It was a cold winter morning at the nation’s capital. The city posed a dead silence almost everywhere as the fog had spread its chunky blanket right upon the city, turning down the visibility to near zero. Nowhere could the India gate or the Parliament house or the Delhi Metro or the local shops to be seen even from a mile away.
With such a weather across the region and a nice warm blanket
encrusting me, I wished to be not disturbed till the next season turns up. However
my wish didn’t seem to last even for few minutes as the alarm in my mobile went
off ceaselessly. With my eyes still shut, I tried finding the mobile and turn
it off just not to interrupt my blessed sleep. Half opening my eyes just to hit
the right button, I saw the time as 6am and I had a long journey ahead of me to take.
So thinking of it and with a heavy heart I just pushed off the blanket away,
wondering when I would get back into it again. Moving on to the living room shivering right from top to bottom, I found
my parent busy with work. My father was getting the bags packed up and my mom
was busy preparing the food to be carried.
I was never an early bee right from childhood and so getting up early
in the morning was the greatest feat of all. Half asleep, I went
around the house to check if my brothers had woken up too or if they were still
sleeping. When it comes to my brothers, I had always wished the best to happen
with them and so I did not wanted them to get out of bed so soon just for the
reason that I was travelling. I ensured they slept comfortably and went off to
get ready, as my father had sent out two warning calls of me missing the
flight. An hour later I was dressed up and ready to leave. My father loaded the
bags onto the car and my mother handed over the meal box along with a big list
of do’s and don’ts to remember. Nodding to everything that she said, I laced up
and went straight to the car.
Leaving our apartment we were instantly welcomed by the thick layer of
fog, which had barely ceased since morning. Navigating amidst it was a tough
challenge that we even lost track of the airport quite often en route. Finally
taking the right lane and turn, we were greeted by the early morning traffic
that was heading towards Gurgaon, the next emerging metropolis. 15 minutes
of drive then on the highway we were greeted by the mighty sign board leading towards the airport. Taking a
diversion from the mad crowd of vehicles, we entered the perimeter of the
Indira Gandhi International Airport. At a distance Terminal 1D was gleaming
beautifully with mist covering the steel and glass terminal. This terminal is
the home base for some of the leading Low Cost Carriers in India. And the Full
Service Carriers had their very own dedicated terminal, the world famous T3 or
Terminal 3.
The early morning rush was rightly visible from the very entrance and
so I docked my bags out of the car far from the terminal and bid goodbye to my
dad. As I pushed the trolley towards the mad crowd, the level of excitement
within me kept rising because it was going to be my first solo flight. I have this habit of being distinct always and so i wish every flight journey to be unique in some manner or other. It would be mostly like I pick up a new destination,
a new airline, a new aircraft type every time, which altogether sums up to a new expectation
of what is going to be ahead of me.
Cutting past pack of people and vehicle, I made my way into the
terminal after a long wait. Once inside, it was entirely a different world.
People were rushing up in all the directions around me. The urge to catch their
flight was almost witnessed in everyone’s eyes. And so were the airline ground
staffs too, who were pitching into the scene every single time an incident turns
up. It were the ground force team who were actually responsible for the quick
and prompt turnaround of each aircraft. And in airports across metropolis, it
was kind of a double shift that each of the staff encounters. Their work load and the
stress level is relatively higher than other minor airports. I checked on my
watch and felt little relaxed as I had almost 2 hours 30 minutes for my flight
to lift off. So not rushing up, I slowly moved towards the baggage screening
and off to the check in counter, which had the most beautiful staff seated.
The LCC market in India was predominantly occupied by IndiGo, followed
by SpiceJet and GoAir. Though 20 plus checkin counters were available for
IndiGo at the terminal, the morning rush had taken its toll across the counters.
Indigo’s primary hub was (IATA Code: DEL)
and so most of the day’s first flight took off from the capital be it right from
dawn. Witnessing a huge passenger turnaround during the early hour of day was a
routine to the ground force team and they were trained in accordance to handle it.
Well it took another 35 minutes for me to reach the counter that I was
looking for. A gorgeous young lady, in her mid-twenties greeted me with a
stunning smile. I instantly got knocked over with her beauty, yet managed to
stay steady and answer her. She verified the ticket, made an entry of my PNR in
her system, and had my name cross checked as Rithvik with the driving license
that I provided her. Once verified she tagged the bags and handed me the boarding
pass instructing the gate for departure, all with a broad smile, enough to
knock me down completely. Smiling back at her, I collected the boarding pass
and walked off weakly wondering why not I consider taking up a career in
aviation.
As I closed in at the security check, I was not taken back looking at
the never ending queue. The Central Industrial Security Force, who took care of
the security at the airports were at their best trying to move the queue
forward, but people came turning up over and again. Spending an ample amount of
time there watching each scene unfold, I slowly moved around in the queue only
to get cleared off after a long wait and head towards the beautiful cafeteria,
located on the top floor of the terminal. This cafeteria gave a splendid panoramic
view of IGI’s airside. The view was breathtaking as you could see large number
of blue and red birds docked next to one another. It was really hard to count
the number of Indigo and SpiceJet aircraft's parked, one after the other. The
ground force of both the airlines were on their top trying to get each flight,
on air on schedule. I opened the box of roti and panner mutter masala that my
mom had packed and sat with the mesmerizing view of airside ahead of me. The food was delicious as
usual and I never found a food tastier than my mom preparation.
Twenty minutes down the line, I heard the boarding call of my flight.
