World of Loyalty Programmes

This blog is based on my own personal experience and is very specific to Airline loyalty programmes.

Each service provider in this world for the want of increasing market share amidst competition , provides loyalty programme in one way or the other. Be it book stores, retailers, Hotels. This is quite evident and highly visible in the Airline industry .

Ever since i made my maiden international flight in 2004, i have been avid follower of Airline frequent flyer programmes across different airlines, most of the airlines provide tier miles for every travel undertaken and these miles could be used to purchase items and also carries a status of the passengers frequent flyer.

My first interaction with a frequent flyer loyalty programme was the Star Alliance " Miles & More" programme. In which during my two year active membership, i was able to purchase duty free items.

Post that , i wasn't active with them but couple of stints with " One World " a rival frequent flyer programme offered by BA, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Iberia, Finnair, Lanchile & American Airlines. This stint wasn't very fruitful for me as i personally did not benefit.

Over the last two plus years i have been on the " Skywards " programme offered by The Emirates group, its been very rewarding . With four business class upgrades (of course free of cost) and one upgrade to business class using my miles.

Its been rewarding to such an extent that i found it unbelievable that on one of flights from Dubai to London in which i was upgraded, i had a session with a flight steward on how this whole loyalty programme works.

I explained my predicament to the steward and i had asked him if the airline was analyzing my flying pattern and providing me with upgrades just to ensure that i stick with them?

The steward explained that airlines normally overbook the economy class in all flights with the hope that there would be last minute cancellations, when this doesn't happen , the frequent flyer's  based on their tiers i.e.Platinum,Gold, Silver have the first right for upgrades in that order, these are called complimentary upgrades.

I asked the steward what happens if the business class is full, he said the same applies i.e. they upgrade business class passengers to first class where one exists.

The tricky part is where they are unable to do so. In such instances, they use a rule in Geneva convention for intl airlines, in which the rule roughly states that even though the passenger might have a confirmed ticket, its possible that they may not be able to fly on the scheduled flight.

Am not entirely sure how this rule is invoked but i have seen this in the fine prints of the tickets as well, that's a bit scary.

I have also seen many other loyalty programmes, another one that i have benefited from is the Landmark book shop programme in which i have had very good discounts over the number of years.

In a nutshell, it looks as though that being loyal to your service providers seem to prove beneficial in the long run, at least, that's what my experience points to.

The only other place i haven't benefited from even tough i have been using the service for very long is the " Credit Cards frequent user/loyalty" programmes , i find them quite appalling.

Any other views?

Yes We Can - Go India Go

In the past year or so , lots has been spoken about the 2G corruption and also about the common wealth fiasco.

What's not spoken though is were the positives that India had manage to achieve  at the same time.

Given that i have just passed through the Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport i wanted to write this blog about developments in that space.

Way back in mid 2001 was my first direct contact with westerners or people from countries with good infrastructure.

My first contact was with people from South Africa. At that point in time i was working in Mumbai , there were three instances where we had visitors from Johannesburg and the constant moan was how bad the airport was and how bad things are at the airport as compared to their airport or countries that they had visited.

Following their visit , some of my friends visited Johannesburg and they were at awe about the airport. This infuriated me as a teenager  but alas i could do nothing.

The anger stayed with me.

As years went by , there was only news of corruption and non development, there was constant squabble among each parties in power in one way or the other.

I was tired. Then in May 2004 i had my first glimpse of truly international airport. I left for Europe and my first stop over was at Frankfurt, the worlds second largest airport. Truly gargantuan , dwarfing Chennai airport from where i had departed.

If that wasn't enough , my next stop, Amsterdam Schipol airport , another mega airport with state of the art technology and facilities.

Another couple of years went by nothing seemed to be working, just few gimplse of infrastctural improvements.

Come June 2007 it was my first visit to London Heathrow, truly a mega airport. I felt sick at heart getting mocked about the airports in India.

However there was always hope, during the same time Mumbai revamped ts airport and expats working in my company now started to speak more positively about the improvements in airport infrastructure.

Just in early-mid 2009 i started to hear about the Delhi international airport expansion/redevelopment to prepare it for the Commonwealth games. The airport was completed in record time and was opened with lot of fanfare just in time for the games , it is owned by GMR group and was built by L&T.

To appreciate anything one has to see it so goes a saying. It was no different for me . I saw the airport first hand yesterday in May 2011, ten years after i first stepped into any Aerodrome in my life and i was in for a shock in a pleasant way.

