Hyderabad (HYD) | Rajiv Gandhi International Airport

[harsh1802]

'Shamshabad...what's that?'

Looks like the pilot might have been in la la land.

Originally Posted by Zuben

Looks like GMR has given apple to monkey's. if that guy shouting about his delayed flight has done that any where else in the world except india -iam sure he would have been kicked out right away or even imprisoned for personal attack on airlines officer.

I agree that GMR should have been more forthcoming with info....but wht do they do when some pilot screws up? The shouting thing really pissed me off when i watched the video.

[Mahratta]

Originally Posted by harsh1802

'Shamshabad...what's that?'

Looks like the pilot might have been in la la land.

Good example of pilots not being informed by their airlines on where they are going...must have been a bunch of angry people in that plane

[Hindustani]

Wouldn't blame the pilot at this point.

He heard of Hyderabad
He probably heard of sikanderabad
He could even guess Cyberabad

But Shamshabad.....No way he could have guessed it in his wildest dreams.

[lionrapier]

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...2450560600.htm

BIA-RGIA may tilt at cash counter

Bangalore operator likely to steal the thunder
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neck-and-neck
BIAL expects traffic of least 11 million passengers the first year, while Hyderabad expects 7 million

Cargo movement at Bangalore is 1.25 lakh tonnes, almost thrice Hyderabad’s 43,000 tonnes.


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Madhumathi D.S.

The two new international airports could well be another hare-and-tortoise story. The GMR consortium-built Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Hyderabad may have stolen a small march, time-wise, over the Bengaluru counterpart by opening on March 23. However, a launch hiccup apart, it looks like the Bangalore operator will be stealing the thunder eventually at the cash counters.

BIA’s promoter consortium Siemens-Unique Zurich-L&T may have hit a gold-mine at Devanahalli, going by just the air traffic numbers, according to what Business Line gathered from neutral industry-watchers. Airport company BIAL (Bangalore International Airport Ltd) has not shared any revenue expectations so far.

By BIAL’s reckoning, Bengaluru should be ending the first year with at least 11 million passengers and grow at 20 per cent each year. Hyderabad, which has seen similar investment of nearly Rs 2,500 crore, expects traffic of some 7 million.

This traffic will be the main revenue source initially, and the user fees to be levied on departing passengers is seen as a major cash cow, apart from air-side revenues such as landing-parking fees; and royalties from cargo and ground-handling agencies.

FIRST TO POST


Bangalore’s attraction for airlines will be undeniably greater than Hyderabad’s, and it could break even in the second year itself, one observer said. If HAL airport last year made a turnover of Rs 650 crore, BIAL could make at least thrice that figure during the first full year. Similar international airports break even in seven-eight years. The prime 4,000-acre airport land is another golden goose, as land rates have appreciated sharply to a couple of crores an acre.

On the flip side, BIAL is straightaway mulling another expenditure for a second runway and terminal expansion at Rs 2,500 crore. Also, the 40-day delay until May 11 may have meant a revenue dent of around Rs 150 crore a month, the observer reckoned. The Bangalore project was always a tad ahead of Hyderabad: re-conceived in the public-private form in 1999; awarded in 2001; its CA (concession agreement) signed in July 2004, five months ahead of Hyderabad.

The two have been neck and neck, paving the same odds; and completed at the same time at comparable costs. They even eye the same pie in the sky and on ground.

BIAL seeks to handle 420-440 movements a day (HAL is creaking at 350 civilian movements). Growing at 30 per cent annually, Bangalore is set for 13 million in the second year and 15 million in 2012.

LUCRATIVE GROWTH


Bangalore’s air traffic started galloping in 2002, but everyone misread it. It has soared almost five-fold in seven years: from 2.3 million in 2001, to 3.5 million in 2002, when the shareholders came on; to 5 million (2005) and now 10-11 million (2007).

In fact, Lufthansa Consulting in 2005 had forecast 8.7 million traffic for 2010. So much so that BIAL had to insert a Rs 500-crore or 40 per cent expansion midway through the construction. Cargo, too, looks lucratively poised at Bangalore; the present movement of 1.25 lakh tonnes at Bangalore is almost thrice Hyderabad’s 43,000 tonnes.

