etc quickly and if they can support you anytime for all your problems. This becomes important when you miss your connection. You need to talk to someone.

An Example: I was traveling back home via Chicago - NewYork - London. My flight to NewYork got cancelled due to bad weather. However I already did a e-checkin to my London flight. Now no one knows how to release the seat from that aircraft and then check me in for a London flight from Chicago. Luckily guys took the initiative to pull the information and then also get my luggage re-routed to this flight.

So, these are the few tips which I could provide. Have a safe trip.