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Aiel · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 927 Location: Bangalore

I had booked this flight in June for my family for a two week holiday back home in Bombay. Due to the early booking, we managed to get round trip tickets for three (two adults and one child) for 14K round trip. The return trip was booked on S2, much before the announcement of 9W/S2 being converted to an exclusive FSC.

The BLR-BOM trip was on board Go Air G8395 on VT-GOQ on December 20. This was a pretty much standard and normal flight. The only highlight was the massive lines at queue at the checkin counters at KIAL and the surprising lack of lines at the security check.

The original flight number for the return trip was S2-5060, with an ETD of 1.45 PM. This afternoon departure was selected, as it enabled us to reach home by evening and settle things before a full week of work and school. Two days before the trip, we received a SMS that the flight has been rescheduled to 2.30 PM and the current flight number is 9W-394.

We did an online checkin, to ensure that we got our desired seating configuration – two seats in the front with at least one window seat (for my wife and son – who also insists on a window seat) and the window seat in the immediate rear row for me. The boarding pass indicated the original flight number, with a subtext indicating that it was a code share with 9W. After reaching the airport, we discovered though there were 4-5 counters were there for webcheckin and kiosk checkins to drop their bags, there were long queues at all these counters. It took us almost 20 minutes to drop the bags off. The agent wrote down our departure gate on the boarding pass and responded (to my query) that the flight was on time and the boarding time was 1.45 PM.

We did not have much time, so we passed through security and hung out near the gate, with my son and me watching planes and my wife reading. When a queue started forming around 1.45 PM, I casually checked whether the flight was correct and was informed that the gate was for Mangalore and not Bangalore. There were no agents nearby, who I could check with on the status of the BLR flight. A few gates away, there were a few agents, who after an initial prodding said that the flight “may” be delayed and after further prodding and pushing said that the flight “may” be delayed to 3.30 PM and they will keep us informed of the further status. The displays were still showing the flight on time. Incidentally, the display and the announcement showed that there were still a few flights with S2 codes operating.

We headed to the food court, got a couple of stools with a view overlooking the ramp along with some food. Around 2.20, I got a SMS that the flight has been delayed to 3.45 PM. My son and me once again got busy watching planes and tracking our incoming flight (MAA-BOM) (VT-JFW) as it flew in.

We finally boarded around 3.40 PM and departed by 4 PM, with another Jet family (Jet Lite liveried aircraft) departing for BLR at 4.15 PM at the next gate. The crew greeted us with smiles all around and they were pro-active in assisting passengers – a welcome difference from my past few flights with 9W/S2. The aircraft was with BSI, but did not have any IFE. While the seats from the front looked modern and fresh, a view of the rear reminded one of an old aircraft (though this aircraft was only delivered in mid-2014). Most of the passengers who were with family seemed to be OK with the delay; however the businessmen seemed to be doing their fair share of grumbling.

After a quick taxi from BOM with no queuing at any point on the taxi (surprisingly), we lifted off. Immediately after lift-off, there was a cheery announcement that 9W is now giving full meals to all passengers on-board, an announcement that for a person without a context of the past few confused years at 9W would have found puzzling. The meal comprises of Biryani rice, black lentil curry, strawberry dessert and an option between paneer and achari chicken tikka. They offered meals to children first and considering the time taken by my son to eat normally, it was a good move. They came back and offered meals to everybody. To avoid giving a shock to my wife and opting for the veg., I very considerately decided to go for the chicken. The meal was absolutely delicious, with all three of us, including wiping our plates clean. My wife and son told me the dessert was absolutely and they were literally licking their bowls (have to rely on their reports, as I do not eat sweets, by choice). There was a coffee/tea service after the meals. I was surprised that they did not offer any juices on-board.

By the time, the coffee and tea service was over, it was almost time for the landing at BLR. The crew hurried up and cleaned up before landing at BLR. While, we connected to a jetbridge, there was a ladder at the rear, enabling passengers to select how they alighted. After de-boarding, it was a pretty long wait for our bags (almost 45 mins) and a very long drive back home (1.45 hours).

