International flights cheaper than Indian domestic flights

Here's a guest post, compiled by friend and Airlineblog reader Dr. Anuj Budhkar, Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering Department, IIEST, Shibpur, Kolkata. If you wish to contribute, guest post guidelines here.- Shrinidhi

In this article I would discuss some foreign tours which would be actually cheaper than domestic organized tours within India. I will skip our neighbors since one can also visit them with a land border crossing(except China). India is well-connected to certain cities of Middle east (Dubai, Sharjah, Muscat, Kuwait) and a return under 15k is not unusual. I will not be discussing cities in middle east in this article. Considering a decent travel budget of ₹ 1 lakh for two people, and a target airfare of less than 30k for one person at the time of writing this article, one can explore the following.

SOUTH EAST ASIA

India is also well-connected with budget airlines to most countries of SE Asia.

1.     Bhubaneshwar - Kuala Lumpur/ Singapore in ₹7k return: There is an AirAsia flight (AK 30/31) departing/ arriving at midnight, from Bhubaneswar to Kuala Lumpur, in about an average 8k return fare from BBI, and I have heard of discount fares of about 5k return too.

2.      Kolkata- Hanoi within ₹11k return: Recently started Indigo nonstop flight, you can get a return trip to Vietnam for about ₹ 10k ex-Kolkata. If you are planning a visit to Laos, the land transfer from Hue is preferred. A Vietnamese visa can be obtained from respective embassies in about ₹  3-4k. Within Vietnam, flights are very cheap, sometimes less than ₹ 1000. My personal experience says that Vietnam is about 1.25-1.5 times costlier than India. You can avail air travel and lodging at cheaper rates, however food is costlier than India. [Related: Vietnam Visa * Vietnam on Budget * Other Vietnam posts]

3.      Kolkata-Bangkok within ₹6k return: With AirAsia discount fares, Kolkata-Bangkok can be as low as 5k return, with 6.5k return being the usual average fare. This is even cheaper than Kolkata to Mumbai, Port Blair or Bengaluru. Surprisingly, Kolkata- Yangon via Kolkata-Bangkok flight and land transfer seems cheaper than a direct Kolkata-Yangon flight (also operated by Indigo). However, I find that Thailand visa regulations are not too friendly for visitors. Inter-thai travel experience and cost are at par with India.

4.      Indonesia: One can easily find fares to Jakarta or Denpasar (for Bali) both under ₹ 18k, operated by AirAsia. 

5.      Philippines:Chennai- Cebu city (Philippines) in ₹ 21.5k by Scoot (Also, Mumbai-Cebu city in about the same rate in March 2020 by Singapore Airlines and Silkair combo).

6.      The infamous Lion Air also provides a 12k return fare to Singapore ex-Mumbai.

CENTRAL ASIA

The leading budget air journeys to Central Asia are from Delhi. Prominent among them include Air Astana and Uzbek Air. A traveler can consider the following-

1.      Amritsar- Tashkent in about 22k return on some days: UzbekAir operates an old route, Tashkent-Delhi and Tashkent Amritsar frequented by Indian students studying in Uzbekistan. They recently also begun a Tashkent-Mumbai weekly flight with a return fare of about ₹35k.

2.      One may also remember that Uzbekistan offers VISA-FREE TRANSIT for Indians up to a stay of five days, provided the return is via UzbekAir only. (Official website of UZ air is https://uzbekistanairways.uk.com)

3.     Air Astana provides comparatively cheaper airfares from Delhi to many destinations such as Tashkent (₹ 13k)  , Bishkek(₹14k), Moscow (₹13k in December), all transiting through Almaty, but Delhi-Almaty fare is almost always higher than any of these.

4.     Typical travel plan: Air Astana’s Delhi-Bishkek, travel in Kyrgyzstan, Border crossing to Astana (half day), Visiting few places in Astana and catching a train to Tashkent, to return back to Delhi/ Amritsar by Uzbekair. For a two-person budget trip, this itinerary is possible within ₹  1 lakh. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have a lot to offer, and travel within Uzbekistan is convenient with the recently started high speed trains.

5.      Turkey is an amazing destination covered by Nonstop flights such as Flynas (one-way under ₹  13k), Indigo (return ₹ 25k), or combination of others. Places within Turkey are accessible by train – Istanbul, Pamukkale and Cappadoche combination is a 6-day visit ex-Delhi.

6.      A return fare to Teheran is possible under 25k either from Delhi or Mumbai. However I have been informed that Iranian visa is difficult to obtain, and understanding Iranian currency is even more difficult. By the way, an international train operates from Istanbul to Teheran and takes about 24 hours. Related: Oman Air Tehran Mistake fare

DESTINATIONS IN CHINA AND EASTERN ASIA

Eastern Asia offers limited option to travelers within ₹ 30k return.

1.      Indigo now operates non-stop flight from Delhi-Chengdu, a properly planned trip will cost less than ₹ 15k for airfare (Also available during Christmas season-19-25 Dec). Chengdu and Chongquing are one of my dream destinations- they offer a lot to visitors, including panda breeding centers, mountains, large cities within mountains and monorails driving through them, river cruises etc.