I was mighty pleased and had my head high with pride.

It was not perfect as is the case with everything but i was happy with what i saw. Just as you come out , you can see dirty little tiles, just to bring you back and say to you that you are in India. The airport has all facilities, Walkalator built by Thyssen Kruup, lounge facilities, various other facilities one can find in top airport.

The airport has been built with our tradition in mind, which was a big plus. I was so proud to see it.

At least i can say to myself , although its taken time however we are getting there.

If all of us put our heads together we can make this country reach its ambitions which we find in India's growing young and with so much diversity and capability , i have no doubt we can compete with any country on all levels.

Yes We Can! Go India Go!

Ps:- I know i promised in my last blog that my next blog would be about Loyalty but i could not resist writing this post. Will write about that later.

Why is a Sales Personnel Required in a shop if the products are good?

Is that an obvious question and is there an obvious answer?

I found out the answer today.

I had been wanting to buy pair of formal trousers for a long time and time was right this afternoon for me to go shopping.

I visited a very plush mall with shops of all major brands. I have been to this mall numerous times.

I first visited a shop called Hacketts of London, a very famous name in the clothing industry. To my surprise, the salesman just said a ' Hi' to me and left me to wander in the shop. Unimpressed i just left the shop in about five minutes.

Actually i did not even know what colour trousers i wanted and what pattern i was looking for.

Just as i was wandering the mall, i spotted another shop, which i had seen earlier but had never visited before. Another modern shop with various types of clothing specifically formal wears , well lit and had a good ambience.

Just as i walked in and started looking at the clothes, one well mannered salesman came-up to me and asked me ' Sir what are you looking for ?" , as a customer this was a first positive for me.

I just said to him that i was looking for trousers, the salesman took me up to the suit section and showed me different colours of suits and trousers, explained that i can buy suits and trousers or buy them individually. As a customer , i felt i was pushed a bit but i was given choices, another big win.

The salesman , then won it in the next statement. " Sir, i will leave you to choose what you need, if you need any assistance, am by the side, please give me a shout'. As a customer, in my eyes the salesman was giving me privacy but also re-assuring me that if i had any questions he was just round the corner to assist me.

Once i chose what i needed, i looked-up to the salesman and asked him how the alterations work. The salesman explained me that once i try the fitting he would take care of the rest.

I was very pleased and instead of trying one, i tried two of them. The salesman was assisting even in finding the necessary fitting accessories. You might wonder what fitting accessories? well i needed a formal shoe to wear and check what height fitting i need. The salesman got me a spanking brand new shoe for me to wear to ensure that i was happy and that i how i would wear trousers normally.

Once everything was done, i paid the bill and left as a happy customer.

Thinking about it i thought the salesman won the day. He converted a potential customer into a customer, he converted a potential buyer into an actual buyer.

Answer to my question is , Sales Personnel are required in the shop to convert potential customers into actual customers and also enable to make the brand stand-out in the customers mind , this is where brand loyalty comes.

Incidentally , brand loyalty would be my next blog! 

Edinburgh - Treat to Your Eyes

Last weekend was a long weekend and i did not want to waste the rarity of having long time off.

Myself and a friend of mine decided to have an open mind to travel around.We sat down to choose which place we wanted to visit. We toyed around with Wales or Scotland.

Impulsively we selected Scotland. 

We booked the tickets for Thursday last weekend , believe me that on the same day there were 900 people of all ages leaving and traveling to Edinburgh. The bus/coach operators were surprised at the bookings, as against a normality of one bus, there were 14 buses that ran on the same day starting at the same time, 13 coaches were rented out coaches to accommodate the rush in bookings.

If that wasn't a surprise , the biggest surprise of all was the mixture of the crowd; 97% of the crowd was from Asia predominantly from China and India . Yes India & China are emerging tigers was well demonstrated here.

In Edinburgh all hotels and hostels were absolutely packed to capacity.

My friend had suggested that instead of time tested methodology of checking into hotels, he wanted me to be open minded. Our first difference was we booked ourselves into Edinburgh Central Youth Hostel. I would absolutely recommend this place for anyone wishing to travel without any specifics in mind. Being a first timer to a hostel, i was surprised by its cleanliness. Breakfast was continental and was ok but you get what you pay for.

Once we had checked in, we washed ourselves and we were off to roam around the city.

Our mantra was to explore as much as possible.

So our first point of call was a walk on the famous Princess Street, immediately i was struck by the beauty of the various monuments and the street in itself was a normal shopping street but what made it special was that on one side were very old monuments and buildings while on the other side were swanky shops , it was an eclectic mix of old and new.

