Welcome to my part 2 of Indigo Trip Report!
This is my ride, VT-IUP
Introduction
This flight from Hyderabad to Chennai was supposed to be booked with Spicejet but because they cancelled this flight sometime in May, I had no option but to choose an alternate airline to fly me on this route. Before that, I was deciding between Channai and Kolkata but in the end I decided on Chennai as at that time before I booked the flight, Spicejet didn't have flights from Hyderabad to Kolkata so that was the deciding factor. Once I knew about the cancellation of the route from Spicejet, I decided to look elsewhere. I had settled for a visit to Chennai as I had a few friends from there and they told me a few things about that city. After checking the flights and time availability, I decided on Indigo as the airfare was not only cheaper, the airline has a lot of flight times on this route so if anything goes wrong, I can select another flight. So without further ado, let's begin this trip report!
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is Hyderabad's international airport, located in Shamshabad and opened in March 2008, replaced the old Begumpet Airport. It is named after the former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi and is operated by GMR Hyderbad International Airport Limited. This is the 4th busiest airport in India in terms of passengers traffic and also the first airport to launch domestic and international e-boarding in 2015 and 2020 respectively.
Layout of the airport (Photo: Flightradar24)
My booking
6Exclusive fare was on offer but the Flexi plus airfare is good enough for me especially with my flexible travel and light luggage check-in. Just like my previous experience with this mobile app, I had no issues with my booking.
I chose the 6E Eats and thinking that my flight was most likely departing from a bus gate, I decided to skip the Fast Forward option.
After trying the Chicken Junglee on my previous flight with the airline, I decided to opt for the 6E Choice of the day meal (non vegetarian option).
Initially, I went for seat 3A.
There was another flight departing half an hour later.
In the end, I decided on seat 2F.
Photos in Hyderabad
This is the surrounding view of the neighbourhood near my hotel.
The walk to the metro station takes around 15 minutes.
I used this building (below) as a landmark to recognise the surrounding. It is located near the main road and I used it to guide me back to my hotel.
This is the metro station - Durgam Cheruvu
There is a separate cabin for female travellers.
The road traffic during peak hours was very heavy.
On the day of departure
I called for an Uber ride to the airport early in the morning.
I have to say that I enjoyed my time over here.
Welcome to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport!
There are 2 terminals, one for cargo and the other for passengers.
Both domestic and international flights depart from the same terminal.
This is the drop off point.
The departure hall (landside)
I was expecting the terminal to be similar to New Delhi and Mumbai but was pleasantly surprised with the interior.
The terminal is clean and modern.
The airline check-in row information
Check in was a breeze and I got my boarding pass collected within minutes.
Somehow the terminal interior reminds me of one of the Chinese airports.
After receiving the boarding pass, I was approach by a group of Indigo staff and they asked me for my feedback of my check-in experience and one of them wrote her name on my boarding pass and asked me to leave a positive feedback on my flight experience, I am not sure what to say about that!
There are self check-in baggage counters in this terminal.
I still prefer checking in at the counters with human interaction.
Self check-in computer systems are also available, useful for those without check-in luggages.
Air India's check-in area
There are limited seats in the land side, I recommend heading over to the airside to rest if you can.
The flight schedule at that time.
Time to head over to the airside as there wasn't much things to do over here.
This is the airside of the departure hall.
A lot of shops at this part of the terminal, it is worth coming in early to explore and of course enjoy the lounges if you can.
Duty Free Shop
As I wasn't hungry, I walked around as much as I can to close the rings on my apple watch (exercise app).
Although this airport isn't as glamourous as Bengaluru's terminal 2, it is certainly a pleasant airport to hang out before departure.
The traffic at the airport was fairly busy.
You can see how wide the terminal is.
Starbucks seem to be popular everywhere!
There are also lifts taking you to the lower level leading to the bus gates.
At this part of the airport, only a handful of shops were opened.
