Bengaluru International

manojb

A good argument and I would accept it if there was public consultation before the deal was signed. Unfortunately, as is the case with most public projects in India, there was none.
The public was not asked, and so they have a right to protest.

pquekel

Due to a change in my flight schedule I will arrive on BIAL (coming from Trivandrum) friday July 25 at 13.45 hours and move on to Kuala Lumpur at 00.50 saturday. 11 hours on that airport must be killing, two times 4 hours in traffic between it and downtown cann't be any more fun...so what to do? Suggestions are very wellcome.

crvlvr

WHAT? Obviously there are more passengers ona plane than a bus can handle. So what happens to the passengers who do not get into then first bus? Do they have to wait an hour for the next one?

gautamjohn

Well, not all the passengers use the bus, right? And they have multiple routes and hence multiple buses. All's good.

brishti

for all those who are going goo-goo-ga-ga about BIAL...

please, puhleeze do not try and rationalise the following...
to have buses running one, every hour is ridiculous - whether i use the bus or not is irrelevant
if i want to go to rtnagar - the bus, i believe, deposits my luggage and me in mekhri circle [ if memory serves me right, there aint no auto/taxi stands there - but do correct me i am wrong ]
the government of karnataka is definitely not doing me a favour by trying to make my journey to and fro from BIAL convenient - that is the least they can do.
as for taking a cab - of course it is more convenient - but do foot the bill

pquekel: i dunno what you're supposed to do... to and fro from the city itself would take at least 3 hrs if not 4... then there's the check-in time limit - so how many free hours does that leave you?



:brishti

pquekel

Brishti: ...not so many hours left indeed...thus I wonder what are the oprtunities in the more near surroundings of the airport? Is it a completely non-descript dull area? Per chance some interesting or cosy corners to explore in let say a circle of 20 kilometers?

Nattusbs

Bangalore city politicians and those of the Karnataka have royally messed up this new international airport and the transportation facilities.

I would suggest that folks take the train to and from Bangalore - boycott the airport. That's what I will do for sure. Teach them a lesson.

Cheers

Nattusbs

vandy

Nattusbs, I would happily take your advice IF there was a train from Singapore to Bangalore.
I absolutely love Train Travel.

When I departed India from the OLD Airport in 2006
I was rather surprised at the lack of facilities
for a Major International Airport.I am referring to the Departure Lounge once you go through security.Quite pathetic really.Hope the new one has some improvements.

vandy

crvlvr

AND they are tacking on extra charge directly for the passengers using the airport. How have the passengers benefited from this new airport, I wonder?

vvr

BIAL is a better facility than is made out to be in some quarters.

As a frequent user of this airport, I am quite satisfied with it. It is very efficient if rather plain looking. Typically for domestic departures, it takes 10 minutes or so to get from curbside to the boarding gate. For domestic arrivals, it is about 15 minutes from the aircraft to the taxi line if you have to stop to collect your baggage. This is my experience, your mileage may vary.

Recently, a forumer at Skyscrapercity.com reported an 8-minute transit time through the airport for international arrival including immigation, customs and baggage collection.

The connectivity issue has been blown out of proportion. If you live in the northern fringes of Bangalore, it is not bad at all. From the northern outskirts of the city (Yelahanka), it takes about 15 minutes to get to the airport since they have a good highway all the way. However, for people coming from Electronics City down south (these are the people with a lot of clout that are making all the noise), it may take about 2.5 hours.

The local transport company has introduced excellent air-conditioned bus services to the airport from various points in the city. There is also a couple of professionally run taxi companies that service the airport.

There is a spirited discussion going on about the +s and -s of the airport at the skyscrapercity.com India/Bangalore forum if you are interested.

crvlvr

vvr,

Thanks for the positive comments. I would like to believe it. but am apprehensive that anything can work so well in India. The 15 min drive from the north end of the city must be in the dead of the night. The traffic on Bellary road during the day is ridiculous..

vvr

crvlvr,

Indeed, it takes about 15 minutes or so from Yelahanka North exit (I am not sure if you are familiar with Bangalore roads) because you are on a 6-lane national highway (NH7) with fairly decent surface and by this point the city traffic has thinned down considerably. The last 5 kms are so from NH7 to the airport terminal is a breeze and this was the stretch that everybody was worried about. Should have been done by the government but they backed out at the last minute. So BIAL went ahead and finished it.

I am not saying it is commuter utopia here, but it is much better than it is made out to be. I used to be a frequent flier out of Denver International (and its predecessor Stapleton) for about 25 years and my overall user experience at BIAL is comparable. BIAL is very compact (many people would say that it is euphemism for under-sized!) compared to many of the famous names like Changi but this is exactly the reason why getting through the airport is quick.

The city road infrastructure is a disaster though. We get half an inch of rain and the entire city comes to a standstill.

brishti

... and what if i live in say... koramangala / whitefiled / sarjapur road or even frazertown?
what about traffic then - in peak traffic time?

sure its convenient from yelahanka vvr - but we're talking about the entire city.

my qualm is NOT that the airport is so far away - its in the fact... that proper infrastructure has not been planned/implemented whilst the airport was under construction.

sure - the airport is good/great/whatever - but one has to step outside it... at some point.
thankfully - i hear, transportation to and fro from BIAL is getting smoother/frequent.
i also hear - when push comes to a shoveful of air traffic load - BIAL will not be able to handle it HAH!



:brishti

vvr

brishti,

I live in Richards Town, just a km north of the heart of Fraser Town (Mosque and Coles). I have made 7 or 8 trips to BIAL at various hours of day. I consistently clock 50-55 minutes. My travel time to the HAL airport used to range between 20 mins and 45 mins (counterintuitively, the latter in the early morning hours due to heavy HAL/BEML employee bus traffic). Considering transit time through the airport i.e. my door to the boarding gate, for BIAL it avarages 60-70 minutes and for HAL it used to be 40-70 minutes.

Koramangala/Whitefield/Electronics City -- it is a different story. Folks living in these areas, particularly Koramangala and Whitefield, enjoyed an easy commute all these years to the airport and are probably making the most noise about the new airport. Let us face it, we are talking about an airport here. We cannot have one in each of our backyards.

brishti

true... i totally agree with your last line vvr!

but...


incidentally - dum dum in kolkata - may as well have been in orissa, in days of yore.
its not about the distance...


:brishti