2.      Indigo also operates Kolkata-Guangzhou (₹ 16k return for 6-15 Dec), Hongkong (₹ 20k return).

3.      The old flight of Kolkata-Kunming operated by China eastern now costs a penny more (about ₹  23k return). Distances within China are traversable easily by trains or HSR, the former being very economical and the prices comparable to second AC class of Indian Railways.

4.      There is a Chennai-Shanghai flight by Srilankan air available within ₹ 25k. [More details]

5.      Kolkata-Tokyo (Narita) in about ₹ 27k return (FD121/ XJ606). The Japanese visa costs just about 600 Rupees, so it is not a bad deal. ANA air is coming, so be surprised for non-stop fares costing less than ₹ 25k ex-Delhi and Chennai.

6.      Korea is still difficult to access under return fare of ₹ 30k. The best one can do is change planes at Bangkok or Hanoi, provided the airlines do not charge extra for check-in luggage.

DESTINATIONS IN AFRICA AND NEIGHBORS

1.      Egypt, Israel, Jordan etc: the budget airlines of Saudi Arabia comes rescue for travelers from Delhi exploring the middle east- for instance, Delhi-Cairo of Flynas is available for a return fare of ₹ 21k. Egypt is cheap country even by Indian standards, and one may explore oases as a two-day trip ex-Cairo, take a ferry to Saudi Arabia (Jeddah), Jordan (yes, there is an Egypt-Jordan ferry) or cross to Israel- perhaps the costliest country in the middle east. Air India operates the sole (non-stop) flight to Israel which crosses Saudi airspace.

2.      Mumbai-Seychelles (via 22 hr transit in Addis Ababa) in about 21k return. (Two countries of Africa in one go). For further information, you can refer this blog article.

3.      Other destinations in Africa dig slightly deep in the pocket- the cheapest ones include to Nairobi, Kigali or Johannesburg (return about ₹ 32k).

So any excuse not to book?

What do you know about Minar Airways?

Minar Group had a stall at GITM 2019 in Goa.  What caught my eye was the display that they have an airline. I wanted to talk to them but someone else was discussing things with the staff there, so I had to move on. I thought I can check online later.

But while Minar Group's website is active, their airline website, minarairways.com is not. It is showing "We'll be back soon" message. So not sure what kind of aircrafts they have, where they fly to and so on. Minar Group's website doesn't say anything about their airline business except some generic lines and link to minarairways.com which isn't functional. Group seems to be into holiday packages, event management etc, but my interest was in the airways.

Do you know anything about Minar Airways? I will try to check after a few weeks to see if their website is back.

Bus to city from Goa Airport-Public Transport Options

How to reach Goa city for cheap from Goa airport?

If you're landing in Goa, taking a taxi to Panjim or other parts of city can cost you more than your flight ticket. Prepaid Taxi fare from Airport to city is in thousands of rupees, not hundreds. Panjim is 1000 INR, Calangute and other far off places is 1200-1500 or more. There is an app based taxi- Goa Miles now, which is supposed to be cheaper and reasonable, but general complaint is that their availability is very poor and wait time is high.

Why not public transport? Is there a bus to city we can take from Goa Airport?
The answer is YES, it is possible to reach your destination in Goa using public transport for one hundredth of a taxi fare. This post explains how.

Public transport Buses will NOT be entering Airport arrival or departure area of Goa airport. In order to catch a bus, you will have to walk for about 500 meters out of airport campus. Once you're out on the main junction, you need to look for a bus that can take you closer to your final destination.

It is very unlikely that you will get a non stop bus to your final destination. Best bet is to reach a town/spot enroute and then make some other arrangement for final leg. For this, depending on where you want to go, identify if your destination is closer to popular hubs like Panaji (Panjim), Margao (Madagaon) etc. Try to get a bus to these hubs and from this hub try to get another bus to your final destination or avail a taxi/auto at much lesser fare than what you would have paid at airport.

Both private and govt buses (Kadamba) operate to Goa Airport. But be advised- there's no designated bus shelter, no information display about next bus, timing, destination etc and it is very hard to plan on this. You've to figure out things from the roadside, asking people, speaking to bus conductors. Google maps will help to some extent but don't count 100% on the reliability because bus operators may not stick to pre-defined timings.

Ticket fare will be Rs 10 onwards depending on distance. That is easily 99% savings over taxi fare- very ideal if you're traveling light, on budget and game for some exploration. Be advised the buses may not have facility to handle your big check-in bags. Bus frequency is good during day time. You are very likely to get a bus within 15-20 minutes towards your destination, but frequency is poor during night time.

Similar: Cheapest way to reach city from Hyderabad airport * Cheapest way to reach city from Mangalore (Bajpe) airport * 

Two African Cities for 21k-Mumbai-Seychelles on Ethiopian

There's a low fare ticket available from Mumbai to Seychelles on Ethiopian airlines.