Indian airports earn 75-80 per cent of their revenue from aeronautical business and the rest from non-aero activities, such as duty-free, retail and F&B. This is just the opposite of the European model, after which BIA is fashioned.

[Luckystreak]

Originally Posted by harsh1802

Another video...

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/61790/...w-airport.html

But damn....when will people learn to behave properly.



And fuck...these news reporters just don't do any damn research. I believe the coffee used to cost the same in BGPT too.

In Begumpet, coffee costed 40 Rs.

[Luckystreak]

Just like foreign passengers experience "culture shock" when the land in Hyderbad for the fisrt time, Indian passengers are experiencing "infrastructure shock" for the first time, so all these complaints and confusion. It takes some time for them to get used to it.

[harsh1802]

Originally Posted by Luckystreak

Just like foreign passengers experience "culture shock" when the land in Hyderbad for the fisrt time, Indian passengers are experiencing "infrastructure shock" for the first time, so all these complaints and confusion. It takes some time for them to get used to it.

[harsh1802]

A very fair take on the first day of operations with pics!!!

http://iamwally.blogspot.com/2008/03...l-airport.html

GMR needs to do something about the prices.

[harsh1802]

Truly World Class Airport at Shamshabad, Hyderabad, India. Currenly India's Best Airport. It was pouring alot on the first day of operations at the new airport when we reached at 02:00Hrs IST but that did not dampen our spirits. Even after a long drive to reach the airport was definitely worth it!! Hyderabad is showing India how projects need to be implemented across India.


Jason's Public Gallery

[harsh1802]

Looks like lot of people came in for sightseeing.

I've never seen so many at BGPT.

[ajay_ijn]

Originally Posted by ramkan

First impressions - Deccan Chronicle


Chaos reigns at new airport - KLM’s flight gets delayed

Hyderabad, March 23: The excitement at the opening of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad was dampened after a KLM flight that was supposed to land at around 2 am was unexpectedly re-routed to Mumbai. The flight was supposed to take off for Amsterdam at around 5 am on Sunday, but that did not happen either.

Relatives of the passengers as well as those who had arrived to take the return flight protested till early morning giving a tough time for the GMR authorities. The flight had reached the city and had made several rounds of the airport, but did not land.

GMR authorities contended that the pilot did not want to take a risk because of unsuitable weather conditions. The flight later made an emergency landing at Mumbai airport. However, after landing at Mumbai airport, the flight did not refuel and take off to Hyderabad as was expected since the pilot had exhausted his air time.

Hence the passengers were shifted to hotels in Mumbai and were told nothing about when they would be flown to Hyderabad. They are still stuck in Mumbai. This caused much confusion in the Shamshabad airport. Relatives of the passengers waited till dawn and left disappointed and disgruntled. Many of the passengers who checked in for the return flight were stuck at Shamshabad Airport till Sunday night. GMR authorities had no information about the KLM flight. Following an hour-long protest by the relatives, they announced that the flight would land around 6 am.

But that did not happen either. The angry relatives then asked authorities why KLM alone had weather problems while other flights had landed smoothly. Some relatives of the passengers even started crying worried whether their dear ones were safe and whether something untoward had happened. Their worries doubled as the announcements and display boards at the airport did not say anything about the flight.

At one point, it looked as if the people waiting anxiously would manhandle the GMR staff. Anticipating trouble, GMR officials first supplied water and then tea to the people. At around 6 am they were given breakfast and finally provided with transport facilities to go home.

"It all happened because commercial activities began without putting everything in place," said Mr Sridhar Reddy, a resident of Barkatpura, who had come to the airport to pick up his daughter and son-in-law. "The pilot complained that the signal was not visible due to bad weather. He was probably not aware about the advanced technology being used at Shamshabad," a GMR spokesperson said.



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Airlines fail to take staffers to Shamshabad


Hyderabad, March 23: Women employees of various airlines are worried about their safety during night shifts as the airline officials are reluctant to provide transport to the new airport at Shamshabad. Many airlines have asked their employees to make their own transport arrangements since it is not possible for them to run vehicles separately. GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited has also not made any transport arrangements for them. Airline staffers, particularly in the ground handling section have to report for night shifts since over 50 flights operate after midnight.