This is one of the eateries at the airport. (Below)
Overall, I like the terminal, finding it to be pleasant.
When you are doing your window shopping, remember not to forget about your flight departure time.
There are benches with limited charging ports available.
Once I covered the entire airside departure hall, I made my way to the gate.
This is a joint venture between Starbucks and Tata. It is named TATA Starbucks Limited.
This is Air India's Airbus A320neo.
A pair of Indigo's Airbus A320neo preparing for departure.
Air India Express vs Indigo, which airline do you prefer?
My impression with this airline so far has been favourable.
My aircraft was waiting while this Indigo's A321neo pushed back. The utilisation rate of Indigo's aircraft is quite high.
This is Akasa Air Boeing 737 MAX 8.
We were orginally assigned to gate 17.
Since there was another aircraft parked at gate 17, we were relocated to gate 16.
After a few hours hanging around at the airside, it was time to go.
Finally for the first time on this flying adventure trip, I got to use the aerobridge to board a flight operated by a low cost carrier.
This glass window of the aerobridge is my favourite when boarding the aircraft.
Here we are, VT-IUP!
Nice to be on board Indigo's Airbus A321neo once again.
My ride: VT-IUP
Airbus A321-271NX (Leased from Dragon Aviation Leasing)
Delivered in July 2020
Configuration: Y222
Engines: 2 X PW 1133G
MSN: 9156
Built in Hamburg (XFW)
Age: 4 Years old (July 2024)
My route: HYD-MAA
Miles: 315
My seat: 2F (Aerolopa.com)
Date of departure: 17th July 2024
Airline: Indigo
Flight: 6E514
Aircraft: Airbus A321neo
Registration: VT-IUP
Seat: 2F
Gate: 16
Load: 90%
Flight Time: 55 minutes
Actual Flight Time: 53 minutes
Schedule Departure: 1335
Boarding: 1245
Push back: 1321 (14 minutes ahead of schedule)
Take off: 1337
Schedule Arrival: 1440
Actual Arrival: 1429
Departure Runway: 27L
Departure Weather: Cloudy
Arrival Runway: 25
Arrival Weather: Cloudy
My Flight Experience
Boarding was according to zone and I managed to be one of the first to board. Considering the size of the A321neo aircraft, the turnaround time was quite impressive, it took about 20-30 minutes to get the aircraft ready for the next flight after arrival. Fortunately for us, we managed to depart 10 minutes ahead of schedule and take off just 2 minutes after our schedule departure time, that is remarkable.
Take off was slightly bumpy but this short flight went past very quickly. Just 53 minutes in the air and we were on the ground at Chennai. My flight to Chennai would be my last stop in India before heading back home in a couple of days time. For the service on board, the crew were nice and I received my complimentary snack and drink. Once again the quality of the snack didn't disappoint. For the rest of the flight, it was uneventful and before I knew it, we landed at Chennai.
Photos of the cabin
As I had already experienced this cabin product on my previous flight with this airline, I didn't take a lot of photos of this cabin. For more photos of this cabin, you can refer to my previous trip report with this airline over here
You can see how long this aircraft is.
This time, I picked the 2nd row from the front.
The bulkhead row (row 1 D,E,F)
This row has slightly more legroom space than the standard seat.
The row of seats behind me.
Legroom space was adequate for me even though this is another high capacity configured A321neo aircraft.
Indigo is the fastest growing airline in India and has been in operation for almost 17 years.
In-Flight meal
The flexi plus fare includes complimentary meal so I chose a different meal for this flight, I went with the 6E Eats Choice of the day (Non Veg) option and this is what I received.
I can't remember what it was, but it was delicious.
Does anyone knows what is this? Feel free to leave a comment below.
The tray table looks smaller than the standard.
I had to use my phone to keep myself entertained during cruising.
Window view (From Take-off to Landing)
Air India Airbus A320neo being prepared for departure.
We pushed back early.