For immediate travel (November 2019), return ticket from BOM to SEZ for select dates cost about 21k INR.

This low fare is for a particular flight timing that has lots of transit time in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian's hub. You get about half a day during onward journey and a full day on return journey.

Both Seychelles and Ethiopia offer visa on arrival for Indians, so there's no visa hassle . (Ethiopia gives Visa on Arrival but for a fee- 40 USD I am told, Seychelles, free). You can plan such that about a week in Seychelles and a day n half in Addis Ababa.

So what are you waiting for?

Note that checked bag not included in this price of 21k (Check-in Bags for the journey costs 16k extra, only 7 kg cabin bag included). Ethiopian also gives a 24 hours hold on the fare- you can pay within that time to confirm. Good option if you wish to take some time to decide.

Other itineraries with shorter connection time cost a lot more. Use this to your advantage and explore two countries in one trip. Low fares are available for some dates in 2020 as well, do check on airline website.

Information Tip off by Anuj Bhudkar

ANA Japan yet to get approval for Chennai-Tokyo flight?

October 28 Update: Flightradar24 shows NH826 successfully flew between Chennai and Tokyo. So we can assume everything is in order, may be just the website was not updated w.r.t approval message. Below post is irrelevant now.

-------------------- Original Post ----------------------------
It was late July 2019 that ANA Japan announced Chennai-Tokyo NRT direct flight. I had originally written about it here.

The first flight is one week away- service is scheduled to begin from October 27th.

But there still seems to be a hitch. ANA official website still shows "Subject to Government Approval"

Did you notice spelling mistake in the red message?

I can understand this message early August when booking opened. But 2 months later, one week to go for first flight, are there still any issues? At least we can appreciate ANA for being honest. Other airlines may not so voluntarily disclose it and cancel flights last minute.

May be they got the approval but didn't update the website?

May be they are on track and fairly confident of getting pending approvals in a week?

May be there could be a delay in first flight if approvals don't come in on time? In that case those who booked will have to take a refund or reschedule their trip.

Hopefully everything will be in order just in time. If not, we will know in a week's time.

Meanwhile Srilankan has dropped its Chennai-Colombo-Tokyo Narita One stop flight fares to match ANAs. So your next best option if direct flight isn't working out.

Have you booked your ticket to Japan?

Fly to London cheaper now!

CNN has reported here that from various cities around the world, flight fares to London is a lot cheaper right now, compared to what it has been so far at this time of the year.

 
If London has been on your radar, might be a good gamble to take the chance and book your ticket. Gamble is because of BREXIT uncertainty- there is a risk of no deal BREXIT which could increase immigration time at airports and affect daily life to some extent. This uncertainty is forcing people to put off their UK visit plans and that is the reason for drop in ticket prices. More on Brexit here

India to London fares I have not seen any drastic drop. You will get a return ticket for around 40k INR from major cities now,even for November/December 2019 travel. I think it is good fare for last minute travel as fares usually shoot up during year end. I flew for 35k return last month on Qatar. But fares from other cities like New York, Hong Kong, Boston etc to London has fallen sharply as per earlier said CNN report. (These are the cities that send lots of business travelers to London). So do your assessment and take a call. If you find the fare worth, if you can travel (visa takes a month) in near future and if London has always been on your radar, this could be the opportunity.

Fly to Jaffna Airport, Srilanka- What we know so far!

Earlier this week there was a news of Air India Subsidiary Alliance Air running a trial flight to Jaffna Airport in Srilanka. [News on TNM]. I saw the news but there was not much practical info about flight schedule, fare etc. Air India website wasn't evening showing Jaffna airport code (JAF). So I decided to wait for a few days and see if there'll be any new development- but there has been none.

So writing this post to compile information available so far and my thoughts.

History: Jaffna is in the northern tip of Srilanka. The airport here was second only to Colombo and was in existence since long time ago. Media reports state that there were flights between India and Jaffna in the 60s and 70s. But when the Srilankan civil war broke, LTTE took control of most of the territory in the northern Srilanka, the Jaffna airport was closed for civilian flights. Srilankan airforce maintained control over the airfield and used for military purposes since then.

Since end of LTTE, Jaffna airport was open for domestic flights. But there were no scheduled flights as per my knowledge- neither national airline Srilankan operated any flights, nor the charter/regional operator Cinnamon Air. Read about my post on Srilankan domestic flights. Only charter flights could be booked to Jaffna- if you have money to pay for entire flight that is.

Now, after 40-50 years, the Jaffna airport has been readied for International civilian flights again and Srilankan tourism would hope more flights and more tourists to the country via this airport.

While Air India subsidiary Alliance Air flew an ATR to Jaffna from Chennai, there're no details about the service- what would be the fare, from when the flights will start and so on. As of now, neither Air India website, nor Srilankan's website recognize Jaffna, JAF or Palaly airport. Essentially they've not added the airport code to their database yet. Nothing in media section, no mailers were sent to loyalty members about new flight- so my guess is the test flight this week was just a courtesy one and other decisions are yet to be made and details are yet to be worked out.