As many as 2,000 employees, including women, did not face any trouble while working in night shifts when they were working at Begumpet. "I can manage to go to Shamshabad, but coming back is a big headache since my shift gets over after 2 am. I am worried my about safety also," said a senior woman executive working for an international airlines.

Some airlines have agreed pay up to Rs 3,000 as conveyance. However, this has not satisfied them since they have to spend at least Rs 6,000 per month for transportation. "I have to spend at least Rs 200 a day even if I travel in the vehicles arranged by GMR for passengers," said an employee working for another airlines. Some employees doubted if it was feasible to drive daily to Shamshabad. "There is no proper road connectivity. It is very difficult for us to travel at night," said Mr Praveen Kumar, an executive. Air India employees are lucky to some extent. "We made arrangements to ferry our staff," said a spokesperson of Air India.




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Visitors are not allowed to departure


Hyderabad, March 23: The new international airport at Shamshabad bans entry of visitors inside the airport terminal. Passengers going abroad to work for a couple of years would have liked to spend some time with their loved ones. They want visitors to be allowed at least up till the security point inside the departure terminal.

"It is 2 am now. My wife is standing outside. I can’t even see her from here (International departure terminal). We hired a taxi to reach here. Any new rule should definitely respect our culture. The government must do something to allow families to spend some time at the airport," said N. Sunil Kumar who took a Qatar Airways flight. "You cannot expect your family to just drop you at the entrance and drive away. A visitors gallery is a must," he said.



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Many still want Begumpet for domestic flights


Hyderabad, March 23: Passengers want Begumpet airport to be continued for at least domestic flights between various places within Andhra Pradesh. They opined that it did not make sense to fly from Vijayawada to Shamshabad in less than an hour and the travel from Shamshabad to the city for two hours in the city traffic. "People take flights to save time. You cannot expect people to spend four hours travelling to and fro from the airport. Begumpet airport should continue to operate at least till connectivity is improved to Shamshabad," said A. Prasada Rao who lives in suburbs of Vijayawada and frequents Hyderabad.

According to N. Raghu of Visakhapatnam, the government should have ensured faster connectivity to Shamshabad airport before it was thrown open for commercial operations. "I have no choice but to come by flight. I can’t waste 10 to 12 hours travelling in train or bus or even by car. There has to be some solution to this problem. Maybe the government should improve connectivity at least till the Secretariat," he said.

Even passengers on international flights felt that Begumpet airport had its own advantages. "I came by the Lufthansa at 12.25 am. My flight to Vijayawada is at 6 am. There is no recreation facility here. If it were Begumpet airport, I could have at least gone to Secunderabad Railway station to buy something. This is not possible while you land at Shamshabad airport," said Ghanta Suresh, who works as Systems Integration Specialist for Perot Systems in Dallas.



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Lack of facilities stump passengers


Hyderabad, March 23: Great expectations about the Shamshabad airport turned into disillusionment on the first day of its commercial operation itself. Right from lack of sign boards on women’s toilets to haphazard parking and inability to control crowds, passengers had dozens of complaints about the way things were being run.

They also pointed out lack of enough seats and absence of public telephone booths as major lacunae. Though the passengers and visitors initially said the airport was magnificent, they soon had sundry grievances about the lack of facilities. To add to the woes of airport authorities, hundreds of people visited it just for "sight seeing".

The incessant rain also added to the problem. "These are initial hiccups and all facilities would be in place in a few days time," said an airport official. Some passengers complained about shortage of aero bridges. Others said that their baggage was given to them in a rain-soaked condition. People were walking in and out of the airport without anyone to regulate them. Many incidents of theft were also reported. Right from light bulbs to hooks of the toilet doors, many things went missing on the first day.

Mr Kartik, who works for Goldman Sachs in the United States, complained that he was unable to browse the Net using his mobile phone within the terminal since there was no wireless coverage. More mundane needs were also ignored. For instance, there were no outlets in the departure terminal selling soft drinks or snacks.

Mr N. Suryanarayana, who was leaving for Qatar, said: "I have been searching in vain for a public telephone booth." Passengers going to Gulf countries had to wait in queues for more than three hours to get even a boarding pass.

