Far… but fetching

Far… but fetching


Rasheeda Bhagat
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The Bengaluru International Airport is swank, spacious and a hundred-fold better than the old HAL airport that was cursed by one and all over the last few years. And yet, it has been singularly unlucky in attracting bad press, not always without reason.

If ever a signal was required of the great resurgence and confidence of the Indian middle-class, particularly the young Indian professionals, it can be seen at the new airport in Bangalore. Walk into the F&B outlet area around 5 p.m. in the domestic departure terminal, where counters such as Taste of India, Barista, Time Out Bar and Cookie Man have been put together, and join the long queues to grab your cup of coffee, a smoothie, or a bite. The large number of youngsters pulling out their wallets, flashing at least half a dozen credit/debit cards… particularly young, unaccompanied women who are travelling on their own and not trailing a husband or a father, and exuding enormous confidence, energy and of course affluence, really warms the heart.

One can barely find a table in this dining area, making you wonder why all the four F&B outlets had to be bunched together in one place. You realise that it is in the small details of designing as well as its aesthetics and visual appeal that the Hyderabad airport scores over Bangalore. At Shamshabad, the F&B outlets are not only separated but also spread over a much larger area.
Distance woes!

I set out on a tour of the Bangalore airport built by the BIAL (Bangalore International Airport Ltd), fully aware that it has taken a lot of bashing from both the media and a few corporate honchos, with the biggest complaint being on the distance. The harshest criticism has of course come from the IT professionals, many with their headquarters in the electronics city on the Bangalore-Hosur road, for whom the airport commute has become longer and tedious.

But initial complaints that this commute takes over three-and-a-half hours were a little exaggerated; about 90-120 minutes is the commuting time for those Bangaloreans who have to traverse a distance of 55-65 km.

As mine was just a day-long visit, we took a Meru cab — an air-conditioned Logan car — to Windsor Manor and back, and each way the commuting time was barely 35 minutes for a distance of about 32 km. But then, the time was around noon and one was incredibly lucky with the traffic.

It was almost a surreal experience, as one has suffered the notorious Bangalore traffic during peak hours often enough to be petrified of it.

It seems, slowly, frequent fliers are getting used to the distance, and some rational thinking is sinking in; if we want world-class airports, we can’t expect them to come up — and that too over a sprawling 4,000-acre site — in our neighbourhood. The initial fears of having to leave the home or office six hours ahead of the flight is now gone, but depending on the area in which you live and the time of your flight, you still have to budget for a two-hour airport commute time. An adequate number of air-conditioned Volvo buses from various points in the city are available; more people using these would certainly reduce congestion on Bangalore roads.
‘Amazing facilities’

So even though cribbing about the distance is common, there are also those who are amazed at this swank new facility. At the Barista outlet in the domestic departure I run into Anisha, who works with Microsoft in Delhi. A frequent flier she is “absolutely delighted with this airport; I never thought I would see an airport like this in India which can compare with the best of international airports… look at the shopping area, so many check-in counters… I really love this airport and don’t mind the distance,” she beams.

Vivek Manvi, a Quality Manager with Human Factors International, Mumbai, agrees: “This airport is a much-needed break for Bangaloreans who were quite weary with the old and congested HAL Airport. It is spacious, has many more check-in counters which means shortened queues at check-in; thanks to wi-fi, I can catch up on my e-mail and surf the Net while waiting for my flight. You can enjoy piping hot cappuccino at Barista, or down a drink or two at the Time Out Bar in the domestic area or the Kingfisher Bar in the International space. Those so inclined can shop to their heart’s content at the Shopper’s Stop outlet.”

But as someone who needs to travel frequently, he frowns upon the distance: “It takes me nearly two hours from my office at Koramangala to the new airport at Devanahalli. Also, though it is swanky and spacious, it is designed like an oversized warehouse rather than an airport; full of vertical columns and horizontal beams criss-crossing each other as opposed to the smooth curves at the Shamshabad airport in Hyderabad.”
Comparison with Hyderabad

Many others are comparing it with Hyderabad and the BIAL must be ruing the timing in operationalising the two airports; there is no doubt that the Hyderabad airport is more aesthetically designed. And when it comes to the cleaning and maintenance of something as crucial as the washrooms, it scores big marks. The comparisons also reflect inter-city rivalries; for instance, most Bangaloreans are peeved that their airport has only eight aerobridges as compared to the 12 at Hyderabad! And as Bangalore handles much more air traffic than the city of Nizams, it obviously rankles.

Mohandas Pai, HR chief and Director on the Board of Infosys Technologies, has been, along with Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, a vociferous critic of the new airport. Terming it a “big letdown” he says, “No doubt it is larger than the HAL airport. But it is crowded; when flights are delayed there is no sitting room and people have to stand. There are not enough coffee shops, but there are other shops which are of no use to regular travellers.”

He is unhappy at the long time taken for flight and baggage handling and complains that “large airplanes cannot stand side by side. And, worst of all, it is undersized for Bangalore; as the traffic increases we will be left with another congested and badly maintained airport.”
Shopper’s delight

Not sharing Pai’s obvious indifference to shopping, this correspondent was thrilled to bits about having such a huge choice in the shopping area and that too in the domestic terminal of an Indian airport. Though one restrained oneself at the very upmarket La Moda showroom with top brands, the rather spacious and well-stocked Shoppers Stop was another story altogether.

A shopping binge that would have pleased the retail chief Rolf Blaser (see box) no end, followed. Had he been around to see some more women shopping even more, he would have been delighted!