What should be the flight fare between Jaffna and Chennai?
Chennai to Colombo return fare costs around INR 8000+ at the minimum. (during sales, low demand times) and around 10 to 12k during normal times. During Indigo/Srilankan sales you can book for about Rs 3500 for Chennai-Colombo, about 5500 or so for the return (due to higher airport taxes I guess)- round trip ranging between 8k to 9k. Jaffna being closer to Chennai and expectedly cheaper in terms of airport fees, fares should be cheaper than what it costs to fly to Colombo.

Thus I think a round trip fare of about INR 5000-5500 between Chennai and Jaffna will be very tempting. I would book a trip right away just like that to experience Jaffna. But we don't know how Air India's pricing managers think. They will probably think "We are the only airline flying to Jaffna- those who want to reach Jaffna otherwise have to fly to Colombo, take a train/taxi etc, so let us make money by pricing Jaffna ticket higher than Colombo". Even this is a possibility- might work for businessmen or locals who have a compulsion to travel but will be a dampener for tourists. So if return ticket costs more than 8000-9000 INR then I won't have a motive to book right away. Will wait and watch.

Any international trip from India costs 7000-8000 INR minimum for a round trip. (Delhi-Kathmandu, Kolkata-Dhaka, Kochi-Male, Chennai-DMK/KUL etc). If Air India-Alliance Air can price Chennai-Jaffna cheaper- at under 6000 INR return, then it will most likely be the cheapest international flights Indians can ever book. Let us wait and see.

Also since Srilankan Govt will be trying to promote Jaffna, airlines might be able to negotiate some sort of subsidy or concession initially and keep the ticket price lower.

Another thing to watch out for is the ex-Srilanka fare for coming back. If Colombo-Chennai costs 6000 INR and Jaffna-Chennai costs say 3000 INR, you can save money by entering via Colombo, explore and return via Jaffna.

Just one ATR flight is not good enough to sustain an international airport. But it is a start for sure. For taxi/tour operators, hotel operators to invest we will need few more flights to Jaffna. Srilankan should look at running couple of daily flights between Colombo and Jaffna, may be a few weekly flights to various Indian cities (Tuticorin, Coimbatore, Delhi etc) from Jaffna. Cinnamon air can be convinced to operated scheduled flights. If demand can be established, Indigo, Spicejet will be more than happy to add a few flights. All these will take a few months if at all. Let us wait and see.

What to do after reaching Jaffna? What to see?
You can plan a trip to Northern Srilanka ex-Jaffna. Sigiriya is about 300 kms/6-7 hours by road. Trincomalee is 250 kms. There're many national parks, forests in northern Srilanka not explored much by tourists. Mannar Island is some 150 kms from Jaffna (Mannar is the closest point to India- some 30 kms from Dhanushkodi- Ram Sethu reportedly connected India to Srilanka at these points). Thus using public transport or taxi, one can plan 4-5 day trip around Northern Srilanka ex-Jaffna easily. Longer if you wish, by visiting further down south.

Overnight stay can be planned in bigger towns like Jaffna, Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, Trinconmalee etc

Jaffna Airport is 16 kms from city. Details about public transport are not known yet. Hopefully affordable transport options will be provided once flights commence. More about Jaffna Airport on Wikipedia

What are your thoughts? Are you excited? Will you book if return ticket is priced attractively? (under INR 6000 or less). As of now Srilanka is offering free visa on arrival for Indians.

Oct 27 Update: No change in status in past one week. No new updates

China Calling! Delhi to Beijing & Shanghai 20k return!

If China is on your mind, there're some cheap tickets for immediate travel.

Srilankan has ticket to Beijing from Delhi for about 20k, which is a good deal given meals and baggage is included, even though the flight route is kind of odd- going all the way down to Colombo for 3 hours and then flying 6.5 hours north to PEK.

 Use Srilankan airline's official website to see monthly fare chart to locate cheapest onward and return combination. No convenience fee on Srilankan unlike MMT.

I visited Beijing last year November end on Srilankan from Chennai for a fare 20040 INR. Detailed trip experience here. China Visa costs about a week and 7000 INR- details here.

Beijing will be a bit cold in November, but manageable. Avoid late December till Feb.

Beijing has also unveiled a new world's biggest airport recently. Need to wait till airlines plan flights to this airport.

Read all you need to know about China visit on this post.

Srilankan also flies to Shanghai PVG. Return ticket is available for similar fare to Shanghai as well. Might be good idea to enter via PEK (Beijing), return via PVG (Shanghai)

Srilankan flies to many other cities in India- Mumbai, Chennai, BLR, Coimbatore, Kochi etc. But for few other cities I checked, I didn't find similar low fare tickets (20k range)- but you can try for your city and dates and let me know if you spot anything super cheap.