In the afternoon we visited the Edinburgh Castle. The Castle and the history in itself didn't amaze me but the city of edinburgh built around it and the Castle standing slap bang in the middle was a sight that i would never forget.

After close to two hours in the castle , i was exhausted and needed some fuel. So we hit Jimmy Chang a Chinese restaurant near Waverly station. Me being a Vegetarian had little option for food here but the temptation was that it was a buffet menu and it was a non-veg paradise, my friend hogged as if there was no tomorrow.

Post a filling lunch , we headed back to our hostel. After an hour of rest we refreshed ourselves, feeling fresh, we hit the streets.

We visited Rose Street , which is famous for its bars. After a few round of beers for my friend and diet coke for me , it was time for us to have dinner and we were spoilt for choices but we settled for Italian at Massimo.

The Risotto was nice but was touch expensive. After an eventful and an exhausting day , it was time to hit the bed , just then we realized that we hadn't planned what to do the next day.

Lonely planet guide came in handy , even here we chose not to follow tried and tested routes. So we zeroed in on Inverness , north most part of scotland. We agreed we take the journey by train and were off to bed.

The following morning was misty and overcast which didn't dampen our spirits as we hit our schedule train and we weren't let down. As the journey took us through some spectacular sights that i have ever seen. It was a photographers delight and a treat to the eyes. 

We reached Inverness at around 11:30 on day 2 of our visit. Again here we decided not to try the tried and tested Loch Ness trip from Inverness, instead we visited the local tourist information centre , where we got briefed about the history of the place and also about a  walk way called the Great Glen Walk. 

We decided to try the Great Glen Walk Way. We were right , it was one of the most serene walks that i have ever encountered. The walk route , takes one through the Ness Islands on river Ness and crossing the Caledonia Canal and onto various villages in and around Inverness. of-course this walk was too long for us to complete in the time we had.

We rounded off our visit to Inverness by having our lunch at one of the bars, never have i tried eating lunch at a bar but the rice and beans wasn't a bad offering .

From there we hit the rail again , this time on our way to a town called Pitlochry known for its Hydroelectric power station and also River Tummel.

We reached Pitlochry at around 18:30 and walked past the River Tummel walkway and on top of the dam over the river which incidentally also serves as Fish Ladder to assist Salmon fish migration. After immersed ourselves in the beauty that nature was able to throw at us, given a town near the river , not having fish & chips was a sin to any non-vegetarian but my friend was too full and me being a vegetarian , we settled just for salted chips to while away our time and walk around the town before we headed off to the station to take our train  back to the city of Edinburgh.

We were so late that we did not have much option but to go for a simple indian meal at the Shezan Tandoori restaurant . The food was neat and easy , not much fuss. Exhausted , i hit the bed and off to sleep in a jiffy.

Day 3 saw us explore local places including the famous Rosslyn Chapel , now made famous by the Da Vinci Code, the Chapel in itself did not inspire me one bit. 

After that visit , we had a solid Mediterranean meal at Hanam's restaurant slap bang on Johnston's terrace street. I by far had the best ever Naan bread, it was lovely and i was in love with the food, we summed up our lunch with Bhaklaba a traditional Mediterranean desert.

Day 3 afternoon had the least activity as i was exhausted and so was my friend , so we did roamed around locally before packing up and leaving the lovely city of Edinburgh.

It was one of the best ever trip i had ever had . The learnings were enormous . I loved every bit of my time.

Experience of a 3D Movie

Me & movie ? am not joking , Yes i watched a 3D movie for the first time ever yesterday and boy did i like it.

It was my first movie in theatre after a very long time , to be precise after 3 long years. The last movie that i saw in theatre was Kamal hassan's Dasavatharam in London in 2008.

The 3D movie that i saw was titled ' Caves Of Forgotten Dreams' , Its about Chauvet Caves in France and its awe inspiring paintings inside it . These paintings were drawn some 32,000 years ago. Yes 32,000 years ago and still alive.

The movie is a documentary produced by Werner Herzog. 

Just as the movie begins , the screen lights up to say that we need to wear the special effects 3D glasses. As the ad arrives on the screen , my mind races to think how can i wear another glass over my existing glasses, will it work? I had my own doubts.

I reluctantly wore it just in the nick of time before the movie begun.

I was gobsmacked right in the first scene. The vivd display and real like images on 3D made me sit up and look at the screen in awe.

