I just discovered: AirAsia now connects Bengaluru directly with Bangkok, starting September 1st, 2015. This would make it convenient for Bangaloreans travelling to several locations in South East Asia.
This morning, I was looking up for air tickets to a few destinations in South-East Asia on AirAsia website. At one point, I was searching for Air Tickets out of Mandalay, Myanmar to Bangkok. In the list of destinations that AirAsia tickets can be booked out of Mandalay, Bengaluru also popped up to my surprise. This wasn’t the case when I was searching for travel options in the region a few months ago, early in May.
A quick research revealed that it is indeed possible to book Mandalay to Bengaluru (via Bangkok) on Air Asia in one reservation (single PNR), thanks to the fact that Thai AirAsia has started flying Bangkok to Bengaluru and return. The flights have commenced only recently, starting from 1st September 2015. They had announced this as early as end-June and perhaps started ticket sales immediately, but this had skipped my attention. What really makes me excited about this is not the connectivity to Bangkok alone, but how easier (and cheaper) it will become to fly from Bengaluru to some remote locations in South East Asia.
This December, I had a chance to fly Air Costa, one of the newer airlines to operate in India. I travelled from Jaipur to Bangalore and my first impressions are fairly positive. A year before, in December 2013, I had chosen a larger airline to fly on the same route although Air Costa’s prices were the lowest when I booked. But I was unsure about travelling with a small and new airline and decided to play safe. This time, when a flight search showed up low-fares on Air Costa again, I decided to take it.
It has been more than a year since Air Costa is operating. They are currently connecting nine cities across India, mostly in the south except Ahmedabad and Jaipur. Here is a quick look at my first impressions of the airline.
Comfort
This is one area where Air Costa scores very high. With their smaller Brazilian made Embraer Aircraft, none of their flights have middle seats. The 2+2 seating relieves the pain of getting sandwiched between two other passengers in a cramped fuselage. The interiors feel lot less claustrophobic and lot more comfortable than most long haul flights.
In October 2013, I fell down from a pagoda in Bagan, Myanmar, and dislocated a wrist bone in the right hand. The problem could not be diagnosed in Nyang U (Bagan) and I had to fly back home for a surgery. It took me a three-hop journey on three different airlines to get home. Subsequently, recuperating from a surgery and permitted by my doctor to travel, I took eight more flights in a span of two months when my hand was still in a sling or wrapped in a splint.
With a total of eleven hops using six different airlines, I had a chance to see how different airlines treat passengers with special needs. I was surprised at the sea difference in their treatment, sometimes even among the staff of same airline in different airports.
During all these journeys, I never requested for wheel chairs or special assistance, as my left hand was intact and I was able to handle my baggage, albeit with some difficulty. In some occasions, airline staff came forward to help me when they noticed my hand in a sling. Most airlines were neutral and in the only instance when I requested for some privilege, I was turned down.
Here is a compilation of my experiences taking eleven flights with six airlines.
The Best – Yangon Airways at Nyang U (Bagan) Airport
It is five months since I took a Yangon Airways flight from Nyang U (Bagan) to Mandalay and I still can’t forget how friendly the staff were. On arrival at airport, my cab driver waved at an airline staff at the gates and asked him to help me. One look at my injured hand (and many cuts on my face as well) and he understood I can do with some help. He sprung into the cab, lifted my bags out and placed them on a trolley. When I stretched my left hand (the uninjured hand) to push the trolley, he refused to hand it over and escorted me to the check-in counter.