I don’t intend to be soothsayer on this blog, but at the same time not a doomsayer either! I’ve been trying to be very positive about Kingfisher Airlines in my head for a very long time, and something tells me, that if they survive this ongoing phase of problems, they will come back as a stronger service-oriented institution in the new changed environment. However, for the time being, the troubles seems to be getting bigger and bigger for them, making them perhaps a case for being jilted from oneworld before they get to join, just like AI got the boot from Star Alliance. I love those guys, seriously. They gave me 2 free domestic Kingfisher First class tickets last year, on…
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3 Weeks to OWMD: Preparing for Seat 33A!
Things have been quiet in here about my preparations towards the oneworld MegaDo. Not really, a lot of action has been happening and it is time to give you all an update. However, a quick round up on whats happening on the MegaDo preparation before we go on to my preparations. This past week, the waitlist was wrapped up, and all the original participants who looked like they could not participate in spite of having paid up (due to the multiple bookings), have now been accomodated. This, of course, comes with the sad news that some other people have to go off the charter, including fellow Boarding Area blogger Mike Reed of Getting Status. Some cool swag has been lined…
Star Alliance and Air India can’t seem to make up their minds…
Back in July 2011, Star Alliance put a lid on Air India’s ambitions to join their little coterie, by stating that the majority of the member airlines were against AI joining on the back of security concerns. Business seems to have taken over that logic now, and the media is reporting that Star Alliance and Air India are now back in talks again. This opening is clearly a nice choice of words since AI’s membership was ‘suspended’ and not completely withdrawn at that instance. Reportedly, AI and *A met up in December 2011, and members are ‘reconsidering their stand‘ on AI. This is closely to be read with the fact that a new CEO is taking over *A (Mark Schwab),…
And now its American Express India’s turn to downgrade Membership Rewards
Sigh, it is the season of downgrade of benefits and American Express does not want to be left far behind from the pack. They have decided to close 2011 on a high note by sending me (amongst several other) cardmembers with a very nicely wrapped letter which has 2 layers of envelopes before you get to the letter itself. Now you think, this arriving right after Christmas must be Santa Amex Claus sending you a Lotto ticket to win in the MR sweepstakes. But all it comes to is an intimation on the downgrades which kick in a few weeks from now. If you’ve been reading up about my American Express Gold Card adventures, I’ve been pretty happy with them so…
Status for free and discounts with Kingfisher KingClub till Dec 31, 2011
Kingfisher’s loyalty program KingClub is offering free status to premium MasterCard holders all the way uptil December 31, 2011. To register, you should have an eligible MasterCard (Platinum, World, Titanium Credit Cards or a Premium Debit Card), and you have to plonk the first 6 digits on the Kingfisher website here, to get your upgraded status. Titanium and Platinum tiers get Kingfisher KingClub Red tier, but World MasterCard users get KingClub Silver. Please note, this promotion works when you open a new account with Kingfisher Airlines KingClub, and not on existing accounts. You also get 250 miles credited for opening your account, and if you fill up your details to complete the profile, another 500 come your way. In the…
5 Weeks to OWMD: Preparing for Seat 33A!
I am writing this post sitting in SFO, which is about 7,700 miles away from my normal daily posting schedule in BOM. But then, this is all a part of preparing for all the exciting things that are going to happen on the oneworld MegaDo in January 2012. Hence I am hoping the slight delay in posting from a new city will be excused. In the past week, 3 new passengers got on board the oneworld MegaDo charter. One of them was Pat, who takes away Randy’s seat on the charter. Her post was the lucky one amongst the over 77,000 posted on the thread which Randy started to give away his seat. Congrats Pat, and I hope to see…
Reader Question: “Which is the best program to credit Indian flights to”?
Reader Romina pinged me with a question last week, and I thought it was a good question to address here for everyone. Her question was… Hi AJ, I’m going to India, with miles, of course, but I have to buy two domestic legs and was wondering if you have any suggestion. …. If I buy the tickets, what is the best international airline to credit the miles from KingF, jet airways and air india? … I believe this question is something which a lot of travellers to India would have on mind. My answer to her was in terms of American programs, but I’ll drop in a word with regard to other programs too. Indian airlines are not yet…
What is your best suggestion to make air travel better? Speed-dating at the airport….ummm….
Finnair – the oneworld alliance member from Finland and Helsinki Airport have recently launched the “Quality Hunters” initiative where they are looking out for the one big idea which they will implement to make their flying experience better in the coming year 2012. As a part of this initiative, earlier this year they appointed 7 Quality Hunters who now have the licence to fly around globally looking for ideas which Finnair and the Helsinki Airport can implement. Must say there is quite the idea wreck there. There are nice ones like noise cancelling headphones on rent, to whacky ones like airport speed dating! I see another “Up in the air” being produced shortly, this one, with Finnair mileage hunters on…
Reminder: Earn 20% more KingClub Miles on transfer before 30th Nov 2011
Just a quick reminder for those who intend to be making some bookings on Kingfisher Airlines in the award category. The special promotion which has been running this quarter to offer 20% extra miles free is going to end on 30th November 2011. Like I mentioned earlier in September 2011, this offer is valid till November 30, 2011. Here is what you have to do to avail 20% bonus KingClub Miles. Transfer worth 5000 miles worth from your credit card program or hotel programs to the King Club, and Kingfisher will add a 20% on top of it while crediting the miles. Take note, that different programs have different equivalents for the KingClub Miles, and hence you have to use…
Why I stepped on a Kingfisher plane yesterday!
So I got on a Kingfisher Airlines plane for the first time in lets say 3-4 years yesterday evening, unless you count the 45 minute GOI-BOM flight I took on Kingfisher Red last year in August. The reasons I’ve abstained from Flying Kingfisher have been many. Here are a few: They are flashy! I am not just referring to their choice of Red as their color, but all the flying models, personally chosen by the CEO bit and all their eagerness to please appeared over the top. I felt hurt when the owner went all out to get Air Deccan down to their knees and bought them out with their flanking strategy. And yes, I am an M&A guy myself,…
Looks like I am up for a MegaDo!!!!
It was a test of technology that is now turning into a test of patience! This morning (late evening in India actually), I sat in front of my laptop waiting for the clock to strick 930 CDT. There were hints that the booking for the upcoming OW MegaDo in Jan2012 could start earlier than the 10AM deadline. Of course I was already envious of those who could have made it to the LAX launch party and had a right of first refusal to all seats on the plane. At roughly about 10 AM, the site started giving all the error messages which pointed to a huge rush. Despite the best efforts and intentions of the MilePoint team, MegaDo.com where the…
