Beautiful Bengaluru · AIR INDIA EXPRESS Economy A320 🇮🇳 Bengaluru ✈ Chennai 🇮🇳 Changing AIX

[@tfft]

Drop your questions for future Community Q&As here: bit.ly/tfft_qa1

[@notyouraverageVigilAnte]

Goodness gracious! That terminal is a masterpiece.

[@sudirsankr3361]

Indian airports are world class . India is building rapid infrastructure.

[@iamr4mi]

i love the amount of unique carriers covered on this series

[@tfft]

Appreciate that!

[@DeniseSommerRoque]

What a stunning airport 🤩 Thank you for filming and editing your reviews so beautifully 🙏🏼⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@tfft]

Thanks for watching

[@premiumpaper57]

Hi Kevin, calling you out on this one on your seating comments - airline check-in agents don't necessarily choose pax seats. Each airline check-in system works on an algorithm which sits each pax according to the weight and balance of the plane (or what we call the trim). If pax have not chosen/paid/reserved/requested their seats, the airline's check-in algorithm will automatically choose the seats. In the case you have commented on your video, that pax was automatically sat by the airline's check-in system, and being a flight of less than 2 hours, the pax probably couldn't be bothered moving themselves to another seat. On a side note, you can get rid of those flashing fluorescent lights by increasing the speed of the video recording on your device from 1/30 to 1/60 😊.. love your videos, keep up the great work!

[@tfft]

Yes that's why I said passenger or airline agent. As for the filming, yes, for traditional lighting going from 60fps to 25fps helps in some cases, but that does not help when the problem is caused by low quality LEDs. When I can control it, I do, when you still see strobing in the video, it's from low quality LEDs or LEDs on a dimmer.

[@Skeletalscenes]

i am baffled as to how you find lounges empty in India!!! after having 5 credits cards with lounge access and priority pass, i just find them so crowded that i always prefer to stay out!!

[@tfft]

Well, being there at 5:00 helps lol

[@Skeletalscenes]

@@tfft lol

[@MattBlankenshipPhotography]

Always until the end, including all the ads! Stay well Kevin!

[@tfft]

Appreciate that!

[@LibertaliaExplorer]

I wonder why American and European airports often don't measure up to the exceptional standards of their Asian and Middle Eastern counterparts.

[@markusknight]

One reason I can think of is wealth. Flying is a fairly utilitarian mode of transportation in the west whereas in countries like India, only the top 2% can afford to fly on a regular basis. Beautiful interiors are a way to attract this group.

[@tfft]

It's all cyclical development. The beautiful new airports you're refering to now didn't exist at the peak of western infrastructure building. 20 years ago China was all the rage for new airports, now it's South & Southeast Asia, all the while many redevelopment projects have already begun in the west. Give it a few years...

[@LibertaliaExplorer]

@@tfft fair point

[@anonymouslyopinionated656]

coz airports have very long life cycles... airports in the developed west were built decades before the spate of shiny new airports in Asia.

[@markusknight]

@@sabby2064I didn’t say India doesn’t have a meaningfully large air travel demand. The top 2% of India in terms of wealth amounts for a massive number of people given its population. I stand by my assessment.

[@RebeccaEWebber]

I love this channel! I personally don't travel at all but really enjoy watching you do so and I find your videos very calming.

[@kyubtauji7]

My fav airport !

[@tfft]

A good way to encourage shopping. Thanks for watching

[@kyubtauji7]

@@tfft I always press the like button because of unbiased and genuine content ! Can't wait for you to review AI in next 2 years when the storm of merging is calmed down !

[@Kpaojd]

Thank you for reviewing AIX. The airline will be completely transformed by Q4 2025!

[@tfft]

We shall see about that 😅

[@srikanthmanipati701]

India... is a economically stable country and more powerful than other flaky strong nations. Our strength is sustainable and eternal. Jai hind

[@Jbray92]

That Park Hyatt in Chennai is fantastic!