This newspaper from the beginning always tried to paint poor picture about new Airport. they don't talk about how GMR developed such a good airport and that too in time, afterall how many infrastructure projects of this size in our country happen with in time, still they only write about delays in road widening, closure of begumpet airport and now they writing as if the Airport had bad beginning.

[Desidude]

Originally Posted by Luckystreak

Just like foreign passengers experience "culture shock" when the land in Hyderbad for the fisrt time, Indian passengers are experiencing "infrastructure shock" for the first time, so all these complaints and confusion. It takes some time for them to get used to it.

Right Luckystreak, People need sometime to get used to such infrastructure projects.
Remember the Delhi-Gurgaon highway toll plaza, there is still (i guess) a lot of confusion (congregation) despite it being the 3rd largest tollway in the world with probably 32 plus toll lanes.

[Illusionist]

Originally Posted by harsh1802

Truly World Class Airport at Shamshabad, Hyderabad, India. Currenly India's Best Airport. It was pouring alot on the first day of operations at the new airport when we reached at 02:00Hrs IST but that did not dampen our spirits. Even after a long drive to reach the airport was definitely worth it!! Hyderabad is showing India how projects need to be implemented across India.


Jason's Public Gallery

great find man..... its hot.
http://picasaweb.google.com/keeper.s...44980617860258
i like this one best...
hopefully some day people who are looking at the screen will be able to fly too...

[harsh1802]

Originally Posted by Indrajal.com

great find man..... its hot.

Yup. And it is also huge!




@ Ajay: Pls check your Inbox.

[p.raghavendra6]

Originally Posted by harsh1802

Truly World Class Airport at Shamshabad, Hyderabad, India. Currenly India's Best Airport. It was pouring alot on the first day of operations at the new airport when we reached at 02:00Hrs IST but that did not dampen our spirits. Even after a long drive to reach the airport was definitely worth it!! Hyderabad is showing India how projects need to be implemented across India.


Jason's Public Gallery

looking like a Mall.

[swajayr]

guys any information about the status of airport hotel, if operating how to book the rooms.

[phaedrus]

Originally Posted by harsh1802

Jason's Public Gallery

great find mate, thanks!

[Cov Boy]

Great photos, thanks Jason!

[gradybush]

Originally Posted by ajay_ijn

This newspaper from the beginning always tried to paint poor picture about new Airport. they don't talk about how GMR developed such a good airport and that too in time, afterall how many infrastructure projects of this size in our country happen with in time, still they only write about delays in road widening, closure of begumpet airport and now they writing as if the Airport had bad beginning.

There must have been a couple of skeptic passengers but that doesnt meant that people didnt like the new airport. How would anyone expect recreation on the very first day of operations? There might be plans to build malls and multiplexes around..IF GMR doesnt build them, I am pretty sure a lot of restaurants and shopping stuff will come up outside the airport.

I agree that the article is totally in negative overtones. I do not think that there is any comparison between RGIA and Begumpet in terms of infrastructure and facilities. The ones in RGIA look world class to say in the least. There are some people who are habituated to complain all the time and so the media goes and handpicks them for interviews which is totally unfair.

As for the stealing of bulbs and door hooks, well, that is pure civic sense which no law or nation can enforce in people.

[Desidude]

Originally Posted by gradybush

There must have been a couple of skeptic passengers but that doesnt meant that people didnt like the new airport. How would anyone expect recreation on the very first day of operations? There might be plans to build malls and multiplexes around..IF GMR doesnt build them, I am pretty sure a lot of restaurants and shopping stuff will come up outside the airport.

I agree that the article is totally in negative overtones. I do not think that there is any comparison between RGIA and Begumpet in terms of infrastructure and facilities. The ones in RGIA look world class to say in the least. There are some people who are habituated to complain all the time and so the media goes and handpicks them for interviews which is totally unfair.

As for the stealing of bulbs and door hooks, well, that is pure civic sense which no law or nation can enforce in people.

Now about that, Rightly said Gradybush.
But that is kinda sick. I personally would wanna kick their ...(you know what) if i get hold of such people.