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2012: Jabalpur in July

 
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sumantra
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Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4685
Location: New Delhi

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:17 pm    Post subject: 2012: Jabalpur in July Reply with quote

2012: Jabalpur in July
----------------------
14 July, 2012.
This would be my second trip to Jabalpur, the last being almost a
year back, about which I had written in the following trip
report:
`Marble Rocks, Marbles Rock; Jul 2011'
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12157.html

This report can be found at the following URL:
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic13001.html

The alarm went off at the ungodly time of 04:00 am.
I looked at my cellphone incredulously, much like a shark would
look at a fish swimming out of its mouth.
So quickly?
As I came to my senses, I realised that the taxi would come in at
05:30 am, and I had to set out for Jabalpur that day.
I performed my morning duties. (This included a bath, for good measure.)
As a slight aside, I have always considered taking a
bath as an eminently avoidable encumbrance.
Papa was out of station, and Mummy was at their place.
More so, The Wife and Junior were on vacation, so the cat was
away, and the mouse could be at play.
Mummy had reminded me to take some breakfast as I would have to
wake up very early. Yes, mothers do know some fundamental things
about their children. As I waited for the friendly cab operator,
I had a bowl of milk, with the stone apple/`bel' which I had
pulped out, and put into the deep freezer (Fruit tastes best when
cold, and in some cases, those that go well with milk, taste best
in the form of a shake, the colder it is, the better it is for
me!), with some corn flakes to add some carbs into my frugal breakfast.

On check-in, the cheerful lady at the Air India counter (Zone E)
told me that I could go and have my boarding pass stamped at a
counter - this was a first for me. I was feeling sleepy and lazy,
so I asked her to give me a cardboard boarding pass, instead.
What a waste, how environment-insensitive could I be? No, I was
also worried about the reimbursement of my fare - we have to
attach the boarding passes with our tickets. This was an official
trip, and sometimes, those not too familiar with new-fangled
methods of operation may create some trouble. Armed with the
boarding pass in my hand, I set out for my exploration in the
retail area. I made my customary peek at the International gates
this side, and saw a Finnair A330-200 in the boring new colour
scheme standing there. Beside it was a Pamir Airways(?) 737, and
on the other side, an Air India A319 in the new Flying Swan
livery. A Lufthansa A340-600 had come in, and went on the other
side. When we would take off, I would also note a British Airways
B747-400, and a Jet Airways B737-800 plane. There were two Air
India 777s on view-one on a remote stand in front of IGI T2, and
other at the Air India Engineering ramp.

I did my customary walk-around, going up the escalator to the
food court area. I generally avoid this (the reader may have
guessed, why, yes, to avoid sudden hunger pangs from striking
deep into my middle). However, I had had some breakfast in the
morning, so that part was taken care of, to some extent. This
time, I wandered past the lounge, right up to the part where
there is a lift to take on back to the departures level. Here is
a picture of the shopping area at the domestic departures
air-side part, IGI T3.



There was a familiar slight at the part where one just gets up
the ramp, to the departures section.



As we waited for the boarding announcement for our flight, the
Jet Konnect flight to Chandigarh was boarding. I looked around
this small ground floor boarding area. We had come from the
second floor, gone through the first floor arrivals level, and
then onto the ground floor, where gates 42A, B and C; and 44A, B
and C were located. Gates 44A, B and C were not in use, from the
look of it, since the outside was boarded due to construction
activity outside.
This was a day of the Kingfisher strike, with no operations on
that day. I saw a Kingfisher 320 in front of me, with three ATRs
parked some distance behind:



I went to an intermediate level, and clicked a
picture of the view in front of me.