[@tfft]

Especially for 3.5k points! lol

[@Kevin-qn6iv]

Your videos are absolutely amazing and I love the commentary you add to them. I am particularly into your airline video as they help give me good information before I book as a frequent flyer. Have you ever considered making a “best of ~insert category~” type of videos to give people more of a high level comparison/rankings? Figured it would be great insight to have a video where you compare/rank your experiences of a similar categories to give an overall perspective on things. Just an idea. Keep up the great work!

[@wicked_smaaht]

Always helpful to check your. posts. I have flights in and out of BLR in exactly one month. And then I have a Swiss to Zurich from DEL, just to see the planes from the observation deck. 😅

[@tfft]

Enjoy the deck!

[@rasferrastfarian739]

Lovely terminal! Thanks Kevin!

[@mohammedmerajulhaq1996]

The Anglicised names of Thiruvanthapuram and Kozhikode are Trivandrum and Calicut, respectively... Just mentioning so that it's easy for Kevin to pronounce...

[@tfft]

A western KZbinr on the internet would be called out for simply using the Anglicized names. So, I'd much rather get comments like this one instead of the hateful ones that are more common when a single syllable is off 😉

[@well-blazeredman6187]

Great review. Take a bonus-point for the construction-materials reporting, and the 'Full Subway' that you were subliminally angling for at 1:00 and more outrageously at 12:37.

[@F22-Raptor-Ind]

Hi! Just wanted to let you know, please visit the TFS lounge in Chennai! Have been there and it’s amazing!

[@favin86]

Wow how beautiful is this!

[@martin96991]

Thanks 😏

[@maitreyabhattacharya]

Great video! Air India Express is so much better than IndiGo. However, I always have to fly IndiGo for their better schedule and big route map.

[@anujmishra2209]

I recently moved to Jaipur from Bangalore, and I fly this route quite frequently. In my experience of flying IndiGo(often known as India's best LCC) and Air India Express, the latter has been far superior consistently. I have flown this route and backwards over a dozen times in the past 6 months, and every time, Air India express has produced quality of service. With IndiGo i have seen extreme flight delays, rude staff, and for some reason, consistently worse landings as well(not stereotyping it to be India's Ryan Air), and never have i has these problems with AI Express. Also the fact the seats of Air India Express are much-much more comfortable. I used to think AI Express only flew 737's and IndiGo only flew A320's. So i believed that A320 is just a worse plane for passenger experience, until I flew an AI Express A320. I realized it the airline. Plus the fact that the fares are similar, given you book your tickets on time. Plus the fact that in Bangalore Ai Express fly's from Terminal 2, it makes it a much better option than IndiGo.

[@kokofruitkokotree]

As always another unbiased review, thankyou!

[@PanelDaze]

My favorite airport!

[@94vrcommodore]

The airport looks pretty good. The Vistara thing is a sensitive subject amongst some KZbinrs. I won’t say who lol

[@tfft]

Some KZbinrs need to get over themselves and realize they're not the main characters here. I won't say who :)

[@botruong4102]

Thank you Kelvin.

[@tfft]

Thanks for watching

[@Sam-d8o6q]

I’m only gonna pronounce karnataka as KARAN TAKA henceforth 😂😂… amazing vid! Keep up the great work!

[@sushi777300]

Thank you for another nice flight report

[@IndianGeek5589]

Hopefully by the next time you come, you'll get to experience the outdoor garden and the viewing deck(visible at 10:10), though those are only on the international side

[@jeremyludlow4439]

A great video, about a flight with an airline I've never sampled, between interesting airports in a pair of cities I've never visited. But I have been to India, initially a few times between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s, when foreign trademarks were very unusual there. Even in the mid-1990s, you couldn't buy Coca-Cola in India. So, to me, all those chain restaurants with well-known foreign names at Bengarulu's new terminal look a bit weird. It's a beautiful terminal, though.

