Last year in October, I wrote about the Indian aviation regulator sending a stinker to all foreign airlines operating from India, about the baggage allowance of 1 23 kg (50 lb) checked-bag being not the standard offer for passengers travelling economy, while all Indian airlines offer 2×23 kgs (50 lb) baggage to be checked-in.

We never heard much of it back then, but seems like the arm-twisting worked with the Lufthansa group. In a change of tack, Lufthansa has announced a new allowance for passengers travelling between India and the USA, Canada (or vice versa) on Lufthansa group airlines. Lufthansa, Swiss, Brussels Airlines and Austrian Airlines will offer two 23 kgs (50 lb) bags as checked bag allowance for all flights ticketed on or after 17th February 2012. However, this is only good for offer if you ticket your entire trip to/from India to the USA/Canada on either of these carriers and don’t mix and match with other carriers inside the USA/Canada. If you intend to maximise on the baggage allowance, you’re advised to book internal tickets for travel in the USA/Canada/India separate of your segments on Lufthansa.

Here is the announcement on the Lufthansa webpage, and the salient points are outlined below:

• Origin: Chennai/Bangalore/Mumbai/New Delhi/Pune (not valid on feeder flights within India)
• Destination: only Lufthansa US/Canada gateways (no connecting flights within US/Canada)
• Travel must be via Europe
• Valid for flights operated and Marketed by: Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Swiss Airlines.
• Itineraries/tickets that include other carriers the free baggage allowance defaults to 1 free checked piece.

So, there you go, max out your allowance with all the shopping you’d like to do! In fact, if you ever are on the same flight as me on LH,LX or OS, feel free to have some of my baggage allowance as well!

Related Posts:

• Checked bag fee for the 2nd bag from India may be gone soon

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InterContinental Hotels’ parent company IHG has come up with a new hotel brand called EVEN it plans to launch in 2013. The focus of this brand of hotels is on healthy travel, and it intends to make everything in the hotel up to speed with the wellness aspect of travel.

According to IHG, they made a study over 18 months and observed and talked to over 4,000 guests, and found the common thread that the need was there for a hotel which could help them with their health and wellness even when they travel. They have identified 4 priority areas - exercise, eat, work and rest. The approach towards these aspects sure seems unique and lateral, which may be a good thing. Here is the approach straight from the press release:

• Exercise– Guest rooms designed for in-room workouts with multi-functional room amenities (e.g. coat rack that doubles as a pull up bar); best in class gym with equipment and group exercise activities; “Wellness Wall” for fitness options in walking distance, tips and equipment rental; personalized guest service to offer advice on fitness options, ideas and/or instruction; all baked into the service experience, at no added cost to the guest.
• Eat– Nutritionally designed menus with a particular focus on natural, fresh, fit and energizing meals – available anytime; an open air café and bar; free flavored filtered water with glass bottles available to fill up and take back to the room; free coffee & mini-smoothies in the morning.
• Work– Rooms with high speed Wi-Fi, multimedia ports, easy access to outlets, ample desk space; and social spaces in the bar and lobby.
• Rest- Rooms offer revitalization and relaxation, including hypoallergenic linens, powerful showerheads, natural lighting, LED dimmers and antibacterial wipes.

Check out some of the renditions on the new website www.evenhotels.com, for example, the luggage rack which doubles up as a workout bench, and signature flavoured water which is supposed to be healthy.

IHG plans to announce the first EVEN location in Q2 2012 and expects the first hotel to open in the early 2013. More coming soon!

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Considering the speed of decision making and the soup that Air India finds itself in with every decision these days, I am not surprised it took an entire Board of Directors to come to a decision such as this one.

In a meeting of the Air India board this evening, the airline has decided to fall in line with the same strategy that Jet Airways has been following for a while. Essentially, the number of business class seats will be reduced from 34 Airbus planes of the airline, which will include the A320 and A319s, which are primarily used for domestic flights in India. The number of seats is not known yet.

Air India, which has managed to get its schedules back in order due to government support, is currently benefiting from the cancellations on Kingfisher Airlines, which is in a cash crunch. Also, it has finally gotten its act together and now has a loyalty program with tangible benefits.

Now only if that few-billion dollar loss could go away overnight, I’d be a happy camper!

Related Posts:

• Jet Airways decides to go low cost, Kingfisher goes full service. What will work in India?
• Air India Flying Returns finally has some tangible benefits
• Kingfisher Airlines domestic and international schedule partially shut down

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