In front of us was an Air India's A350-900 bound for Bengaluru.
Soon, we entered the runway and off we go.
We turned into the active runway.
Off we go, bye bye Hyderabad!
V1, rotate!
The take off was powerful and smooth.
Take-off was slightly bumpy due to the windy condition along our flight path.
Once we were cleared of the gloomy weather, it was smooth for the rest of the flight.
At this time, we had to fly out towards the sea and make a turn to follow the traffic into the heart of the city to land at Chennai's Airport.
After a U-turn, we were greeted by the beach of Chennai as we continue our descent into our glide path towards the runway.
Can you spot the metro line including a train station? (Below)
At this point, our aircraft was prepared for landing.
Almost there!
The weather was certainly better than the western part of the country at that time.
200 feet!
After 53 minutes in the air, we touched down at Chennai Airport!
It took about less than 10 minutes after touch down to reach our assigned gate.
Here we are, we parked besides fellow company's A321neo.
My flight summary
Welcome to Chennai!
The walk from the gate to the arrival hall took about 10 minutes.
I didn't wait long to collect my luggage. So far everything went well in this aspect.
This is the arrival hall just outside the domestic terminal.
To get to the Uber boarding point. You need to exit the terminal and walk across the road and head towards the direction to the west (passing by the western side of Aerohub) as shown as the map below.
This is how the surrounding looks like.
Continue to walk straight.
One more look of Chennai's domestic terminal.
This is where I took my Uber.
My ratings
Airline Mobile App/Website (User-friendliness): 2.5/5
Airport Experience (Hyderabad): 3/5
In-Flight Experience: 3.5/5
In-Flight Entertainment: 0/5
Seat Comfort: 4/5
Cabin Ambiance: 4/5
Seat Condition: 5/5
Punctuality: 5/5
In-Flight Snack: 5/5
Cabin Cleanliness: 5/5
Overall Rating: 38/50
Percentage: 76%
Conclusion
I am fortunate to be able to fly on 2 Indigo's A321neo fitted with different engines, VT-ILG (CFM Leap-1A) and VT-IUP (Pratt and Whitney PW1133G). As you know Pratt & Whitney has issues with engines powering the Airbus A320neo, Airbus A220 and ERJ-190/195-E2 and it seems the A320/A321 neo are the worst hits as it caused a lot of operators to ground their fleet to get the engines repaired and grounded aircraft doesn't bring in money for the airlines which result to flight cancellation and a need of a contingency plan to lease more aircraft in a temporary measure to replace the grounded aircraft till the engines are fixed. Indigo had enough with Pratt and Whitney and decided to order the CFM Leap 1A engines to power it's 2nd batch and possibly the latest batch (500 A320neo family order) which the airline hasn't announced which powerplant would power these aircraft.
While I find the seats to be more comfortable due to the quieter and wider cabin of the A321neo (in my opinion) compared to the 737 MAX family, this cabin is lacking of USB charging ports and In-flight streaming which I hope the airline would add either one of them or both into the fleet in the future. Akasa and Air India Express at least have the usb charging ports. So if you fly on any of these airlines, do remember to prepare your own entertainment on board and for Indigo flights, do make sure your devices are charged especially if you are using them during the flight. Anyway, I look forward to the future of this airline as the company CEO announced a new class type for this airline that is Business class cabin for this airline to be introduced to the fleet in the near future, this news came not long after the airline announced it's firm order for 30 A350-900.
Overall I am satisfied with both flights with the airline offering good quality meals and was fortunate to be able to travel from point A to B without delays. The airfare was reasonably priced and will I fly with them again? Why not. The future of the airline is bright and I am looking forward to seeing the airline's new A350-900 when they enter revenue service, will I return to India for it? Probably yes. Watch this space!
Thanks for reading!
For my previous trip report (Air India Express B737 MAX 8 (BLR-HYD), click here
For my last Indian domestic flight with Vistara, click here
Cheers,
Charles
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