[vigsom]

Introduction

This is a quick account of my experiences at two new airport terminals in India - the lesser known Tiruchirappalli (code TRZ), and the great headache, also known as Pune (PNQ). One was a breeze to navigate, while the other was a royal pain. Read on to know more.

How did I get to use the all new terminal at Tiruchirapalli (TRZ)

A few facts around the Tiruchirapalli Airport are contained here (Airport Experiences | Small airport (Tiruchirappalli) vs Larger one (Hyderabad)). I had to make an official trip to Hubballi. Rather than go to Bengaluru by a slow train, and then find my way from there, I discovered that there was this early departure to Bengaluru connecting to Hubballi after a five hour wait.

Highlights of the trip:

1. Experiencing the all new Terminal of Tiruchirapalli International Airport
2. Taking a super short flight into Bengaluru
3. Experiencing a super long wait at Bengaluru
4. Taking an ATR72 aircraft to Hubballi

[vigsom]

Experiences at Tiruchirapalli International Airport

Getting to the airport early in the morning needs some planning. Most local folks rely on the Red Taxi aggregator service, but I played it safer by booking a cab via Best Track, another service provider. I got an immaculately maintained WagonR which took me there in less than 20 minutes. For those of us who have used this airport earlier, it was the old terminal operating until a few months back. The new terminal promised that little step up on style, but it turned out to be quite a fast passage too. From entry to my gate, I was done in less than 10 minutes.

What I liked

1. New terminal minus the crowd
2. Not overdone at all

What could have been better

1. Bins at security check are almost the micro kind - just about hold a 14" laptop
2. Check in can be a hassle if there are three or four international departures bunched together

Entry - note the top of the "Gopuram" visible at departures level




Motif




Walking towards check in - this quite resembled the Chennai's old International departures (I think it is called Terminal4 now)


Walk post Security - hardly any passengers at that time




Gate2


More gates


View of the tarmac


Wanna catch forty winks? Tucked away in one corner


Old terminal (now Cargo), as viewed from the new one


An A320 passing by a parked ATR72


So near the aircraft, yet so far. I always wonder why passengers cannot just walk across to the waiting aircraft (a normal practice in Pune)

[vigsom]

At Bengaluru

Nothing new to report here - Digiyatra worked at the longer transfer gate (the one after the baggage claim), and I was back at departures level in no time, post which it was a long long wait for my next cute flight.

Requests are meant for people not to honour


Big bird in the background


Cute aircraft








Inside the ATR72 - boarding and alighting is from the rear of the aircraft, and two seats right up front are backward facing. Also, seat numbers are printed above the overhead bins. If the hatch is open, seat number isn't visible




Kanjoos Curated Snack Bag


Hubli Airport - unhindered view

[vigsom]

Experiences at Pune's all new terminal

No pictures here in compliance to Pune Airport protocols. Every experience at this new terminal was a pain, and is described below

1. I first went to the erstwhile old terminal only to be told that my flight would now leave from the new terminal. Airlines would send text messages for all non-priority items, but missed out on this.
2. My legs are in good shape so I managed to walk to the new terminal in less than 5 minutes. What about old folks or those who aren't as agile?
3. Entry to the terminal - perhaps the only point which was quick.
4. Baggage Scanner - only one scanner shared by three airlines viz. Star Air, Air India Express, Akasa Air. Once bags came out post scanning, there'd be messages in the air by the respective staff wanting to know which bag was intended for which airline.
5. Check In - absolute chaos. Passengers meant for an earlier departure were moved ahead in the queue while passengers like me reporting well in time looked like fools. It was only after I made some noise like Desi Boys that my bag was accepted.
6. Security Check - absolute madness again. Trays weren't being circulated and folks tried to grab every tray they could lay their hands on.
7. Forty minutes from entry to Gate - a record of sorts at an Indian Airport in recent years!
8. Next surprise - no Departures board seen anywhere; finally found one tucked away in one corner at Gate5
9. Next treasure hunt - to find a loo, but no signboards anywhere. Found one finally somewhere opposite Gate8. The loo was clean and well done, but I doubt the inter-urinal separators would last too long. They're too flimsy.

Finally, boarded at Gate4 on a packed flight, which pushed back almost on time. Phew!!!

Summing it up

There were some pleasing looking bits at Pune's new terminal, but the experience was far far far from satisfactory. Tiruchirapalli was leagues ahead, low passengers notwithstanding. I wonder why a new terminal that handles large traffic cannot have their systems in place before going live.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by vigsom

At Bengaluru


Big bird in the background
Attachment 2650922

Wow. That looks like a A400M Atlas large military transport from the Airbus stable.

[Motorfanatic1]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Experiences at Pune's all new terminal

Pune Airport is a mix bag when it comes to operations. Air Force and Commercial air traffic share the same air strip and therefore, you will see lot of commercial flight timings adjusted as per Air Force training plans. Moreso, the commute to and fro from the airport is also a challenge due to below factors:

1. Peak and rush hour chaos due to demand and supply constraints of the cabs
2. Traffic congestion at the entry gates of airport limits the free movement of vehicles during the office hours

[Voodooblaster]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Requests are meant for people not to honour
Attachment 2650923

On a lighter note, at least the gentleman was kind enough to remove his shoes

It’s the lack of basic decency in public places and a sense of entitlement that causes such abominable behaviour

I have encountered people sleeping with their shoes in Railway AC coach blankets and linen even in premium trains like Rajadhani

A coach attendant who dared to request the passenger was rudely asked to mind his own business by the very well dressed and obviously prosperous offender

Trichy airport caters mainly to travellers bound to Malaysia and Singapore

Both these destinations serve as Hubs to the Australia, New Zealand, Philippines and other East Asia Countries

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Experiences at Pune's all new terminal
4. Baggage Scanner - only one scanner shared by three airlines viz. Star Air, Air India Express, Akasa Air. Once bags came out post scanning, there'd be messages in the air by the respective staff wanting to know which bag was intended for which airline.
5. Check In - absolute chaos. Passengers meant for an earlier departure were moved ahead in the queue while passengers like me reporting well in time looked like fools. It was only after I made some noise like Desi Boys that my bag was accepted.
6. Security Check - absolute madness again. Trays weren't being circulated and folks tried to grab every tray they could lay their hands on.
7. Forty minutes from entry to Gate - a record of sorts at an Indian Airport in recent years!
There were some pleasing looking bits at Pune's new terminal. I wonder why a new terminal that handles large traffic cannot have their systems in place before going live.