There is a IGI T3 signature toilet to the right
after getting down from the escalator, and the waiting area has
chairs and some power ports. However, this area is relatively
warm. This could be due to the fact that the gates are all bus
gates, which remain open for quite some time during the boarding
process. More probable however, is a cost-cutting initiative -
they possibly do not run the ACs at all. Passengers slowly
trickled in. By the looks of the number of people in the waiting
area, I guessed that we would have a very full flight. We were
bused around the area, going towards the east, almost to the end
of the T3 finger close to the new runway, and then turned right,
went past a parked `masked bandit' CRJ-700. This was the
`political party' plane, VT-RJD. Our plane was parked right
beside it. It was the `Swedish Band' plane, VT-ABA. This is an
old ATR-42-320, in the old Alliance Air colours. I was excited to
board through the self-contained stairs, which are on the other
side of the plane's door. One person is supposed to climb on it
at a time. I noted the ground staff's trepidation on seeing my
huge frame about to ascend on the stairs, but to his satisfaction
(and mine), I made it without the stairs emitting even a creak.

The inside looked as tired as the outside did.
After seeing some old Air India planes in pristine condition,
this was a complete dampener. The seats were in the new
ochre-and-vermillion colours, but the fabric looked tired, and a
bit dirty. The same went for the plastic surfaces. It had been
cleaned, but the job had not been done very well. The grime marks
showed. The window was slightly scratched, showing the plane's age.

Here is a view out of the window:



The seat pocket in front of me mirrored the tussle between my
shirt, and my belly.
The fabric could barely contain its contents.
All but three seats were filled up.
I overheard some passengers saying that this flight almost always
saw good loads, more so after the Kingfisher fiasco. When I last
(first, too!) flew the route (in 2011), Kingfisher had two
flights a day to Jabalpur, one from Mumbai, and one from
Delhi.

I had had some discussions with two members on this forum about
the rotation of the plane on the route. Utilisation apparently,
was quite pathetic. At the time of my taking the Jabalpur flight,
the Kulu/Pathankot service was not operating. So, all that the plane
was doing was to operate the Jabalpur service and back, and then
do the Allahabad-via-Kanpur route on a few days of the week. On
others, it perhaps did the Ludhiana one. This was the minimum
number of aircraft Air India could station at Delhi for these
operations, and Air India had been forced by the Government to
operate some of these routes.

The very senior Captain Pradeep Sharma was in command.
Captain Sharma took us to the threshold of runway 29. We waited
for a Navy Blue GoAir A320 to glide in, and took off in a jiffy -
much well before T3 even came into view.
This came as a bit of a surprise to me (though I have not
travelled too much on ATR-42s: this was only my fourth ATR-42
flight, all four of which have been on Air India). We nearly had
a full load! The captain made a left turn over Dwarka the moment
we had crossed above the runway. After a while, I noticed
something interesting: it was a plane on the ground - a swept
wing passenger plane, which looked grey in colour from the cloudy
heights at which we were. This was parked in a wooded area, beside
a large golf course. Can someone enlighten me as to what plane
this is, and what is its history? This was some 10 minutes after
take-off.

After the seat belt sign went off, I noted one member of the
cabin crew (there were two: one in the front, one at the back
during take-off) get up, and go to the back.
The galley.
Food.
No, this took a while to come.
First went the snack for the cockpit crew.
Then, the `snack service' started.
Having done this route before, I did not expect too much.
Air India's ATRs do not have ovens, so there would not be anything
warm or hot. The flight time was two hours, so it would be
unreasonable to expect something very light, either.
After all, this was Air India, even though this was Air India
Regional, the erstwhile Alliance Air.
A bottle of water came in first.
This was followed by a small tray.
I eyed it hungrily, and when given my tray, I simply tore into
the cellophane covering, and took a Panini sandwich up to my...no,
not mouth, but nose.
Mmm...there is nothing like fresh bread to tingle one's senses.
This had some mozzarella cheese-based cheese spread inside, along
with lettuce, which also looked fresh. The amount of cheese
spread was quite generous, and went well with the simple lettuce,
which was also present in generous quantities.
As I enjoyed each morsel, I shot a glance at my neighbour - he
was already at the second item.
I raised it to...my nose again.
This was a moist brownie, and the heavenly smell of butter made
my tummy go into a state of expectant bliss.
The brownie was fresh and moist, and had a generous topping of
crushed dry fruits on top.
Fairly satisfied, I turned on my laptop, and started working
furiously on the keyboard. Yes, the trays were cleared quite
quickly.

