AIR BORNE!

I am not brand loyal to any of the airlines! I travel as per my convenience. It’s not about getting the best deals. It’s more about getting a better bargain in respect to my time and travel itinerary. I have a Jet Privilege & also applied for Cosmos in Sahara but those plastics don’t keep me glued to one airline only.
But secretly I always prefer Jet and close to it comes Sahara. Jet is a safe bet especially in winters because rarely they are cancelled. Jet is again a personal choice because Maini is always in the airport and she makes sure I get the PRIORITY! Be it tele-check in, front row seats & all the extra care she gives! Maini…. Well my cousin. So whenever I fill up the feedback forms I write her name as the best airport ground staff!
The Guwahati-Kolkata circuit sees a sumptuous meal. And if you think it’s the best kinda food you had on flight wait till you fly the Kolkata-Mumbai sector or the Mumbai-Delhi sector. It’s excellent! The salamis… sausages… the puddings…. Hhhmmmm! The Delhi-Guwahati sector also sees a delightful meal.
Sahara is again a great airlines to fly. But the only problem it has or maybe I’ve been twice unlucky… flights have a greater chance of getting delayed and cancelled. But like Maini I got Meren in Sahara to provide me with the PRIORITIES!
Sahara has good looking guys on board! Well I mean to say all the flight attendants are so damn handsome… and well even the dames are a pretty lot.
Food wise Sahara is also good… but honestly I detest the vada-sambar they serve! It’s too messy to eat – especially if you get to sit in between the aisle and window!
I always prefer front aisle seats. But slowly I’ve shifted to the window seats now. It’s only in rare occasions – either once or twice that I’ve found myself sandwiched either between desperate housewives or horny bastards!
If you were to ask me about my best flights, I’ve always enjoyed the GAU-DEL or the GAU-MUMBAI sector. The flights are long. Its 2 ½ hours to Delhi and its 3 ½ - 4 hours to Mumbai (keep in mind the Kolkata stopover). When the flights are short you don’t get time to relax – to unwind – to stretch your toes – and to meditate on OM MANI PADME HUM in between 31000 – 47000 feet above the sea level! But a flight that’s more than 2 hours you get time to do your own Goddamn thing!
And did I tell you about the GAU-IMPHAL sector? I didn’t?! Well… you see you can take an Indigo…Deccan or Jet to Imphal. And taking the Jet is the wisest thing you can do. Deccan I don’t believe in and Indigo – well I shall be flying it for the first time today evening at 19.30 hrs when I take the flight to Kolkata. It’s the convenience of time and Indigo seemed the best bet for a change.
Alright! Now coming to the Imphal sector, the flight takes exactly 31 minutes. 31 leaves me bemused and perplexed! Couldn’t they accelerate the speed and make it 30 …? I always wonder! Now in a flight of 31 minutes, what could the “light snacks” be? Don’t let your imagination paint pictures of food from Taj… don’t go by the brochures … the advertisements…. or catalogues!
All you will be handed will be two pieces of biscuits (either Thin Arrowroot… Marie) and a slice of cake! The very sight of it makes my hunger come to a total halt! Whenever Utpal (my boss) and I travel I pass it to him! Coz I know that the food served is not enough for him, nor would a second helping would be served and nor do I feel like choking my throat with that slice of cake and sleepy looking biscuits!
On my last trip to Impahl, I remember this incident very vividly!
A middle-aged gentleman got up from his seat and was walking towards the washroom, when an airhostess came rushing after him. He was stopped mid way and asked where he was heading. He said he wanted to use the washroom and to the absolute amazement to all the people like me (who were watching the whole scene not because we are peeping toms but because in a 31 minutes flight there’s nothing much or nothing better you can do) the airhostess casually said “Sir could you hold on for a while, as we shall land in a couple of minutes”!!!!!!!!!
Hold on … what????? !