[@lennyandcarl23]

Good report on BLR from the domestic side - the international side is less well appointed, shall we say. Not somewhere you can spend hours checking out. They do have a few restaurants and the architecture is amazing, but I got there too early for my flight to Singapore, and regretted it.

[@guillaumesoumillon6682]

Time to spice up your trip with an in-flight snack roulette....

[@ipalermo-xk6ly]

Interesting airport so thanks for showing. Massive fan of the channel typically. I just felt that this series was too dragged and a little forced. Looking forward to more "traditional" Kevin's content

[@tfft]

Hmm... it's like 90 seconds of added history per video lol. If you pretend they're not in a series, then well... they *are* my traditional style of content 😉

[@abhigyakhandelwal9215]

I think, a better way to judge Indian carriers is to take longer flights on them such as IST-DEL/BOM on 6E 77Ws or JFK-DEL on AI 359s, that way you get to experience a carrier a lot longer than a 40 minute short doesmtic hop

[@tfft]

You mean... like the three long haul (one to New York...) Air India videos on my channel already? I suggest you take a look at the 15 or so India Trip Reports on my channel.

[@shreyashabbu]

When are you covering air india Delhi London a350 flight??

[@tfft]

Who said I was? Lol

[@Dhrruvv]

Awesome video

[@arjunraj823]

6:46 just call it Trivandrum and Calicut

[@tfft]

A western KZbinr on the internet would be called out for simply using the Anglicized names. So, I'd much rather get comments like this one instead of the hateful ones that are more common when a single syllable is off 😉

[@tolykozin]

I would love to visit this state "karna-taaka" , sounds very interesting

[@tfft]

If this is a criticism of how someone trying to pronounce an Indian name didn't do it absolutely perfectly, thank you for proving the *exact* point that I made in the video.

[@amandeepsinghbajaj97]

I 've flown on airasia quite a lotta times but never after the merger. Always wanted to see what they are now

[@tfft]

I reckon not much different lol

[@ryshabh11]

Would love to see a video on Park Hyatt Chennai!

[@charliebrown5]

Thank You ✈️

[@Y.Js_musical_journey]

They keep switching off the air conditioning from time to time on the intl routes. Had to keep reminding the crew and they switch it back on and then off after sometime

[@StephenMadsen-s7u]

As a guess did you get here with that Lufthansa flight from a while ago?😅

[@tfft]

Yes lol (was like the 3rd line in the video 😅)

[@StephenMadsen-s7u]

Yeah watching the video I realized that😂 .😊

[@MotuSid]

11:56 have flown with Air India Express after their rebranding thrice, the advertised WiFi has never worked in any of them 😂

[@kushaldutta5119]

Hey kevin, you should try the vande Bharat express.

[@heeheeeeeeeee]

The domestic bus gates at Mumbai airport are also underwhelming when you compare it to the entire terminal.

[@tfft]

True, but personally I don't find BOM's terminal all that amazing.

[@heeheeeeeeeee]

@@tfft I quite like the peacock theme and the art murals. It's certainly better than other Indian Airports (except Bangalore).

[@Marius26-73]

Where do you live, Kevin?

[@tfft]

In southeast Asia.

[@aasamspb967]

@@tfft You're not an American? I don't know. Your accent gave me American/Canadian vibes.

[@titan401CT]

Honestly, this merger was far too soon. Two completely different products, with one far superior to the other. The only thing to distinguish them is the flight number. Now, Tata has to not only update the old AI jets but also have to accelerate UKs product change as well to bring commonality. When new jets begin delivery in 2026, we will have a third product in the mix if the cabin update of the old jets doesn't get completed. It boggles my mind as to why Tata decided to PREPONE the merger when the cabin updates are delayed by up to a year.

[@tommykay7427]

What did commercially drive the early kangeroo route? Mail-service? Or just good hopes and rich people?

[@tfft]

Well, I mean, that's the story I've been telling in the past 20 videos lol.

[@tommykay7427]

@@tfft Yes sir. Very detailed narration. But I was refering to the very embryo for flight. What or who payed for the first ever flights?