But where one strongly agrees with Pai is on the maintenance. He says: “The interiors are dirty, the toilets are small and not well maintained; they stink as they did at HAL.” In the evening peak-hour rush at the airport, which seemed to have as many female as male travellers, washrooms for women were not only inadequate in number but were stinking too, with the bins overflowing with used toilet paper. Apparently the woman in charge of cleaning the place was just returning from lunch (at 6 p.m.!) and in her absence the place was left absolutely uncared for. The arrogance with which she received passengers’ complaints on the stinking place was in stark contrast to the courtesy one encountered at Shamshabad.
Verdict

So what’s my verdict? Take away the mess that Bangalore’s traffic has become, for which the BIAL cannot be blamed, it is a huge improvement on HAL.

It is larger, swank, makes maximum use of natural lighting, the shopping experience is great, but the F&B area could have been better planned to prevent crowding. But once the domestic carriers’ lounges for their Business Class passengers and Platinum, Gold and Silver members are ready, the sense of crowding that you get in the departure area will decrease as the premier passengers will do most of their waiting in the lounges.

Also, it may not have Paradise biryani on offer (as at Shamshabad), but in the common area at the entrance point there is a Gangotree stall serving delicious paani-puri and dahi-puri. A good enough choice to pamper the palate with junk food that is not too harmful!

But Infosys’ Pai sums up the growing demands of the urban Indian traveller when he says, “Our aspirations are now much, much higher. We were promised an airport of international standards; many of us have travelled to the best airports abroad and we want the best airport here too. Essentially, the comparison is not with other Indian airports but with Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Hong Kong, Beijing; not in size but in ease of use and maintenance. People who have not travelled widely may not see the comparison.”

Sold on it


Rolf Blaser, General Manager - Airport Operations, of the Nuance Group, in charge of retail at the Bangalore airport, is a Swiss married to an Indian, and the couple has decided to make Bangalore their home. A genial man, he is visually delighted at the deep pockets of Bangaloreans and their obvious penchant for shopping. "I am amazed at the number of books that we are selling; they seem to be just moving off the counter," he says.

At both the domestic and international sections of the Bangalore airport there are Crossword bookstores doing brisk business. "The books category is really breathtaking. We are selling far above any comparable information we have on downtown books retailing. The sales are across all categories available at the airport, including books for children." He is similarly astonished by the toys business. "We are hardly fast enough to replenish the merchandise in the children and toys section and will enhance line-up and stock level on the shop floor immediately."

Soft toys and toy cars are the biggest favourites. When one explains how hot-shot young parents who hardly have time to buy gifts for their children, to make up for the days they were missing from home, would be most happy to grab gifts - soft toys, cars, books or clothes - for their kids from the airport retail, he nods vigorously and says: "Now you’re telling me; I should have known this much earlier."

The ritzy duty-free in the International departure reminds you of a Changi or any European airport; the selection of wines and other liquor is breathtaking. Blaser stops before a Remi Martin cognac in a velvet case that bears a price tag of $1,480. But I quickly move to the wine section and look longingly at wines costing a mere $8-10, but know enough about airport rules - passport, boarding cards, etc. - to quietly walk on.

As though reading my mind Blaser recalls the visit of an assistant commissioner of police to the new airport. After being taken around the area, he sent his driver with the request for a couple of bottles of liquor. "So I asked him, where is his passport and boarding pass? He said: ’You don’t understand… he is a police officer!" The Swiss was puzzled but held his ground on the "duty-free" rules.

The "big sellers" in the duty-free, adds Blaser, are liquor, food and cosmetics. "The two positive surprises (books and toys) add to the success of our ’start up’ in Bangalore and this is proof that India is more than ready for high-end travel retail at airports. The concept to integrate the Rangoli pattern, Bangalore’s ’green city’ distinctive mark, is very well appreciated by passengers and visitors and gives the shopping area a unique character in a modern airport built to international standards," he says.

Nuance also wants to invite some novel ideas into their airport retail business. "Soon our Maître Chocolatier will do live demonstration on how to make Swiss Chocolate (Lindt) and also surprise the passengers with a little tester of his work," says Blaser. This will of course happen at the duty-free; the trick here being that when chocolate melts, it creates a delicious aroma which will attract children and adults alike.

At a glance

Passenger flow: The airport handles on an average about 28,000 passengers a day; 85 per cent domestic.

Total area: 4,000 acres.

Airport area: Built on a footprint of 8.5 acres, the terminal building has two levels spread over 71,000 sq metres.

Project cost: Rs 2,470 crore.

Shareholders: Siemens Project Ventures (40 per cent); L&T (17 per cent); Unique Zurich airport (17); Government of Karnataka (KSIIDC-13); Government of India (AAI-13).

Short walkways: Attempt was made to keep the terminal building “simple and functional” so that passengers don’t have to walk till they drop. Short walkways take you quickly from the entrance, to the check-in counters to the aircraft.

Check in: 53 common counters and 18 self-check in counters; like at Hyderabad airport, the baggage is screened only at check-in and not entry point.

Natural lighting: Maximum use of natural lighting reduces dependence on electricity.

Domestic Retail: Shoppers Stop, La Moda, Life’s Spirits, Crossword, Carbon Jewellery, Mithaas

Baby care: Special rooms for mothers to change diapers or nurse babies.

For differently enabled and elderly: Facilities such as special parking and seating spaces, walkways with sloping ramps wide enough to accommodate larger and electric powered wheelchairs.

24-hour clinic: The Columbia chemist and clinic, staffed by doctors, nurses and pharmacists, provides round-the-clock medical care.

Parking facilities: 2,000 cars and 10 coach disembarkment bays.

Immigration counters: 18 each at departure and arrival.