Low fare tip-off by Amar Singh Solanki of Lily Holidays and Travel Planner.
https://www.facebook.com/lilyholidays/

Ethiopian drops BLR-Addis Ababa fare by 35%

Ethiopian had announced direct flight between Bengaluru and Addis Ababa in July. I had written earlier that Ethiopian had set an unusually high price on this route- like INR 68-70k for a return ticket between Bengaluru and Addis Ababa- a 6 hour flight while tickets to even far away destinations in Europe and Japan were lot cheaper.

I guess Ethiopian mis-judged the market and was hoping people will pay a high premium for the convenience of  a direct flight.

It looks like now some sense has prevailed. Probably not enough people booked on Ethiopia forcing airline to rethink. Fares on this route has now been slashed by about one third. A return ticket between Bengaluru and Addis Ababa now costs about 44-45k INR. I would have been happy if this drops further to 30-35k INR range but for that we have to wait and see.

 Does this fare excite you? Are you looking to visit Ethiopia on this?

One more thing to be noted- earlier Ethiopian website used to show one stop via Mumbai on days of the week where direct flight was not scheduled. Now it shows N/A instead.

Also to be noted is that one stop flight to other destinations via Addis Ababa is even cheaper. Like it costs 23k to fly one way to ADD but if you can book connecting flight to Mahe, Seychelles, then you pay a lot lesser- at only 17k, which feels unfair but that is how aviation pricing works. If you have only cabin bag you can possibly book till Mahe and exit at ADD (A practice called Skipleg, which airlines hate- don't do this with a return ticket- entire ticket might be void by airline)

AirAsia India's new flights from Mumbai

Air Asia India has announced more flights from Mumbai, including one to Chennai.

From Chennai we can now fly to Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Hopefully Delhi and Pune/Goa in next expansion. Fares are a bit higher compared to what they were costing last year for these destinations but right now with Jet Airways gone, Rs 2500-3000 is a reasonable fare between Chennai and Mumbai.

Not clear what are the 5 days flights operate between Mumbai and Chennai- AirAsia website shows no flights as of now. Guessing yet to be updated. Even for other new routes it might be a few days before bookings open- AirAsia website showed "Unavailable" for Mumbai-Goa when checked.

Delhi's second airport: Hindon is ready!

Delhi now has a second airport operational. Hindon Airforce base now converted to accept civilian flights will be open from 11th October.

Where is Hindon Airport?
Hindon Airport is some 30-35 kms north east of current IGI airport in Delhi. Hindon will be closer to people staying in Gaziabad, UP, Noida etc

How to reach Delhi's new Hindon Airport?
Google maps is not yet updated with public transport details to Hindon Airport. However, input Shalimar Garden (a landmark adjacent to new Hindon airport) and you will get metro/bus details to reach there. From city centre say Karol Bagh, map says one can reach Hindon airport area in about an hour's time, which is the same time it takes to reach IGI. If you are east of Karol Bagh then new airport will be closer to you.


So who is flying to Hindon Airport?
Considering airport just opened, we need to wait for sometime before commercial flights begin to operate from here.

Recently started Star Air has announced flights to Hindon from Hubli from November 6 2019, ticket fares starting from INR 3700. This will be convenient for people of Hubballi and central Karnataka who otherwise had to take one stop flight via Bengaluru or Mumbai to reach national capital.

What about other airlines?

We don't know yet. Most airline websites and OTAs haven't even added Hindon to their database yet. (Airport code seems to be VDX, searched with Hindon, Delhi, VDX etc on MMT but got blank). Hopefully they will add asap.

Update: MMT is using airport code HDX while star air is using VDX. Need to wait n watch who is correct.

Ideally a cheaper airport nearby will be tempting proposition to budget airlines. Airlines like AirAsia should have jumped at the opportunity. But following is the situation w.r.t Delhi's current IGI airport as of now, which isn't very encouraging to Hindon\:

1) Delhi's IGI Airport isn't operating at max capacity yet. As per Wikipedia during first half of 2019, passenger count fell 7.4%. With Jet Airways gone, 737Max grounded and more cancellations due to Pak airspace closure, I guess there's still some time before IGI maxes out in terms of flights it can support. So airlines aren't in any immediate pressure to find a secondary airport.

2) Even budget airlines like AirAsia were operating out of T3, a relatively expensive terminal and not T1 or T2. I guess airline has got good deal with airport. So existing airlines may not shift immediately to new airport.  I am sure they will use Hindon as bargaining chip during next round of contract renewals/negotiations with airport and may shift a few flights over time to Hindon.

3) Connectivity will be a problem. With Delhi being a hub airport, most airlines sell one stop ticket to different destinations via Delhi. If only few flights are shifted to Hindon, airlines will NOT be able to offer connecting flight and this might impact operations. Need to see how airlines will manage this. Star air is a new airline-they don't have this problem.

4) Public transport, connectivity and facilities: With T3 being well connected, well equipped and winning thumbs up from passengers, there will be some hesitation to shift to a small airport with less facilities. Not much is known yet about Hindon airport- like are there lounges and comfortable seating and food outlets and other facilities? Does it match stature of a capital city's airport or feels like a Tier 3 city airport? We will have to wait for some feedback from early passengers.