I looked down at the scenery below, from the scattered clouds.
I saw a river bend to the right.
Which was this river, and which city were we overflying?
My question was answered almost immediately, when I saw India's
most recognisable piece of architecture.
Yes, in white Makrana marble.
The Taj Mahal.
It was a coincidence that I was going to a place made famous by
its marble rocks, Jabalpur.

There wasn't much to write about for the rest of the flight.
There was hardly any turbulence, and I enjoyed the somewhat loud
engine hum. Oh yes, row 03 is my favourite on on an ATR-42 - this
is closest to the propellers - this is where all the action takes
place! There was a bit of turbulence as the plane descended
through the low clouds, while coming in to land. Captain Sharma
executed a feather-touch landing on runway 24 at Jabalpur's Dumna
airport.

The announcement allowing the use of cell-phones came in.
I quickly switched on my phone, in the hope of catching some nice
propeller movements. I was clearly lucky!







The small but very impressive old terminal building at Jabalpur
is clearly visible in the last two pictures, above.

I was the last passenger to get off the aircraft, and
thanked the cabin crew for a nice flight. Captain Sharma had also
come out by then, to do a go-around of the aircraft. I appraised
him of my appreciation for his superb landing. We waited around
the aircraft, as the single bus which had taken the first load of
passengers from the plane to the terminal, came back for an
encore. As I waited, I looked at the aircraft from which I had
just got down.





When we went into the tiny but well-maintained old Dumna
airport, the bags took some time to come to one of the two belts.
I took my one check-in piece of baggage, and went outside into
the lovely Jabalpur monsoon weather.

Unfortunately, that was all that I experienced of the monsoons in
this lovely place - in transit. Most of my day was spent in the
hotel room, trying to finish up a job I had come for, in the
first place. When that was over by the evening, I was dog tired.
My host had suggested that I go back to the hotel to freshen up,
and come back for the official dinner.
How did she know?
I was nearly falling down with exhaustion, and lack of sleep.
I somehow sleepwalked around the official dinner, made do with
some niceties, ate a bit (surprisingly, the exhaustion had taken
its toll on me - I had even skipped lunch), and then came back to
the hotel, and hit the bed. I had the return flight to catch,
early next morning. No, Jabalpur is a city where I have not done
the tourist circuit. No, not even the Dumna nature reserve.
Jabalpur is famous for, what most of us have read, marble
rocks. Now, this is not a place very close to the city itself -
it is Bhedaghat, a pristine place where the Narmada flows
through, a place which I have heard so much about from many a
friend, but never really got to visit. Perhaps one day, I will
get The Wife and Junior along, and also do the tourist circuit.
There I go dreaming.
Dreams, Sleep.
Sleep?

My itinerary was as follows:

Set out 15 Jul (Sun) for New Delhi from Jabalpur
AI 9808: Air India (ATR-42) [Seat: 03A; PNR: Y3MJD]
Dumna Airport, Jabalpur - IGIA T3, New Delhi
Jabalpur (JLR) - New Delhi (DEL)
[09:10 am - 11:10 am]