Comments: The delay, while unavoidable, due to morning fog at many places (MAA, PNQ, DEL and so on) should have been better communicated, with the checkin counter and the gate agents having little or no idea of the delay.

The on-board service, while seemingly getting back to pre-S2 standards, needs to speed up to enable a full meal service to be offered, as most legs in India are on an average 1-2 hours. Also, offering a juice/drink other than coffee/tea would be a good touch.
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jbalonso777 · Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 5:34 pm Post subject:

Nitin sir, great to hear from you!
This is a wonderful TR, and it sure is awesome to have 2 'new 9W' TRs within hours of each other, and that too one day before UK's launch in India! Thanks so much for the nice-read!

Lucky you, what might've been a not-so-well-maintained meal less S2 flight, turned out to be a pretty good flight, with an amazing meal, a nice crew and a plane with BSI! Very Happy

Nice to hear about the crew! Smile

And the meal sure sounds like something amazing, its good to know 9W are taking the right steps towards glory! Although I agree, there should be something else to just tea and coffee, such as juices and soft drinks onboard, that's the old Jet.

Fabulous, I look forward to more from you!

Regards
Jish
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sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Nitin, it is very nice to see you back in action on this section of the forum. It is nice to hear about some overall nice service on Jet, and the fact that you got a nice meal. For an ace photographer like you, it is indeed a bit of a surprise that you did not have any pictures for this report. Thanks for sharing this report with us!
Cheers, Sumantra.

patkini · Member Joined: 27 Oct 2007 Posts: 313 Location: BOM

Thanks 'Nitin' for sharing your experience with the 'New 9W'! Had fun meeting you for the plane spotting session at BOM!

Was the delay "fog related"? Considering that the domestic terminal at BOM is a 'silent terminal', did you see the agents make any specific efforts to ensure that pax boarded the correct BLR flight?

Regards,
Pats
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stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

Long time no see .... nice to see a TR from you.
Seemed like a normal flight (except the delay). I think that's a problem most airlines have- not keeping pax informed about timings etc.
You knew about the meal before right so that wasn't a surprise. The meal seemed like the best part of the flight .... expected on a short hop.
Super cheap ticket ..... im jealous Razz

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avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

Nice reading your TR, thanks for sharing ....

Guess these days it's best to have uneventful flights!

Nimish · Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 10:17 pm Post subject:

Great TR Nitin - thanks for sharing. Glad that the little fellow liked the food and the dessert, that itself might be a reason for you to choose 9W in your future bookings Smile

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ameya · Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 11:45 am Post subject:

Thanks for sharing ..Grat TR ! Enjoyed reading it
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ameya · Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 11:46 am Post subject:

Thanks for posting. Enjoyed reading it !
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Aiel · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 927 Location: Bangalore

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

Due to work, I have become more of a 'lurker' on the forum.

@Sumantra, I did not take too many shots, just a cabin shot and one view over the wing. I have not got time to process those shots as yet. I will post them, once processed.

@patkini, it was nice meeting you too. I think our next meeting will for Aero India.
Regarding the delay, at least the second delay after reaching the airport seemed to be fog related, as there were a lot of delays in the first half. However, the first delay seems to have been scheduled. The agents were making announcements for delayed flights and gate changes, not for on-time flights with no gate changes.

@Nikhil, long time, no see. We had met very briefly during your wedding.
The meal was a bit of a surprise considering that it was a full lunch at 4.30 PM, I was expecting some sort of snacks, not rice and chicken.

@Ojas, You are correct, uneventful flights are the most welcome and pleasurable. Somehow, AI and 6E seem to provide the same for me, so far.
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Spiderguy252 · Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 4:00 am Post subject:

Thanks for the report, Nitin. You managed to fly on one of 9W's newest birds too.

Couldn't catch up with you and PK whilst you were in BOM, but maybe sometime later for certain!
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Aiel · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 927 Location: Bangalore