Will you prefer to fly out of Bangalore after March 30th 2008?
The vacation planning to Mumbai is overdue for my family, the reason my reservations to fly from BIAL. Looking at the time and cost estimate I am still confused whether to fly or catch the train. Here are few points to ponder..
Time Factor > The access to the HAL airport currently takes 15 minutes for me from Indira Nagar, this time will be history once the new BIAL opens post march and closes down all passenger flights out of HAL (as per the contract I understand) the new airport is almost 35-40 kms from my house that will eat up atleast two hours for travel. Essentially this means I can not take early morning flights that will not be of any advantage anymore. The air travel is usually taken to ‘save’ time of travel and the BIAL is taking ‘passengers for a ride’ for sure on the ‘time’ factor.
Cost factor > for the present HAL airport it takes me just 50 rupees by auto or Rs.125 by a call taxi. To use the new airport I will have to shell out atleast Rs 600 for a call taxi minimum and completely forget using auto. Knowing the ‘nature’ of private taxi operators to take passenger for granted this cost would easily end up around Rs.800-1000. Reaching airport thus becomes costlier than the airline ticket (that I am used to pay Rs.500/600 if booking is done two months in advance )which I certainly will not ‘agree’ to pay just because someone singed a contract with BIAL without taking general public views / reactions into consideration. It is also learnt that BIAL has sent a proposal to the Union civil aviation ministry seeking to levy use a development fee of Rs 675 on outgoing domestic travelers, which makes me wonder why??
Essentially this ‘arrangement’ of a large airport would have a major impact on domestic travel for both family and business travelers. The business travel which ‘prefers’ the same-day-return travel to save on accommodation cost, this now looks a distant possibility! On the other hand this BIAL can get going good for international travel as it is more pre-planned and these time and cost factors may not have major bearing there…
I am yet to get the grip on this ‘new airport’ arrangement for domestic travel due to these aforesaid practical reasons. I feel BIAL has just lost one customer for sure before it even starts its operation, what say??
Rajesh,
Why is it that we want our country/state/city to progress and develop to great extremes, but always with the caveat that it should happen with absolutely no cost to us? I am sorry I have to inform you that such a thing does not happen in the real world.
Yes, it currently takes you just 15 mins to reach the HAL airport. But have you thought of a guy living in Yelahanka? Or even Hebbal/Sanjaynagar? How long does it take for him? Has he not borne the long commute silently all these years? Also, isn’t travelling 2 hours once in a while better than having to live with the everyday-everyhour noise of aircraft takeoff and landing, by living close to the airport?
And why are we blaming BIAL for the lack of clog-free transit or the fares the taxi-walas charge us? They have as much control over these factors as they do over the price your local grocer charges you for onions. It is up to the government to provide/control these matters. As I see it, we should all thank the “sons of the soil” for bringing President’s rule to Karnataka. Probably this is the only way (apart from a military rule) that work can progress in our state without major political snags. AFAIK, steps are being taken to smooth out the kinks in the transit from any part of Bengaluru to the new airport. But these things do not happen overnight (or in 72 hrs). But the powers are showing the will and the effort to make things better. They too are human, and not magicians even. So give them time.
I have been reading a lot about the new airport… mostly about how difficult it is to get there, how bad the roads are, how long it takes…..etc. I feel there is no point to cribbing. The location of the airport is fait accompli. Think of it this way. Since the a/p is situated far from most developed/populated parts of Bengaluru, it becomes a necessity to improve the roads and traffic management of the entire city. Do you think such an effort as making the Chowdaiah road/Bellary road stretch signal-free would have been taken up otherwise? Such changes will soon be necessary at other parts of the city, and, mark my words, will happen sooner than otherwise. As a result, you will have better intra-city transit times. Is that not an advantage?