Dubai is facing similar dilemma. Authorities want to shift to larger DWC (Dubai Al Maktoum) but everything is so set n used to at DXB, airlines and passengers are not at all keen to move to a far away new airport, even if it is bigger.

Hindon can be to Delhi IGI what Gatwick is to London Heathrow. While Delhi's second airport has full potential, it will take some time to gain acceptance from both airlines and passengers. I am sure airlines will slowly start experimenting- Like Indigo has 12 non-flights daily right now between Delhi and Chennai, so may be 13th flight they will introduce to Hindon and experiment. If passengers book in good numbers, it will encourage airlines to add more flights to Hindon instead of DEL

What do you think of Hindon airport? 

Would you fly to Hindon instead of IGI if ticket is say Rs 500 cheaper? Is it closer to your home? Would you prefer Hindon if it gets decent public transportation and other facilities? Are you OK to change airports in Delhi to reach your final destination? (arrive in Hindon, take bus to IGI, fly out of IGI etc). Let us know via comments.

Scenarios when my cabin bag went for secondary inspection at airport security!

Airport security is a serious business. Staff there need to ensure no potentially dangerous items get past so that no aircraft can be put to danger later. But for that 0.000000001% of possible risk, all 100% of the passengers need to be screened thoroughly. Lots of generic rules and many airport specific guidelines (minor variations) are in place to dictate what's allowed and what's not. Any item not deemed satisfactory in primary screening is usually flagged for secondary inspection.

In this post I am listing some of the scenarios where my cabin bag was diverted to secondary inspection at various airports around the world. Idea of this post is to help you prepare your stuff properly on the tray before sending your bags for screening and save some precious time otherwise has to be sent on secondary screening.

1. Canada- Food items
In Canadian airports, it helps if you take out food items in your bag and keep them separately. They are particular about various food items-organic or otherwise. I had an unused rice packet I had bought at Walmart- They took it out and inspected to ensure nothing is hidden in it.

So in Canadian airports, if you have some food items separate it out. Keep receipts or additional documents handy.

2. London Gatwick- Toilet items
London Gatwick airport had a display asking people to take out their liquids and toilet items and put it in a plastic bag. I saw this display but I didn't have anything other than a toothpaste so didn't take it seriously. Obviously my bag went to secondary, toothpaste was taken out, screened one more time before letting me through. (Got it back)

3. Doha- Laptop not to be covered
At Doha airport, my bag went to secondary, apparently because my jacket was covering the laptop. So they scanned laptop alone one more time, just to be sure everything is fine.

4. Nepal and Chennai- Metal Case with simcards
I have a small metal case that houses a few sim cards and the pin used to pop open sim card tray of mobiles- This sometimes draws attention of officials who prefer to open it and see its content before clearing it.

5. Chennai-Laptop charger
Usually we are required to take out only big items like Laptops. Chargers and other small items stay inside the bag. But a few times Chennai airport security have asked me to take out all electronics (GoPro camera, mobile and laptop chargers, Fitness band etc) and get them scanned again.  Happened only a few times- too much work to take everything out unnecessarily and voluntarily, so I take them out if asked.

6. Empty water bottles
Empty water bottle, if kept inside the bag might confuse officials who might prefer to check if it is really empty. Helps if it is kept separately or in side pouch easy to inspect.

7. Blade and sharp objects
Several years ago I lost a nice Swiss knife set to Goa Airport. This one is no brainer and I should have been careful. Keys that look sharp, key chains that are unusual also can get flagged at times.

Airports abroad usually have the mechanism to scan the tray and find out why exactly it is pushed to secondary, so that officers can quickly pin point the reason and resolve the issue. In India it is largely manual interaction between the staff who scans it and staff who does secondary checks.

There will be minor variations from airport to airport on exact expectations. While taking out laptop is standard practice through out the world, formality for other things like Shoes, liquids, food etc might vary from airport to airport a bit. Do read the display signs and prepare yourself accordingly. This will save some precious time- both yours and that of security staff. Secondary inspection often also results in an ion scan (to check for any drugs) as a standard procedure- not that something you should be worried about as a legitimate traveler.

Do share your experiences at airport security. What are the various observations you have made.

Airlines should stop insulting their loyalty program members

I feel airlines should stop insulting their loyalty program members.

There're some airlines with whom I have not flown even once. But I have created an account with them so that I get alerts on cheap deals if any and hope to fly with them one day.

Air Arabia is one such airline. Created an account long back but never got any sweet deal from them in past one year or so-thus couldn't fly with them.

But Air Arabia constantly spams me with my reward statement, highlighting that I have zero points. I know that- feels more like an insult than update. I understand most mailers are automated and don't have much smartness. Shouldn't airlines apply some sort of intelligence and stop spamming people?

