BAIL trial run... first updates

Courtsey By Team Mangalorean - Bangalore

http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast&broadcastid=70095

Bangalore, March 7, 2008: Six aircrafts today performed the trial run at the Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli which is in fact is the last trial run before the airport opens for commercial operations on midnight of 29 and first few moments of 30 March 2008.

The first commercial aircraft to land in the airport was the Kingfisher Airbus 320 with a load of media persons, company executives and other officials who arrived from Mumbai at 9.50am ten minutes earlier to the schedule. This aircraft was given a shower of water jets by the Panthers (Austrian make fire engines) as a mark of welcome.

Soon after initial drama the Air Deccan - an Airbus 320 carrying the Bangalore Media and press arrived and landed as smoothly as its predecessor. When the first flight arrived everything in the airport was on the test run, right from the landing spot, the run way the taxiway the aerobridges, the baggage clearance, the escalators, the staff, cafetaria and the airline staff.

The Deccan airways carried its Chief Operating Officer Ramki Sundaram and media persons, landed at 11.10 am. This airliner used the remote parking bay and tested the domestic arrival process.

Followed by the Air Deccan a private jet owned by Larsen and Toubro, a partner of the BIAL, was the third flight to land at around 10:15 a.m. L&T’s ECC Division head K.V. Rangaswamy along with some of his colleagues arrived in the jet from Mumbai. The L&T aircraft was the first to depart towards Chennai.

Three aircrafts belonging to Indian Air Force (IAF) landed one after another at the new airport completing the formality of the final flight trials at the new airport. The first IAF aircraft from Yelahanka airbase landed at 10:45 am, the second at 11 am and the last at 11.20 am

Chief Executive Officer of the BIAL airport Albert Brunner and his team at the BIAL was beaming with the air of success, but told the presspersons that there was much more work to be completed particularly the Trumpet Fly over connecting the Airport with the NH7 (Hyderabad-Bangalore) which improves the connectivity to the airport.

New partners selected

BIAL has made substantial efforts to appoint partners and concessionaires to make the new airport experience complete. Some of the recent partners selected include Deepika Govind and Ethos Watches, both operating Mono Brand Stores in the International Departure area. Deepika, a prominent Indian designer, based in Bangalore, will showcase her exclusive collections in this outlet. Ethos, among the largest retailers of time wear in India, will sport watches and writing instruments from all around the world in their outlet. This will be a first at any Indian airport.

Carbon Accessories has been chosen as the Mono Brand Operator in the Domestic Departure area. Carbon will showcase the latest designs and creations across their categories in this outlet. A dedicated outlet LaModa will feature fashion apparel and accessories including Tommy Hilfiger. Odyssey will retail books, music, gifts, toys and flowers in the arrival hall and on the curb side. Odyssey, a subsidiary of Deccan Chronicle Holdings, is among the fastest growing leisure retailer chains in India. Earlier selected concessionaires include Shoppers Stop and Nuance.

On the curb side, a variety of cuisines will be available for passengers and visitors to the airport. Three food & beverage operators that have been chosen for Indian cuisine are Radhakrishna Hospitality Services (RKHS), for South Indian delicacies, KaatiZone and Gangotree, for North Indian food. Subway and Baskin Robbins will also open outlets at the Airport. Earlier selected concessionaires include HMS Host and Café Coffee Day.

Thomas Cook and TT Forex have been selected for foreign exchange services.
Transportation Services

Bus Service

BMTC has procured forty high quality, air-conditioned Volvo buses for dedicated Shuttle Services between the Airport and seven destinations across the City. A trip to MG Road is likely to cost Rs. 130 (proposed). In addition, BMTC has procured 116 Ashok Leyland Non AC buses to connect the airport to the City; the cost per trip is likely to cost Rs. 65 (proposed). BIAL will provide free of cost professional bus bays.

Taxi service

BIAL is committed to providing reliable, affordable and safe taxi facilities at the airport. BIAL has selected (by open tender) MERU & EASYCAB to provide basic taxi services. The taxi operators will have basic AC box cars, all equipped with GPS and GPRS to track the journey for safety and transparency. Both operators have professional call centres. Over 900 taxis will be available when the airport begins operations. This is slated to grow gradually, providing employment opportunities to at least 1800 families.

Pre and post paid taxi facilities will be available on meter charges @ Rs.15/- per km (subject to Govt regulation). BIAL has offered the incumbent taxi operator, KSTDC, 100 taxi licences as subcontractor to above operators, subject to fulfilling the same quality and service levels as defined between BIAL and those operators.

Autorikshaws

BIAL has allocated parking bay for autorikshaws at the Trumpet Flyover and will provide a regular shuttle service from the airport to that location at the auto tariff rate.

Parking Facilities

In addition to 700 car parks for staff, BIAL's car park can accommodate 2000 cars. This is fully automated with an efficient and transparent management system, provided by SKIDATA™, a leading global provider of car park systems at airports. The car parking system will be managed by Central Parking Solutions, India’s largest car park operator. A 10-minute free parking will be given to all drop off passengers. BIAL will also provide two wheeler parking, valet parking, dedicated zone for tour operator buses and premium areas to pick up hotel guests. Car parking fees include Rs.50/- for the four hours and Rs.40/- for two hours.

Limousine and Car Rental Facilities

BIAL has selected Hertz and Akbar Travels as its strategic partner in Limousine and Car Rental operations for premium cars. For the first time at Indian Airports, cars can also be rented professionally for self drive. The cars for Limousine and Car Rental are in a dedicated premium zone close to the Terminal Building.

User Development Fee

BIAL will charge a User Development Fee to provide and maintain higher infrastructure quality and safety. To ease transition, BIAL will charge a reduced UDF for the first two months, until May 31, 2008. This will be at a fee of Rs 240 plus taxes for domestic passengers and Rs 520 plus taxes for international passengers. Thereafter, the fee will be as per the concession agreement i.e. Rs 675 plus taxes per departing passenger and Rs 955 plus taxes per departing passenger.

Bangalore Airport looks cool and simple... was checking HIALs new pics posted - its impressive - looks lot bigger than I thought it was... Did anyone get more pics of the interiors of BIAL? Looks too simple to me but I still like it.

Nature_raj had a question: The mountain behind kingfisher is nandi Hills? I don't think so. I think this is a hillock close to the airport site. When I visited this site back in 2005 (when construction had not yet started), I could spot this hillock maybe at a distance of about 5-7km from the airport site.

Little more than 1/3rd of the ATC staff needed are on board and the other third are yet to join..this is a serious situation! Also, its not a simple task to manage a civilian airport right next to a military one!

'Swalpa lateagi bandharu Safeagi iruthe'..so lets wait..no one needs 'may day' 'may day' calls or aircrafts on the approach finding another aircraft getting ready for takeoff!