[@studyneetjeeupscsccgatecam1903]

even in the worst times of air india, air india express was in profit for most of the years. i hope tata get it right.

[@RESPECTED_DRAVIDA_MAN]

Bangalore airport is inspired by karnataka state of india 🇮🇳 and Bangalore city....

[@tfft]

It’s almost as if I said exactly that in the video 😂

[@demoncloud6147]

Wow, this is really great ! I am usually very critical of everything about IN but I must admit this airport at Bengaluru is very well made hope they take good care of the place for years to come

[@captain-obvious-speaks]

Just like everything else in the universe, there's more to it than meets the eye. There are states in India cleaner and neater than whereever you are from. But people have a fixed narrative that they like to push

[@tfft]

To point out the obvious to captain obvious, saying things like "there are states in India cleaner and neater *than wherever you are from*" is also it's own narrative and entirely unhelpful.

[@swanandgharpure9368]

Awaiting your review on AI banglore to san francisco flight

[@tfft]

Oh well then you're going to be waiting for a long long looooong time lol

[@swanandgharpure9368]

@tfft any specific reasons Kevin?

[@tfft]

After my Newark flight I have less than zero desire to fly AI long haul in the next few years.

[@swanandgharpure9368]

@@tfft I completely understand Kevin, but I hope that wait isn't too long :)

[@ShriNidhi-zu2im]

ಕೆಂಪೇಗೌಡ ಅಂತರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ವಿಮಾನ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣ Kempegowda international airport

[@memeranglaut]

Ah airindia express. The weird missmash of airlines today. Pretty funny to see the livery is just a blacked-out airasia standard one, at least for this plane. But for a 40 minute flight? cant complaint too much. I guess with the complete merger, we can expect SQ to TR travel experience with AI to IX in some sectors.

[@MotuSid]

12:31 should've tried some of their hot meals, I was pleasantly surprised by their Awadhi Chicken Biryani and the Herb Grilled Fish Fillet. Such a nice change from the boring food Indigo is offering nowadays.

[@tfft]

Was not an option for such a short flight.

[@MotuSid]

@tfft oh haan. Next time, maybe?

[@bierstick]

The video is half the duration of the flight! 😂

[@dilipmv6546]

I found it funny that you didn't even attempt to pronounce the names of those cities. I come from the same state they are in and wouldn't have minded even if you tried and failed. 😅

[@tfft]

I've received 1 or 2 (or 300) too many really negative comments from other videos for mispronouncing a single syllabus, so this is the new way forward lol.

[@VaibhavShete1981]

A little change from other avgeek vloggers by using Western music instead of Indian music

[@tfft]

I have nearly 40 India videos, many of them with Indian music as well.

[@phil1press]

Trivandrum and Calicut are the anglizised names of those cities you have problem pronouncing😀

[@tfft]

You may have noticed, but I always say Bengaluru and Kolkata instead of Bangalore and Calcutta specifically because simply uttering the Anglizised names on KZbin results in it's own flavor of backlash. Just not worth it lol

[@phil1press]

@@tfft Yep, you have to deal with the keyboard warriors engaged in flaming. The advantage of anglicized name is that they have few syllables. That way people anywhere in the country or anywhere in the world can pronounce it easily.

[@tommykay7427]

Have you noticed that everyone sounds the same when the speak on the PA-system. No matter what language they speak. "Blipedi-blo blabedi bla". "What did she say"? "No idea. But she sounded very confident"!

[@tfft]

I grew up in a very diverse area, so I've always had an ear that cut through accents easily.

[@crypton7572]

one of the worst liveries ive seen for an aircraft, apparently aix wont repaint their older 737ngs or their a320ceos and eventually phase them out, but since this is a neo, this should be repainted soon

[@shashanktrivedi27]

Bengaluru is being pitted as hub status for IndiGo and Air India and akasa air. While airports in neighbouring state of Kerala are connected to gulf states and airports neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu are connected to South East Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei. Bengaluru have mixed traffic with host of flights such as to LHR, Amsterdam Schiphol, Paris CDG, Frankfurt, Munich, San Francisco, Addis Ababa, Tokyo, Hong Kong etc.