Westjet is another airline. I have flown with them once from LAX to Vancouver. Not sure what happened to those points- they still update me with zero points.

Qatar, Emirates and SQ where I have an account haven't been spamming me like this-I guess they have a more sensitive/intelligent program. It is not critical for passengers to know their airline point update every month. Once in six month is more than adequate unless there's some heavy activity or crucial info like expiring miles. Something for airlines to ponder over. What do you think?

How early are passengers allowed to enter into an Airport?

This question is often faced by many budget travelers. How early are we allowed to enter the airport? If I have 6AM flight can I enter at midnight and sleep for 4 hours before being allowed to check-in? Answer to this question is very complex and depends on dozens of parameters. In this post, I have made an attempt to simplify and explain the same.

We often book cheapest available flight for our intended departure dates. Cheapest flights are usually ones departing very early morning or late night, often called red-eye flights. They are usually cheap because most corporate travelers, those who prefer some comfort and convenience avoid these flights as they don't want to spoil their sleep middle of the night to drag themselves to airport. They would rather chose a more comfortable flight timing little later in the day, even if it is expensive.

But in situations where one has an early morning flights- either because it is cheap or it is the only flight available (most international departures often happen early morning), next question arises- where to spend the previous night? For those arriving from other cities and even for those who stay in same city but don't want to spend huge sum on early morning airport taxi, most tempting option is to reach airport late evening and try to sleep over inside for a few hours.

Reasons for trying to sleep at airport are many.
1. Hotels near airports are often very expensive- probably more expensive than your flight itself. For budget conscious travelers makes no sense to spend so much for just a few hours.
2. Staying in city and reaching airport early morning is an option- but if city's public transport doesn't operate during midnight-5 AM time, then passenger has to spend lots of money on airport taxi- again may not make economical sense.
3. Trying to reach airport just in time from your home city/origin is an option- but this carries a risk of missing the main flight if train/bus/flight gets delayed for whatever reason. So to have some buffer for possible delays those arriving from other cities need to arrive much early.

Is it legal to reach airport early and sleep?
There is no Yes or No answer for this. Reason being, airports are designed to move people- Passengers are expected to arrive, check-in, proceed to security/gate and fly out. Airports are not designed to provide sleeping places for those who come in early. That being said, most airports DO NOT have an official policy as to how early a passenger can arrive. This largely depends on following factors:

Even the best of airports in the world- like Changi Singapore- that have amazing facilities inside- can be accessed only after you clear security. Changi has sleeping lounges, movie theatres, several gardens, hotels, swimming pool and so on. But none of these can be accessed if you arrive too early for your flight. Facilities are minimum for visitors who have not yet cleared security and customs. (You can see Kinetic Rain though)

Factor 1: Airport operating hours
While most large airports operate 24x7, many airports in smaller cities shut down for the night. This could mean airport premises will be locked after passengers from last flight have left and will be opened only in time for passengers of first flight of next day. For example, airport in Port Blair, Andaman opens only at 6 AM for the first flight of the day at 8 AM. Even if you reach at 5.45 AM you will have to wait till 6/6.10 AM for airport gates to open. In such airports there's no possibility of entering early.

Factor 2: Security check/airport entry process:
Airports in India are manned by CRPF personnel- they check ticket of every passenger and let them in only once satisfied. Thus if you're trying to enter way ahead of time, you are very likely to be denied entry. Like I said earlier, there's no fixed rule on how early one can enter- you might be able to convince the officer to let you in, if you have a valid reason. Again, security officers need to factor the crowd- they don't want too many people inside the airport premises- this will be a security concern and also inconvenience to other passengers who are on time for their flight. Thus if airport is small or security threat perception is high or if crowd is too much, you are most likely to be asked to come back later. If you are lucky, you might be allowed in. If you're trying this route, be polite, have a strong reasoning why you can't come back later and a plan B if turned back.

Airlines typically open check-in before 3 hours for international, 2 hours for domestic. During high security/peak traffic days you might be advised to come an additional hour early. So as long as you're within 3-4 hours before departure time you should be allowed to enter- much earlier than that-often at the discretion of CRPF official. If they are strict you may have to come back later.

Airports in many western countries do not have any checks at main entrance- anyone is free to enter. In such cases you can easily enter the airport, find a corner and be able to sleep for sometime. But again, every area of an airport is monitored on CCTV and if security staff feel concerned, they might arrive and check your ID, ask you to leave or take any measure as deemed necessary. Airports abroad are often spacious, less crowded and a few people sleeping in a corner is often overlooked as 'Not a problem'- but you never know.

No one likes being inconvenienced by sleeping passengers- if where you are sleeping is causing inconvenience to other passengers someone is bound to complain or officials will be forced to take action. This can happen if airport is smaller and sleeping passengers are blocking access to toilets, or self check-in kiosks or other facilities in the airport.

Factor 3: Level of automation.
In some airports you can self-tag and drop the bag, or enter security area with mobile boarding pass. In such cases if the system lets you through several hours ahead of your flight, you can get to the other side of security and enjoy all facilities available for passengers waiting to board the plane.