The alarm went off at its pre-designated time. I had had a
disturbed sleep, and after a few moments' indecision, I decided
to get up, and get ready. The car to drop me at the airport was a
bit late, but I reached the airport well in time, and checked in.
I was a bit surprised to see the Kingfisher flight operating,
since it had not operated the previous day, owing to the on-going
pilots' strike. There were two counters each for Kingfisher and
Air India. The two ladies at the check-in were cheerfully
checking in passengers. The flight was on time. I have written
about the tiny but well-maintained terminal at the Dumna airport
in Jabalpur, in my previous report. One change that I noticed was
that Hotel Samdareeya had set up a small snack stand inside the
terminal premises, just at the entrance. The overall terminal
seems to have an air of efficiency and friendliness about it.
Whether it was the check-in staff, or the X-ray baggage handlers,
or the security personnel at the check, all were seen doing their
jobs well, and being pleasant with passengers. The building
itself was neat and clean, and well-maintained. It may not be as
spic-and-span as IGI T3 at New Delhi, but this looks like an
example of people taking pride in what they do, and do it well.
As I entered the air-side waiting area, I saw a Kingfisher
Airlines ATR-72 VT-KAQ come in, and park at the small parking
apron. Loads were moderate, given all the troubles Kingfisher is
going through at the time of the trip (July, 2012), it was a bit
surprising. When this flight had finished boarding, our plane
came in on runway 24. Expectedly, it was the `Swedish Band'
plane, VT-ABA. The Kingfisher plane took off, and the Air India
plane came in to the parking apron. Two bus-loads of passengers
were taken to the terminal, and the same bus came in to fetch
passengers for the JLR-DEL leg. Yes, `bus loads', since the
number of passengers again indicated a healthy load factor. On
approaching the plane in a light drizzle, I noticed Captain
Pradeep Sharma doing a walk-around. There seemed to be some minor
maintenance work on the port-side engine.



Captain Sharma took off from runway 24 again, about 20 minutes
behind schedule, possibly owing to the maintenance work. Portly
me was on the port side of the plane this time. We took off very
quickly, covering very little of the runway.

There was some light chop as the plane left the pristine emerald
green surroundings behind, and climbed through some wispy clouds.
The snack service started without much ado, as soon as the plane
reached cruising altitude. It was the expected three-piece-suite,
a bottle of water, but the other two items were different from
the previous leg. The food had been loaded at Delhi itself.
There was a cheese-and-marmalade sandwich of three half-pieces of
white-and-brown bread. This had obviously been packed about three
hours before, and was quite edible. The sweet was a slice of
sticky cake, which wasn't overtly sweet. There was nothing
exceptional about this snack - it was reasonable run-of-the-mill
fare. Was I disappointed? Possibly a little bit, yes.
There was nothing much to write about, for the remainder of the
flight. Captain Sharma made another very smooth landing at Delhi,
and the bags came out relatively fast. I walked into a taxi, and
got back home - dishevelled, tired, but happy at having been to
this lovely place once more!
---
Links to my previous trip reports:

37. Calcutta: A Short and Sweet Trip, June 2012
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12982.html

36. Indore again in 2012, April
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12937.html

35. Can't Cut Calcutta Calls! CCU, Mar'12
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12909.html

34. Tinsel-town ahoy! Mumbai, Mar'12
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12885.html

33. Indoor/Indore in 2012
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12835.html

32. Colour Range over the Orange City: NAG, Jan'12
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12803.html

31. AI strike(,) PAT in the back: Patna, Jan'12
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12781.html

30. Regressive TR: Shuttling between Delhi and Mumbai
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12742.html

29. No Eyesore in Mysore; Part II: Mysore Memories; HAL Museum
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12730.html

28. No Eyesore in Mysore; Part I: Mysore
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12686.html

27. Hampi Hamper, Part 2: Hampi!
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12661.html

26. Hampi Hamper, Part I: Banashankari, Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12623.html

25. JAI Ho! Jaipur, Sep'12, My Double Standards?
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12592.html
(This is out of sequence, only to report on something that is
very recent, circa Sep'12)

24. PNQ: PeNning Queued Reports, Dec 2011
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12557.html

23. Little BHO-Peep, Nov 2011
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12496.html

22. The Call of the Vaigai! Madurai, Oct 2011
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12465.html

21. Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: Beijing, 2011 Part 3
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12452.html

20. No Panda-monium: Beijing, 2011 Part 2
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12389.html

19. North By Northwest...er, AI and CA: Beijing, 2011 Part 1
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12348.html

18. Going Bananas over Oranges: Nagpur, Aug'11
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12333.html

17. To the City of Joy and back, on Air India: Aug'11
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12238.html

16. To Chennai, Mar'12 with a Celebrity Captain!
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12196.html
(This is out of sequence owing to sheer excitement, and nothing
else!)