I experienced Pune's new terminal couple of weeks back and going to be visiting again on Sunday. The infrastructure is still not completely in its place and the terminal was opened up for traffic. Even I missed getting any message from airlines about dep from new terminal last time and hence had to walk a considerable distance which was tiring as I had check in luggages. No Digi yatra in place as yet for this terminal so the security check is a painfuly long process if too many passengers are at the same time. The check in luggage scanner is a big joke and people operating it load the baggage randomly. The Air India check in was another amusing incident, staff sitting and chatting when people are standing in queues for check ins. Unfortunately there isnt any lounge as yet in the new terminal, may take several weeks to months for one to come up. The food is as usual expensive at the terminal.
The only thing I liked about the new terminal is the space, good area available for passengers as against the cramped old terminal. Hope things improve in the coming days.

[turbospooler]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Experiences at Pune's all new terminal

I wonder why a new terminal that handles large traffic cannot have their systems in place before going live.

All the Pune folks (like myself) are waiting for the new airport to be operational as soon as possible, particularly the folks residing in the west. With the addition of a tunnel, the journey is going to be super quick.
The name of the airport is Navi Mumbai International Airport

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by Voodooblaster

Trichy airport caters mainly to travellers bound to Malaysia and Singapore

Even more travellers bound to middle East. Trichy is the center of Tamilnadu, making it the ideal choice for many to fly from. No wonder it takes a place in top 10 airports in the nation when it comes to number of passengers travelling.

[GGMU]

Originally Posted by turbospooler

All the Pune folks (like myself) are waiting for the new airport to be operational as soon as possible, particularly the folks residing in the west. With the addition of a tunnel, the journey is going to be super quick.
The name of the airport is Navi Mumbai International Airport

Navi Mumbai airport surely will provide a better option for West Pune residents as you said while we wait (and wait and wait) for a proper international airport in Pune. The irony is that Pune is among the top-10 busiest airports in India, and yet for international travels the authorities want the residents of this tier-1 city to travel 3-4-5 hours to Mumbai and make arrangements for their temporary stay if that road travel is at off hours owing to odd timings of the international flights. On top of that, we keep hearing new promises each year about how a new airport is going to be constructed soon.

[ptushar]

Originally Posted by GGMU

On top of that, we keep hearing new promises each year about how a new airport is going to be constructed soon.

Check it out on Google Maps.
From Aundh, Pune, the new (and proposed) Pune International airport will be about 2 hrs 18 minutes. This is at a place called Pargaon Memane.
From Aundh, Pune the new (an under construction) Navi Mumbai International airport will be about 2 hrs 23 minutes. This is at a place called Ulwe.

Now once the missing link project on the expressway is operational, this will further reduce travel time by about 20 minutes, if not more. So this means that it will be quicker to reach the Navi Mumbai airport than the Pune International airport.

[GGMU]

Originally Posted by ptushar

Check it out on Google Maps.
From Aundh, Pune, the new (and proposed) Pune International airport will be about 2 hrs 18 minutes. This is at a place called Pargaon Memane.
From Aundh, Pune the new (an under construction) Navi Mumbai International airport will be about 2 hrs 23 minutes. This is at a place called Ulwe.

Now once the missing link project on the expressway is operational, this will further reduce travel time by about 20 minutes, if not more. So this means that it will be quicker to reach the Navi Mumbai airport than the Pune International airport.

Yes, that is correct. I also said Navi Mumbai airport will benefit West Pune residents in the first line of my post.

But not everyone lives in West Pune. Also, when we talk about Pune or Western Maharashtra, there are people travelling abroad from Satara, Solapur, Kolhapur also. For them, Pune would be easier to reach than Mumbai. The size of Pune itself deserves a proper international airport, and when you add adjacent cities in the mix, it becomes it a no-brainer of a decision, ideally.
When you consider that the new airport proposal has been going on for 20+ years, and considering the industrial base in Pune and cities around Pune, it's frustrating for people to keep hearing the same promises over and over again. That was my only point.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by GGMU

Navi Mumbai airport surely will provide a better option for West Pune residents as you said while we wait (and wait and wait) for a proper international airport in Pune. The irony is that Pune is among the top-10 busiest airports in India, and yet for international travels the authorities want the residents of this tier-1 city to travel 3-4-5 hours to Mumbai and make arrangements for their temporary stay if that road travel is at off hours owing to odd timings of the international flights. On top of that, we keep hearing new promises each year about how a new airport is going to be constructed soon.

Pune a Tier-1 city ?? In official classification perhaps. Otherwise it is an overgrown village. Even its most redeemable feature, the education infrastructure, is no longer at par with its peers in the rest of the country. Everyone wants to utilize it (real estate, IT, retail, manufacturing) but no one wants to improve it. Even Punekars dont want to improve their road behaviour for that matter. Dont even get me started about the airport.