But if you need to visit the counter for bag drop/document check etc then you will have to wait till they open.

Why can't airport hotels provide rooms at hourly rate?
This is a good question- Instead of charging say INR 2400 per day per room, why can't hotels offer rooms at Rs 100 per hour? This looks like a fair ask but has many complications

1. Each room has a fixed cost- cost of providing clean towel, bed sheet, consumables etc. If this has to be repeated every hour, then housekeeping cost and effort will be too much.
2. If offered at hourly rate, even those who would have paid full day price will opt for hourly rate, which might lead to loss of potential revenue.
3. Most luxury hotels don't want crowd. They only need richer customers who can afford to spend. Allowing huge crowd looking for cheap place to stay will spoil the experience for premium customers

Your alternate options if you can't enter airport early:
Option 1: Hostels/Cheap hotels nearby: However, if you can carefully scan websites like booking.com, airbnb, you might be able to find a place to stay within reasonable rate not too far from airport. I have been to hostels within a few kms of airports in various cities, charging just around 1000 INR for a day.
Option 2: Wait outside airport entry gate: Most airports in India will have some space/seating for visitors outside the departure hall entrance. If you are not allowed inside, you will be able to sit here- but you'll be subjected to winds, no access to toilet and constant sound of vehicles and public.
Option 3: Visitor ticket: Many airports sell a visitor ticket, which gets entry into certain portion of airport, meant for family members to see off passengers. If this access space is good enough for you you can try enter and stay for a while.
Option 4: Try a train/bus ride: If there's a metro/train/bus operating from airport to day a destination an hour away, you can spend 2 hours sleeping on it reaching that destination and then coming back. Good option if ticket fare is not too expensive and if you don't have lots of luggage to take care of.
Option 5: Book connecting flight: Transit passengers will get access to transit area and can spend lots of time there. For example, if you're flying to Europe from BLR but you're coming to BLR from nearby town- say Mysuru or Madikeri etc. If you book your flight like MYS-BLR-LHR or IXE (Mangaluru)-BLR-FRA such that Mysuru/Mangaluru to BLR flight arrives late evening then you will be given access to transit area soon after arrival where you can sleep overnight. Transit passengers can't be forced to go out of airport and come back later.
Option 6: Arrive just in time- if there's convenient transport available to airport just in time for your flight, might be good idea to take it than trying to sleepover.
Option 7: Book a flight later in the day. If for a few dollars more if there's a flight a few hours later in the day, it might be worth the money compared to all the trouble of trying to figure out where to sleep the night or spending lots of money to reach airport/on hotels nearby etc.
Option 8: Airport dorms- Some airports do have facility for passengers-like this one below- not sure how to access it from outside as I saw it in transit area, but no harm checking

Related: Goa minister slamming tourists sleeping in airports- Read this news . No one likes people sleeping in airports- it is a loss for tourism industry if you are not spending money on hotels, taxi etc and sleeping free in airport. Most of our railway stations are always crowded at night with people sleeping all over in haphazard manner- certainly we don't want that at airports. But air travelers are also price sensitive and are often forced to make compromising decision for lack of budget alternative or value for money aspect. Somewhere we got to draw a balance.

What about day time?
Like your flight is at 6 PM but you're arriving in city by 6 AM- what to do?
During day time you will have lots of options- find a place to keep your bag- most railway stations have cloak rooms- spend time visiting some place of tourist attraction, visit a mall, watch a movie etc and go to airport in time for your flight.

What about arriving passengers?
Like you're landing at 2 AM- Is it OK to stay till 6 AM?
Again airports have minimum infrastructure for arriving passengers, as they are expected to collect their bags and leave. No official rule on max time one can spend after arrival.  However you might be able to wait in baggage collection area for a few hours. If airport is closing or if you fall asleep after everyone has left, you are very likely to be questioned by security and asked to leave.

In many western countries arriving passengers get mixed with departing passengers- so unless you've checked bag, you can spend more time in gate area before leaving the airport.

My experience:
Abroad: In every airport I've gone for early morning flight I have seen at least a few backpackers sleeping around. But their number is very few and are often ignored by security staff, though at times they might be asked to move to a different place due to reasons like cleaning, inconvenience to other passengers etc. If security forces feel you're not a genuine passenger you might be subjected to inquiry. Reaching airport abroad costs lots of money in travel/bus/train fare/parking etc so people won't go to airport unless they've a reason. Since airports are spacious and crowd is less, few sleeping passengers are often ignored.

In India: Some large airports like Delhi security may take pity and let you in a bit earlier but in most airports arrive too early and you carry a big risk of being turned away and asked to come back later. 4 hours before international, 3 hours before domestic is the max they would usually allow.

Special scenario for VVIPs
If you are VIP then rules are different- you can access VIP Lounge in airports and spend as much time as you please. But then, if you are a VIP you most certainly don't want to spend time in airport as you will have access to better facilities and more important work to do.