Mysorean

Why does anyone build something new? Usually because the old one had developed certain problems that could not be solved by incremental fixes. So we now move from HAL airport to Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL). Let us capture the problems that were faced at the HAL airport before examining the BIAL airport. This is purely from the domestic airport point of view.

Congestion while getting into the airport:

This was a two fold problem – one, getting to the airport through the traffic jam on the airport road, etc and two, once near the entrance to the airport there used to be so many vehicles there that getting out of your vehicle and making it to the security entrance would be a pain.

Waiting space post-security check:

I have once waited for a flight standing for 40 minutes. The average must hover around 20 minutes standing.

Lounge:

I must have missed this one in the old airport because I have always spent time standing! :D Anyway if there was one at the HAL airport then were the duds at the check-in counter sleeping?!

Announcements to board the aircraft:

Clarity was zero. And since invariably the flights would get delayed there was no way of knowing if the flight for which you were waiting is ready for boarding or already left! I know a friend of mine who missed his flight waiting in the airport. He was told, “Sir, we announced that the flight was ready for boarding and even announced your name thrice”. His only consolation was that thousands of people must have heard his name! Famous guy, we teased him for a long time after that!

Luggage collection post landing:

I have usually traveled only with hand luggage, but have heard some woeful stories of friends and family waiting for over half an hour to 45 minutes for their luggage. The only instance that I traveled with some check-in baggage I got it in decent time. Nothing to complain. But this was apparently one of the major problems though I went unaffected.

Getting out of the airport to hit the airport road:

I would usually travel by a cab inside the city and once I have identified that cab driver, for him to take his cab and come out of the parking lot would be around 20 minutes and another half an hour to hit the airport road. And regarding the traffic jams we have already addressed that in the first point.

So now onto the new airport. I will not get into the specifics here. Just go through the below activity timeline of mine and you will know the problems.

Arrival into BIAL
9.00 AM: Landed at BIAL
9.20 AM: Sitting in aircraft waiting for aerobridge to come and take us out
9.40 AM: Aerobridge is connected
9.50 AM: We are walking on the newly constructed BIAL. Wow. huh? wow?
10.20 AM: Waiting for our luggage (What the #$%^& were they doing when we were sitting inside the aircraft?)
10.30 AM: Luggage is taken.
10.40 AM: Outside the aiport. Spotted the taxi.
10.45 AM: In the taxi. On our way.
12.00 PM: At home. Jayanagar.

Departure from BIAL: (Next day)
5.00 PM: Sitting in a taxi for the 8.40PM flight (considering the doomsday predictions that I got from people on getting to the airport)
6.05 PM: At the airport. Fairly quick time. Probably because it was a Sunday.
6.15 PM: Join the queue at the check-in counter.
6.40 PM: Get to the counter.
6.50 PM: Done with the check-in. Had considerable check-in luggage.
6.55 PM: Took the escalator upstairs for security check. Joined the queue.
7.10 PM: Completed the security check to meet a sea of people all standing not knowing what to do. I thought I was a smart alec and thought of taking a self-appointed tour of the brand new swanky BIAL. Half of it was not yet open to dumb tourist-like public (like me) and out of the other half a half of it was reserved for international passengers only. Ha! The only thing international about BIAL is the distance from the city. Totally meaningless for a Chennai resident like me to fly anymore.
7.30 PM: At the queue at the ‘taste of India’ outlet.
7.45 PM: Witness a squabble between the air hostess of Kingfisher Deccan (Anything related to this KF brand is a failure nowadays except their airline I was about to fly in!) with a few members in the queue.
8.00 PM: Get across to the guy to place my order. I tell him that since the KF lounge was not yet ready I was asked to use the boarding pass to get my snacks or whatever is the entitlement. Poker-faced answer, “No information from the airlines Sir. We are sorry”. I pay Rs. 360/- for Basmati rice+egg curry and paratha+paneer butter masala a water bottle and minute maid (my favourite orange drink).
8.30 PM: Boarding is announced. We rush to the Gate #7. The queue is longer than the available space. Sit down on a chair (lucky to find one I must say!) nearby to join the queue when it is shorter in length.
8.45 PM: Get into the queue and take the stairs.
9.00 PM: Waiting for the bus to come and take us to the aircraft. It was quite literally like standing in a bus stand waiting for a bus.
9.05 PM: Finally the bus arrives. And guess what – it’s a BMTC bus! I guess they were just rubbing it in that it was a bus stand!
9.30 PM: There is a storm over the airport. Can’t fly. There are no landings or take-offs. We are stranded inside the aircraft.
10.30 PM: Storm persists. We are sitting inside having done with our dinner snack!
10.40 PM: Storm clears up. We take-off.

Fundamental issues have not been addressed. Aerobridge, luggage handling, passenger flow in the airport, waiting area, eateries, coffee bars and cleanliness of toilets – everything needs more attention. My experience here leads me to believe that Bangalore never had the right personnel to man the airport. The same issues continue to dog the new airport as well.

On an overall basis, I feel the airport has been done well aesthetically. I love the way the a/c ducts are designed. The 100ft high roof at the check-in counter. The gangotree, Baskin Robbins and Kaatizone outlets on the outside. The parking arrangement. The colours chosen are particularly soft on the eyes. I just thought there could have been more escalators from the check-in counter to the security area.

The choice of shops inside the shopping area just after the security check is bad if you ask me. I want to know what drives this perspective that you need only lifestyle brands to be displayed at the airports? The future is low cost flying. You will have common people getting into the airport. Please have stalls and brands that satisfy their needs and thus increase the revenue per square foot of the retail outlets. Otherwise I don’t see the footfalls increasing. A business traveller does not have the time to pick something up unless there is an occasion which he/ she actually remembers! And BIAL, I can’t believe you missed this – where is a bookstore? An airport without a bookstore? How absurd is that?! Shucks! A traveller (business/ pleasure) will love to just hang out in the bookstore if he has the time. Alas! I must be way off the mark in my assessment of travellers’ needs!

For me to travel from Chennai to Bangalore by air, just does not make commercial sense. I might as well hire a chauffer-driven luxury car and drive down all the way and save 50% of the cost. But for other city-dwellers, there is little choice. My condolences to them!

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