15. Marble Rocks, Marbles Rock; Jul 2011
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12157.html

14. The Fish-Eye Beckons! Madurai, on Air India. Jul 2011
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12136.html

13. To Russia, with Awe: Moscow, 2011, Part 3: Monino!
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12091.html

12. To Russia, with Awe: Moscow, 2011, Part 2: The Central Museum
of the Armed Forces
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12016.html

11. To Russia, with Awe: Moscow, 2011, Part 1: The Overall Trip
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic11717.html

10. The City of Lakes: Mother's Heart, Heart of the Motherland
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic11556.html

9. Mostly Indoors, in Indore:
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic11533.html

8. Inter-metro Shuttling on AI: DEL-BOM on AI810, BOM-DEL on AI888
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic11449.html

7. On the cusp: DEL-BOM on IC863, BOM-DEL on AI660
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic11160.html

6. DEL-BOM on IT308, BOM-DEL on IC166
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic10986.html

5. DEL-MAA on IC439, MAA-DEL on IC802
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic10809.html

4. DEL-PNQ on IC849, PNQ-DEL on IC850
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic10510.html

3. DEL-MAA on IC429 (A321), MAA-DEL on IC7602 (CRJ7)
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic10401.html

2. DEL-NAG-NDC, NDC-BOM-DEL on G8
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic10169.html

1. IGI T3, AI 314 DEL-HKG and AI 311 HKG-DEL
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic10018.html
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ameya
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Location: Pune,Maharashtra

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice One !

There always is a joy of flying an ATR since it flies low and you get to see the entire route clearly if the weather is good.

Its time AI starts CRJ flights to JLR. It does make money for AI for sure !
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sumantra
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Posts: 4685
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ameya wrote:
There always is a joy of flying an ATR since it flies low and you get to see the entire route clearly if the weather is good.
Sure Smile
ameya wrote:
Its time AI starts CRJ flights to JLR. It does make money for AI for sure!
Yes, after you mentioned it, I had also expected AI to start JLR on the CR7. An Air India executive at JLR had also said the same, that there was talk of a jet service to JLR, which I guessed, would be a CR7. I guess the two/three (?) CRJs based in DEL are busy with other routes, with the JLR route being one which is used to keep the AT42 based in DEL, busy to some extent! Thanks a lot, Ameya!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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TKMCE
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting report . And regarding the ATR-42s if i remember correctly these were brought by Indian Airlines with a subsidy from the North Eastern Council for the purpose of operarting in North Eastern states. But one of them was shifted to DEL and another was based in COK primarily to operate to Agatti (AGX) and did TRV CCJ and even MAA and BLR from COK at one point. THe COK AGX was originally operated by a HAL Dornier 228 in the Indian airlines livery but had a bad crash at COK (the old airport- not CIAL) which was attributed to ppor maintenance practices and after that they shifted an ATR to COK although for a brife while I think they dabbled with a leased Beechcraft as well.

In its hey days , Air Deccan (the original version - pre Mallya takeover) had a network in North East even bigger than IC/Alliance Air. You name the place, they operated there!!! I think except Tezpur most other points in the North- East was linked by them at one point or the other.
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, Rajeev - that was a nice write-up on the history of the ATR-42s with Alliance Air! Yes, at one time, as a Delhi'ite, a subsequent Mumbaikar and a Delhi'ite back again, I used to long to see the ATR-42s, more so, in the new Flying Swan livery, with the strange way the livery adorns the three-part tail front. Yes, I also remember reading about the sad 1998 Do-228 accident at the old Willingdon Island Airport in Kochi. The ATR-42/72 is not a good-looking aircraft in my opinion, but is perhaps one of the most economic to operate on short hauls! Air India Regional's planes could perhaps be spruced up a bit from the inside, given I have seen some superb clean interiors (no grime marks, fabric looking clean and fresh) in the old double bogey A320s of Air India, of late.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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jbalonso777
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ABA reminds me of my dog!
I was onboard ABA when my brother called up Dad with a rather distressing point to make, the dog (only 2 and a half months old!) was chewing all shows and cloth pieces at home!