I packed up my bag and looked over for the flight information display, just to
ensure that I heard right. As I gazed over the flight information board, I found SpiceJet
and GoAir too had a flight departing to (IATA Code: MAA) closely around the same
time as that of my flight. After a minute wait my flight detail “6E454 DEL to
MAA – BOARDING Gate 10” was flashing on the screen. Relieved to know that there
was no delay due to the fog, I moved on looking for my gate.
The blue bird that was about to fly me back to Chennai was
parked majestically at a distance and posed stunningly with the first rays of sun. Welcomed
once again by adorable ladies as I boarded, I went straight to my seat 17C, cut
passing fellow passengers who blocked the way trying to sort different issues. Mine
was an “Aisle” seat and I was able to witness all the people moving around,
well of course the flight stewards too.
IndiGo had the best “On Time Performance” amidst its competitors and I
experienced it right on that flight. Within minutes of boarding, the aircraft
was pushed back and was ready to fly out still ensuring highest level of safety. IndiGo maintained a single aircraft
throughout its fleet, the Airbus A320. A single aisle narrow body jet, it was
the most efficient aircraft in the segment than its competitor, the Boeing 737.
Not only with the aircraft but IndiGo was also famous for having the all-female
cabin crew service, which not many carriers choose to follow. This policy of
maintaining a single fleet had helped the aircraft stay on top consequently and
reap profits YoY right from its first flight.
As the captain had announced of a short taxiing, the cabin crew had to
demonstrate the safety procedures swiftly and buckle up in their jump seats for
takeoff. In the next 3rd minute, the aircraft had centered itself
onto the runway 28 and was ready for takeoff. IGI was the only airport in the
country to have a near parallel 3 runway with CAT III-B ILS (Instrument Landing System). And with the inauguration
of runway 11/29, the longest and the most effective one in the country, the
number of aircraft's departing and arriving has doubled over the time. During
peak hours, it has helped in reducing the stress and delay experienced over the
other two runways.
I had heard most complain of
nausea and vomiting while takeoff. But believe me the sensation you get
when the Prat & Whitney engines come to life is adventurous and thrilling.
And especially the thrust it produces, Oh god!!! You just get the feel of a roller
coaster ride. The captain announced the takeoff clearance and the engines
roared into life taking us into the air within seconds. I was enthralled and I could
not have asked for anything better than that. I enjoyed that feel of getting into the air.
The total flying hour was 3 hours and 30 minutes, with a 45 minutes
layover at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (IATA Code: HYD) en route. Shortly
after takeoff the inflight service commenced. As it was a LCC, meals were to be
purchased separately and there were few who enjoyed having a hot sip at 35000 feet.
I was left out with options to wade my time off as I was travelling alone. Then
and there the cabin crew would go past me, which was of little soothing to my eyes
but that too lasted for few seconds. With very little hope, I started off a
conversation with my fellow passenger. Luckily he seemed interested in one
and so we were on talking over and about everything. The conversation was
really interesting as not many would turn to speak out to a stranger. He was a
budding entrepreneur who was on his way to Hyderabad to promote his venture.
Time flew swiftly as we spoke and an hour later the captain announced the decent into Hyderabad airspace. Minutes passed and the mighty bird touched down on to runway 27L. The turnaround
time was 45 minutes right from the time 6E454 docked at the gates and so I had
ample time to stretch. Reaching the rear of the aircraft I got out on to the
ramp and instantly the smell of ATF (Air Turbine Fuel) aroused me. I was warned of not to
get far away from the aircraft as it was treated as a security breach and so I stayed close to it, witnessing the
activities taking place around me. Couple of Domestic and International carriers
were parked away from our aircraft and the weather outside was little hot, as
winters were not so extreme in the south central India.
Passengers travelling from HYD to MAA had boarded in the meantime and
one of the cabin crew lady signaled me to get in as it was time to push back. The
aircraft taxied onto the runway on time once again and took off as scheduled. The second
leg of the flight was relatively short compared to the first and so we were
expected to touch down at Chennai in another 90 minutes without any delay. The seats next to me
were empty as were most around. Over all it was not a full flight that day and
passengers had the privilege to move around the seats. I took over the window
seat just to enjoy the sublime view of the earth below me. The clouds sparkled
with the sun’s ray and the aircraft was gliding gently above it. Time flew off swiftly
and we were descending into Chennai. The city’s bird eye view was
scintillating. And on final approach, 6E454 was instructed to make a sea side
approach rather than the city side and get in through runway 25.
The view of the sea waves hitting the shores of Marina beach, the world’s second longest beach, was absolutely stunning. I was awestruck with nature’s beauty and the perfection in god’s creation. Nothing can replace it and I could not lose to erase the view off my mind. Though i had been to the beach many a time, this particular view of it was engaging. Other notable landmarks of Chennai too gave an artistic view from the top. Very shortly the plane entered the airfield and made a smooth landing at the Anna International Airport (IATA Code: MAA). The weather was sunny and there were couple of domestic carriers taxing out, ready to fly while few others were parked around the airfield. Once 6E454 got its slot at one of the gates, the aircraft drifted in and halted turning down the engines. I quickly approached the cabin crew for a picture with them. However they refused to pose as it was against the DGCA rules then. So with a heavy heart I disembarked the flight, turned back to have one last look at the blue bird hoping to take control of it as a commander, some day. With that in mind I moved my ass off to the arrival hall, just in time to collect the bags and head into the humid city.
Though the first solo flight was not so interesting, I enjoyed the flight overall and the urge to become a Pilot kept blooming. Till date I would
have taken 50 plus flights and every time as I look at the crew take the
cockpit, my desire to sit there shoots up thinking when will that one day turn up?
No comments:
Post a Comment