Marhaba Lounge, Singapore Changi Airport

I had previously experienced Plaza Premium Lounge in Singapore's Changi airport. This time visited Marhaba lounge at Changi T3. Access was via Priority pass issued with ICICI Credit card. Marhaba lounge accepts dozen other loyalty programs.

Marhaba is a standard airport lounge with lots of sitting area and a small dining area. Food was good but not focused on vegetarians- could get rice, daal, some vegetables and fruits. Nothing much. Made kind of sambar rice for myself mixing rice, daal, vegetables etc.

Coffe and juices were nice. Changi airport WiFi was not connecting inside Marhaba lounge, nor they had their own WiFi, so a bit of setback there.

Another good thing is the lounge has shower area as well- we can refresh properly and proceed to next flight.

Bus timings from RGI Airport Hyderabad to city

I had written about bus service available from RGI Airport in Hyderabad to city. But that was years ago. 2018.

 Below is the latest 2025 updates

Fiji Airways A330 ultra long flight review

Fiji airways is another new airline I tried in 2025, along with Azerbaijan Air & Star Air. I flew Fiji Airways to Fiji from Singapore & back. If you wish to visit Fiji, connecting to Fiji airways is the only option, as no other major international airlines seem to be flying to Fiji regularly- probably they don't have the volume to make regular flight viable. Drawback of this is in case Fiji airways cancels a flight, you may be stuck till they provide an alternative. While Fiji is visa free for Indians, most nearby countries- Australia, USA, NZ etc Indians need visa even to transit. So your flight options to Fiji will be very limited.

Fiji Airways operates widebody aircrafts to US West Coast, Australia, Singapore etc. I could book a one stop Hyderabad to Nadi via Singapore flight. The flight was very expensive on Singapore airline and Fiji Airways official website, so I had to book it on GoIbibo- the ticket cost me about 69000 INR. My most expensive flight ticket so far- but if I calculate on a "per flying hour" basis, it is not much. 69000 for 30 hours of flying (4 hours Hyd to Singapore, 11 hours SIN to Nadi & return) =  2300 INR per hour of flying, which is pretty decent. This was a pre covid rate so I booked one when I saw one.

Web check-in: Since my ticket included flights operated by Singapore airline + Fiji, I could not do web check-in in one go. For the onward journey I could do check in on Singapore airline website first, had to wait half day for Fiji airways check in to open and then go to FIji airways web and check in for second leg. On the way back website didn't allow me to check in into SIN-HYD leg, even Singapore airline website sent a notification saying web check in is open but would not let me check -in. Had to do check-in at airport. I think airlines should be able to manage this check in process better.  SQ also sends mailers saying check in open but when you try, website says sorry, can't process. 

Food: Fiji Airways is a full service airline. My 10 hour marathon flight got me 1 dinner and 1 breakfast with ample time in between to sleep. breakfast included Upma and Vada, which was amazing. Return journey I got decent meals for lunch & dinner.

Seat Selection: Fiji airways doesn't allow complementary seat selection though. But I got one window seat allocated during onward journey. Return trip an aisle seat was assigned, could get it changed to window during check in for free.

Fiji airways Utility Kit: Only blanket, pillow and earphone is given. No eye cover, no dental kit etc. No hot towel to wash hands on arrival.

Entertainment: Was ok, screens were old, as aircraft is 10+ years old. Singapore Airline A350 had much bigger, clearer screen in comparison.

Flight was not full, I could see at least 10% seats vacant. I got empty seat by the side on both trips.

Most flights of Fiji Airways operate on time. There is less than 10% chance of major delay.

Overall it was good to experience Fiji Airways and our trip to Fiji was nice.

Ahmedabad Baku return ticket under 20k

Azerbaijan air had recently introduced their second destination in India- Ahmedabad (AMD). Their Mumbai-Baku flight costs about 30-35k approx but AMD-GYD flights are priced much lower at 20k INR

Of course sentiments are low now after Indo Pak war and Azerbaijan supporting Pak and Indians boycotting Baku trips. Possibly the reason Azerbaijan air has kept ticket prices low.

Use your discretion.
 

Star Air Experience and Review

Star air is a relatively new airline started by Sanjay Godawath group, who were earlier famous for Star ghutka and other brands.

Star Air began operation sometime in 2018-19 but I didn't have a chance or need to fly them all these days. Recently for my return from Hyderabad Star Air option looked viable. Hyd to Shivamogga for 2500 INR was good deal, so I booked.

Star air experience:

Booking: Official website charges 350 INR convenience fee, so I had to book on easemytrip.com

Web checkin- Could not do. Official website recognizes PNR but won't allow web check in, was asked to go to counter

Airport experience: Self Check-in counters won't show Star Air. Airport check in counter opens only 2 hours prior to departure. So we can't go early, drop our bag and relax at lounge. While counter was open early because of other flights, check in for my flight opened only 2 hours prior.

At the check in counter one person's bag was released without adding baggage tag- customer spotted this and created noise. Staff checked with different people and promised to locate the bag and add baggage tag.

Boarding begins 1 hour prior for a small 70 seater plane. Boarding was smooth and flight left on time

Onboard food: Star air sells food onboard. Some items like Upma cost 200 INR, (Indigo charges 400 INR for upma). Staff allow you to pay through UPI after landing.

Star air has business class seats too- business class costs 2x economy. 2+1 configuration, little more space and some priority while boarding & getting off. Not sure if food is served free to business class customers. 

Arrived at Shivamogga ahead of time, baggage delivery was quick and no complaints overall. Aircraft would fly further to Tirupati.

Star air flies to several less popular destinations- if it suits your plan, you can book 

Overall star air experience was good. Will use them whenever it suits me.