I was amazed at the technology and the finesse in which the movie evolved, there was no comparison . I had by now turned into a 3D fan and agreed to myself that this technology has set a new benchmark in motion picture displays.

It was as if i was walking into the cave as an explorer. It was so real that i almost thought i was able to touch and feel the caves.

The movie in itself was quite technically brilliant and had wealth of information but for me , the experience of the 3D movie stood out .

Am not exaggerating the experience , i admit it was quite captivating and i have not seen anything even close to it .

My friend Kishore who is a movie buff commented about his experience after watching Avatar in 3D , i just pooh-poohed his review and said it was just his self which was exaggerating the movie experience.

I must admit how wrong i was and 3D is definitely the technology of the future.

I wouldn't be surprised if Bolloywood & Kollywood movies are released in 3D , would make it interesting to watch the masala stunt.

It was one of the best experience i have ever had watching a movie.

It made my day. People often ask why is there a need to go for a movie and the standard answer from film connoisseur's to that question is , well its just for the experience of it.

How right they are. Although you will read this blog and think how much i enjoyed the movie but for you to enjoy the same, you would have to walk to your nearest theatre where this movie is running to watch it.

Astounding!

A Great Team Makes All The Difference

No this isn't about the Indian cricket team.

So what's this all about,some sort of team work at office? Certainly not.

This is about watching a match as a team.

Last Saturday was a glorious day for two reasons, one the weather was beautiful and two we witnessed one of the best world cup finals.

What made it very special for me was the people around me who made it an occasion to remember.

I had four people visiting me on Saturday to watch the match out of four of them, one was a very close friend of mine , rest were his friends.

I was as excited as everyone to watch the match and also to meet new people. I had made preparations for them to stay comfortably and enjoy the match.

No match is watched without packets of chips and lots of soft drinks to wash down your throat and this was no exception.

With all set for the day, my visitors arrived on a glorious day to find out that Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat.

As the game progressed,people who I barely knew until that morning became quite close.

The bond became even stronger during India's chase.We cheered every run scored and rued every wicket.

When Dhoni hit the winning six, we hugged with joy and the noise in the apartment was loud enough to warrant a compliant from the neighbour.

To sum up a great day, we had a sumptuous dinner at an Indian restaurant.

When I returned home from dinner, I felt so happy after a long time.

I truly believe that my day was not only made by India's victory but also by the team along whom I watched it, because it was the team that made the day very special.

I would savour the day and every moment of it.

Not to miss out my friend Rama without whom I wouldn't have enjoyed the day as I did.

Note:- first post from my iPad so do excuse if you spot formatting issues

2011 Season Begins in Earnest

Yes, after the delay due to political tensions in Bahrain , the 2011 F1 season has begun in earnest.

How has it panned out so far.

The reigning world champions Red Bull racing had by far the best winter testing, followed by Ferrari. Mclarens had their worst nightmares in the new MP4 car and Mercedes are plodding on from where they left off in 2010.

Ross Brawn says that he doesn't expect the car to be a championship winner but would fight for the podiums.

On the middle sector cars, Renault seem to have the best package however in the absence of Robert Kubica they might find it difficult to get the traction that they need from Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfield.

Force India seem to be decent and would like to improve on their seventh placed finish of last year, they do have new driver in Paul Di Resta who was the reserve driver last season.

Sauber petronas seem to have found some form , how they translate it in the season remains to be seen , Kaumi Kobayashi probably would shoulder big responsibility for them.

As far as Williams go , i might expect them to be somewhere between grid 4-6 , what seem to be seen is how rookie Paul Maldonando keeps up with the experience of Rubens Barichello.

As for the rest of the teams , except Red Bull Toro Rosso , i would consider them pure back markers and no real expectations of surprises.

For Toro Rosso, they have a Renault engine and a Red Bull steering & brakes, would be interesting to see how it goes for them.

The real heroes are not the drivers or the cars but this year it could be one of the three new factors for 2011 season .

1 DRS - Drag Reduction System

2 KERS - Kinetic Energy Recovery System

3 Pirelli Tyres ( After departure of long standing Bridgestone tyres , Italian company Pireli has become defacto tyre supplier)

Lots has been spoken about the new tyre component and expectations are that there would be a lot of pit stops this year and it would be impossible for any car to do a one pit stop strategy.

What remains to be seen is how these would affect the strategy and how teams cope with changing conditions.

Am very excited to see the start of 2011 season. With this , am also kick starting my blogging after a three week hiatus.

May the best team win.