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Nimish · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 9:05 pm Post subject: BLR-BOM-SFO on 9W - photo TR

http://picasaweb.google.com/nimishguptablr/9WBOMSFO

I did not capture BLR or the BLR-BOM sector as it seemed very mundane. I did capture the Y interiors on the 77W - which was very very good!

The service levels on board their intl flights was definitely lower than SQ (IMO). SQ's service run has:

1. Towel
2. Menu card run
3. Drinks and snacks run (the little packets with Tamilian style mixture)
4. Main meal run with wine/beer (and spirits on request)
5. Wine top up run
6. Ice-cream & Coffee/tea
7. Dessert wine/Cognac run (I'm not sure if this was SQ or TG - but one of them had this as well)
8. Clearing

Followed by frequent water/juice runs on the long haul sectors.

9W has cut this down to:

1. Towel/Lime juice (a plus for 9W)
2. Menu card run
4. Main meal run with wine/beer/spirits
6. Coffee/tea
8. Clearing

Plus they started service only about an hour after take off - generally the first wine/drinks run can start much sooner as there's no "preparing of meals" phase needed. 9W also did not have the crew "trained" to the levels like with SQ - never a "thank you" or "certainly" or "Sir" when talking to passengers.

The food itself was delectable, though the quantity of the main dish was smaller that SQ (but probably same as LH). SQ has these gigantic main meal trays that just makes everything look bigger I guess Wink

Summary:

* 9W has top-notch hardware - flying was very comfortable in Y (though in my sneak preview of J - I found the seat too cramped and too in-the-open, but what do I know Smile

).
* If 9W wants to get serious about connecting pax at BOM - they HAVE TO IMPROVE ground staff/service at BOM. When my flight had 60 pax from BLR connecting to SFO or LHR - it was a shame there was no one to meet/assist connecting pax at BOM domestic. No instructions, no printed signs, not even a "cheat sheet" or a "connection map" given to us at BLR or BOM. Even once we reached the intl terminal via that lousy bus, nothing/no one there to guide us - just "follow the crowds" and queue up whereever you see a queue. It's a shame since this is all in 9W's control, and not something they can blame MIAL about.
* Crew training and service standards is really a matter of the carrier's choice - but if 9W wants to move to a 5* service, IMO they need to improve the crew training and service level standards on board.
* No proper lounge in PVG was a crying shame. The lounge only had some sofas, and no food/ drinks/ papers/internet/showers/amenities etc!

It was a shame though that I could not web checkin for this flight Sad

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We miss you Nalini!

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Nice TR, Nimish! Nice to see you answer the first question I troubled you with:
power ports in Y!
Thanks, Sumantra.

Nimish · Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 12:19 am Post subject:

Now to the question I always ask other folks writing TRs, would I fly them again?

Yes - if the price was as much cheaper as it was (almost 40% cheaper). After all, the a/c was top-notch, I reached on time, my bags reached with me, the food was great etc.

No - if it was comparable in price to LH or SQ from BLR. At least not until they fix the domestic->intl transfer process in BOM and "humanize" it. I don't mind about the service on board so much, because I'm used to much worse Wink

(LH or UA)...

Would I fly them if they offered intl services from BLR? Yes - definitely would love to fly them and enjoy the great selection of Hindi movies and desi food, not to forget the "AI sized" drinks (huge drinks poured, unlike SQ where they're probably trained using a pipette)...
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sshank · Member Joined: 16 May 2007 Posts: 377 Location: NYC

Great report. 9W's 77W seem very well spec'ed out. The meals looked great - Indian carriers simply cannot be beaten when it comes to food (atleast for desis).

The mood lighting pictures were interesting - does it really help? Were there a lot of PVG bound passengers? What about SFO bound pass from PVG?

(--quote deleted by Nimish--)

the_380 · Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 2:10 am Post subject:

Good Report Nimish,
Btw what is the flying time on PVG-SFO? Exclude holding time..
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Nimish · Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 2:40 am Post subject: Re: BLR-BOM-SFO on 9W - photo TR

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

That looks like a pretty good Y Class service. And I think that the meals compare well with SQ in Y, although SQ by offering ice cream, and the cognac service (which few people take, but which impresses pax enough that they go and tell everyone how wonderful SQ is) takes it up a notch. It's the little things that make an airline memorable, and it appears that they haven't quite gotten there.

Its a pity about the BOM transfer. In fact, its downright disgraceful. I wonder if the lounge at PVG is just the Chinese authorities being obnoxious to an Indian carrier (or to Indians in general). They can't beat CDG which keeps pax cooped up inside AI's flight while the plane is being serviced. In fact, they don't even let you go sit in the lounge outside.

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

Good to hear that the loads were good from an industry standpoint. Approx how many pax on the 2 flights?

You usually take a lot of airport pics, what happened his time Razz

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Nimish · Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 10:12 pm Post subject:

justbala · Member Joined: 11 Jan 2007 Posts: 1898 Location: Bangalore

Nice pics Nimish. Hope you had a gr8 trip...

The Cognac round is on TG. Havent seen it on SQ though.

I agree with your comments on 9W F/As on the international sector. They do require a certain amount of fine tuning to come to the level of SQ. Some of them seem to be over whelmed by the international sector and are quite often not their usual self. Simple things like, turning the wine bottle 180 degrees upward after pouring or with handling pax who do not speak Hindi n English!! But at least they hv a smile on their face always!! Smile

I managed to get an upgrade and Flew J from EWR to BOM on 9W. the service was amazing and the seats were very comfy. I used the seat massager for most of the flight!! Smile

Have taken some pics and as soon as I manage to get a decent boradband connection at home I will put in a mini TR.

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

Doesn't 9W have Chinese and Singaporean speaking FAs on their Asian and SFO routes?

Nimish · Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 6:21 am Post subject:

Aseem · Member Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 2841 Location: YYZ

You seem to have taken quite a pain in your photoblog......very descriptive.
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airindia787 · Member Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Posts: 770 Location: DAB & ZTF

What is your impression of BLR? How is it compared to HYD?
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Nimish · Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 1:38 am Post subject:

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

Nice Photo TR, still a some way to go for our desi carriers before they catch up to the likes of SQ, EK.

Sri_Bom

Phldel · Member Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 10 Location: HYD

Nice report! I flew EWR-BRU-BOM-BLR-CCU-DEL-BOM-BRU-EWR back in March on 9W/S2 back in March. I hope to put up a report sometime soon!!