As usual, an amazing TR! For some reason, I was expecting an Airbus TR, but instead, it was something different, and unique!
Interesting pictrues of the propellers, its fun playing the shutter speed at these instances!
I hope AI keep these ATR42 for as long as possible, now that the B732s of this airline is gone...

Regards
Jish
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Theairplaneguy4ever
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Posts: 191
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi!

Another great trip report, sir!

I'm really surprised that food was served, I was under the belief that CD was a low cost turbo prop city hopper.

But, in reality, it's just like mainline AI. Nice!

Currently sistership VT-ABB, also in alliance air colours is here at Kochi I believe or was, spotted it two months ago.

One more thing, I'm astonished you weren't caught for photography on the tarmac despite having security personnel all around you. Was there actually any sort of problem? Or did the security staff not seem to mind?

Once again, a great TR!

Theairplaneguy4ever
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Spiderguy252
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yet another nice TR, Sumantra!

A pity about the dilapidated interiors of the ATR, but I don't think there is much incentive for the airline to replace them because as you mentioned, it is a route operated outside of commercial obligations, and the sole competitor in Kingfisher is now defunct.
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jasepl
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Posts: 4257
Location: bund-bay

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 10:22 pm    Post subject: Re: 2012: Jabalpur in July Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
Fruit tastes best when cold... the colder it is, the better...

Yes and yes!

I love my fruit frozen. Apples, strawberries, grapes, pineapple, oranges... All go in the freezer. Ice cold yummy frozen deliciousness!

I actually don't like hot food at all. With rate exception, it's got to be room temperature or less.
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sumantra
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Joined: 28 Oct 2007
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 11:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you all for your kind words, Jishnu, Adi, Varun and Jason!
jbalonso777 wrote:
I was onboard ABA when my brother called up Dad with a rather distressing point to make, the dog (only 2 and a half months old!) was chewing all...
`gone to the dogs', right? Yes, I know the teething period quite well. Our little furry wet-nosed sister Lucy did a lot of those things, but enriched our lives beyond what words can describe, for the sixteen-and-a-half years she was with us since my parents adopted a little white ball of fur.
jbalonso777 wrote:
Interesting pictures of the propellers, its fun playing the shutter speed at these instances!
I am quite a novice at this...this was my infamous digital photography device in action Smile I do not dare to try out too many experiments on my Analog SLR, which I mainly use for manual focussing many a time - I trust the auto mode better than my inexperience!
Theairplaneguy4ever wrote:
I'm really surprised that food was served, I was under the belief that CD was a low cost turbo prop city hopper.
Adi, the only low-cost arm is AIX, which you must have seen extensively at your home base. The ATR-42s are quite economic to operate, and do the short legs well, though their utilisation ex-DEL is rather low, doing some routes for a political pressure reasons, so I hear. Adi, please also read, below, on one aircraft being put in the north, and one in the South.
Theairplaneguy4ever wrote:
Currently sistership VT-ABB, also in alliance air colours is here at Kochi I believe or was, spotted it two months ago.
I flew ABB, the `powerful' plane, when she was based in Delhi, on exactly the same route a year back! I guess CD will not paint any more birds in the new colours, given that they are leased ones.
Theairplaneguy4ever wrote:
...Was there actually any sort of problem? Or did the security staff not seem to mind?
As we were waiting, I noticed a few people clicking pictures of the plane with their cell phones, with the security people not seeming to mind it one bit. Hence, I tried it myself, too. I have seen the staff quite tolerant to this at a few places. I remember your experience on the aero-bridge at Kochi!
Spiderguy252 wrote:
A pity about the dilapidated interiors of the ATR, but I don't think there is much incentive for the airline to replace them because as you mentioned, it is a route operated outside of commercial obligations
They could clean the interiors quite thoroughly, at least. Most of the older birds I have been on in the recent past which I have seen in an amazing condition (ESJ, ESH, IWB, and to some extent, ESI as well) were operating ex-DEL. Which comes as a pleasant surprise, since we Delhi'ites aren't exactly known for our work culture. Or our cleanliness, for that matter. The Wife has interesting things to say about me in this regard, but that is another story Smile Among the routes does by this aircraft, they made some money on the Kulu route, the Pathankot leg was necessitated by a load penalty issue (thanks to our resident Encyclopaedia Ameya for this information!). JLR also perhaps makes money - the average loads on this sector are not too bad, from what I saw (albeit in the form of incidental evidence). One ATR-42 in the North and one in the South, both have low utilisation also owing to lack of crew for a better utilisation of the bird. Ameya also told me that the `masked bandit' CR7 can land at both JLR and IXP easily, in fact, I was looking forward to seeing the CR7 in this year's schedule, as I wrote in an earlier post!
jasepl wrote:
Apples, strawberries, grapes, pineapple, oranges... All go in the freezer.
It is quite the same here. The Wife does not call me `cold blooded' without reason Smile
Cheers, Sumantra.
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shivendrashukla
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Joined: 21 Dec 2006
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Location: Mumbai, India

PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2013 7:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great report there professor. But looks like it was not upto your "Mark" culinary wise Smile

I have never flown on an ATR-42 and currently I am looking for an opportunity to fly on one. Lets hope I get my wish fulfilled.

--Shivendra
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sumantra
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Posts: 4685
Location: New Delhi

PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 9:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

shivendrashukla wrote:
I have never flown on an ATR-42 and currently I am looking for an opportunity to fly on one. Lets hope I get my wish fulfilled.
Thank you for the appreciation, Shukla Sir! An ATR-42/72 hardly compares with the planes you have flown on Smile
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PAL@YWG
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Location: YWG, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 2:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Jabalpur in July"....don't tell me that you visited "Ahmedabad in August" Very Happy
Sumantra, I have seen more pictures of Indian airports in your TRs than I thought I know of all Indian cities that have functional airports! Also envy your job that takes you to all these II-tier/ III-tier cities. With each of your TR, my Bharat Darshan gets one city richer! Very Happy
Keep up the good work!
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sumantra
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Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4685
Location: New Delhi

PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

PAL@YWG wrote:
"Jabalpur in July"....don't tell me that you visited "Ahmedabad in August" Very Happy

Ah Mr. Pal...no, I haven't visited `Amdavad' by air yet - this is one airport I would love to see, including its new terminal. As regards painful puns in the title, I guess this trend will continue... Smile

PAL@YWG wrote:
Sumantra, I have seen more pictures of Indian airports in your TRs
Thank you Mr. Pal - now, can I extrapolate your statement to apply to you? We on this forum, have seen much more of the world through your TRs, and know about them, than most of us would have ever imagined we would, ever. And don't we love it? Smile
Cheers, Sumantra.
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Nimish
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Joined: 16 Dec 2006
Posts: 9757
Location: Bangalore, India

PostPosted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 2:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lovely TR - thanks for posting! The ATR is one of my favorite a/c due to the low height at which it flies and the better view you can get of the countryside! Off topic - but a few months ago I'd read a great technical article on the pros and cons of the ATR vs. the Q400, from that I recall that the ATR is actually tougher to handle than the Q400!
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sumantra
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Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4685
Location: New Delhi

PostPosted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 7:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you, Nimish - the AI Regional ones would be even more of a delight to fly on if they could keep the interiors as spic and span as AI maintains some of the older 320s and the 332s! AI Regional has its entire fleet leased (ATR-42s, CRJ-700s), and if the leases expire, I wonder what will happen to some routes which do quite well for Air India!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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