As per a post put out on AirlineRoute.net, LHR-DEL will be getting a new bird i n the form of a 3-class A330-300 on the LHR-DEL-LHR route from 10th July 2012, replacing the older A340-300 planes. Service on the A330-300 will be configured to offer Economy, Premium Economy and the famous Upper Class service of Virgin Atlantic. The A340-300 will still continue to fly on the Saturday/Sunday service for the time being.
London Heathrow – Delhi eff 10JUL12 Airbus A330-300 replacing A340-300 on 6 of 7 weekly service
VS300 LHR2200 – 1100+1DEL 333 x6
VS300 LHR2200 – 1100+1DEL 343 6
VS301 DEL1315 – 1755LHR 333 x7
VS301 DEL1315 – 1755LHR 343 7
Virgin Atlantic is going big on the Indian market of late, reopening the BOM-LHR segment from October 2012 as well after exiting the market. The BOM service is anyways planned to be a A330 service from the start of the service itself.
This sure should be good news to people who love flying the Virgin brand around in India. Happy Flying!
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Posted by AJ |
Tags: Virgin Atlantic, VS
About 3 years after Virgin Atlantic last flew out of Mumbai, its making a comeback. From 28th October 2012, Virgin Atlantic plans to offer an Airbus 330 service from between Mumbai and London Heathrow. The airline will fly from London in the morning at 10 AM and from Mumbai at 3 AM, thus following the same schedule as Jet Airways and British Airways offer on this city pair.
The announcement popped up on the Virgin Atlantic website today, and reservations will be offered from 4th April 2012.
Clearly, this decision must have been taken much before wannabe Richard Branson (Vijay Mallya’s) Kingfisher Airlines decided to pull out of the London market. There is a lot of traffic on this route, not just because of the Indian diaspora in London but also financial hubs and connecting traffic. Virgin Atlantic plans to offer connections to US cities including New York, Boston, Chicago and Washington DC. It also plans to offer the Indianised service for the benefit of the Indian guests.
The unintended implications of this move will be felt on Jet Airways, who had a codeshare agreement with Virgin Atlantic on the BOM-LHR route, which clearly looks like it is not needed any more.
In a market where a lot of airlines are curtailing capacity to India, Virgin Atlantic will sure win a lot of hearts with this move if nothing else!
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Posted by AJ |
Tags: Heathrow, London, Mumbai, Virgin Atlantic
Privileges such as lounge access are not just for the frequent flyers with the full-service airlines. Your access to the Oasis of Calm, as I refer to lounges, could also come to you by way of holding a particular credit card, more specifically a MasterCard issued in India.
In operation for a few years now, the MasterCard Lounge Access program was recently renewed for another year and is now valid till December 2012. Under this program, all premium MasterCard holders from various banks get free access to the Clipper and Plaza Premium lounges in India on domestic as well as international flights. The unstated fact I can tell you also is that add-on cards also get this benefit, on swiping their cards on the designated Mastercard electronic terminals.
I’ve personally used this privilege when flying around on low-cost carriers such as Indigo which do not offer lounge access or status as a part of the flying package. The offer is valid at the following lounges across India:
International Airports
- Mumbai – Clipper lounge – Terminal 2B (Mezzanine Floor)
- Delhi – Plaza Premium Lounge – Terminal T3 (Fourth Floor)
- Delhi – Premium Lounge – Terminal T3 (Mezzanine Floor)
- Kolkata – Clipper lounge (Ground Floor)
- Chennai – Clipper lounge (First Floor)
- Hyderabad – Plaza Premium Lounge (E Level)
Domestic Airports:
- Delhi – Plaza Premium Lounge – Terminal T3 (Mezzanine Floor)
- Delhi – Plaza Premium Lounge – Terminal T1(D) (First Floor)
- Kolkata – Top Desk Restaurant and Bar (First Floor)
- Kolkata – Clipper Lounge-Located in the departure area of the Domestic terminal
- Hyderabad – Plaza Premium Lounge – Arrival Dom. & Int. – (C Level)
- Mumbai – Clipper Bar & Restaurant – Terminal 1(A)
- Hyderabad – Plaza Premium Lounge – Departures Dom. – (E Level)
While I don’t have a complete list of banks offering this program to their members, I for sure know out of experience that the following cards offer this privilege to their members:
- HSBC Premier
- Citigold World Debit Card
- Citibank Titanium/ World MasterCards
- Axis Bank Titanium MasterCard / Gold Maestro Debit Card
- HDFC Bank Titanium/World MasterCard/ Titanium Debit Cards
- Standard Chartered Titanium MasterCard
- LIC Titanium
If there are other cards which you know of, please leave a note in the comments below and I will add them to the list.
You get access to the F&B, internet (complimentary) and all facilities available to the regular visit of the lounge. At the international lounges, this also includes access to the alcohol if that counts as a benefit for you.
How does it work?
- The Program is available only till 31st December 2012
- The program is applicable in select Clipper & Plaza Premium Lounges in India
- Access at the lounge would be given upon successful authorization of the MasterCard card on the electronic terminals placed at the lounges
- An authorization for an amount (Rs 25/-) will be taken on the card for validation purposes only and it will not be charged to cardholder’s account.
- Program is open only for card holders carrying a valid MasterCard card issued in India. Only one entry per cardholder will be permitted
Do share your experiences with the MasterCard lounge access program in the past or in the future…
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Live From A Lounge is also present on Facebook, Twitter and available via RSS.
Posted by AJ |
Tags: Chennai, Clipper, Delhi, hyderabad, India, Kolkata, lounge access, MasterCard, Mumbai, Plaza Premium