[@MotuSid]

09:42 any comments on some of the negative comments about Vistara? Josh questioned the need for the airline considering their bad management - including allegations of sexual misconduct. Some others have expressed frustrations about Vistara's slow and weird decisions about fleet and route management, which led to them being a loss making enterprise. Been a fan of the airline ever since their launch. I maximised opportunities afforded by my work to use its premium-economy class. But only recently learned about some of the problems, not feeling so nostalgic about it now.

[@tfft]

When I find holes in stories being told to me, it kind of discredits the entire thing for me. In Josh's video, take note of what date he says the flight is. Then take note of what date the crew wrote on the "thanks for flying with us" card at the end of the video. Everytime he has one of these deep dive videos, I find similar inconsistencies- that 'banned from Qatar' video included.

[@Mahesh-p9j2e]

Stop saying Labor Market. Every work is dignified and hard work which people put their blood and sweat to create the magnificence that is the Middle East. The locals didn’t create what they have with magic. Be a little sensible with how you say things

[@tfft]

Wanna know why I said "labor market"...? Because that's how *Air India Express* describes where they fly to. Stop making assumptions, your high horse can't take it much longer.

[@sneedsfeed757]

the Wendy's in India is disgusting and nothing like the original . It has already flopped and will close soon. Btw recently I had the same scam experience as you had on my domestic air India flight. I was able to change the frequent flyer at the counter. Plus those eateries are mostly empty as the terminal has sparse occupancy. I hope they all survive

[@legionnairegonk4425]

I was there at the airport in February. I arrived on a Qatar flight at about 1am, and found the airport to be heaving with scammers near the exits all waiting to pounce on westerners... Also that airport arrivals/exit area in the terminal was filled with a heavy petroleum exhaust vapour - you could see the smog hanging in the air. I know pollution is bad there, but inside the building? Not good. On my departure a week later the entry system to get into the departures terminal was truly shambolic, with military personnel stationed outside to check people's reasons for entry (I guess to stop more scammers / non-travelling people getting into the building who have no reason to be there), but the soldier man in my line didn't speak English (and I don't speak Indian) and couldn't articulate what he wanted to see from me... My passport? Nope? My e-visa paperwork? Nope. It turns out he wanted to see an airline ticket, be it paper or electronic. So after a few minutes of back and forth I showed him my Qatar app flight confirmation. But I don't know what would have happened if I had run out of battery in my phone before charging up inside, or couldn't get a signal to log into the Qatar app... Just for good measure I tried to exchange some left over Indian currency at an exchange kiosk, but I didn't have enough to make the minimum trade and after counting the money behind their desk they gave it back to me minus a 5000 rupees note they decided to steal from me, the hapless foreigner! I only realised once I got to the Starbucks for a coffee and counted up my leftover money to see that I was 5k short of what I knew I had given them at the exchange kiosk. But of course I had walked away and now couldn't prove it.. Just for good measure Qatar's boarding process was a shambles too (although to be fair that was also true in other countries where I boarded flying with them to India). All in not a good experience of BLR airport for me Kevin...

[@tfft]

It’s exactly the same requirement to enter any airport in India and there are signs posted all over stating what you need to enter the building. If your phone didn’t work, they’d wait until another officer was there to call over staff from QR to confirm your ticket.

[@legionnairegonk4425]

​@@tfft I didn't see any signs tbh, and nor did any of the other foreigners in the queue, none of whom seemed too sure what was going on. Ho hum. Maybe just at the wrong place wrong time.

[@mithunk5473]

@@legionnairegonk4425 5000 Rs note ..... there is no such Indian rupee note

[@tasneemeddoo]

I’m fast as f boiii.

[@tfft]

And by fast, you mean 16 minutes late? 😅