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The Insomniac Domestic Run (64 pics)

 
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Spiderguy252
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 5:31 am    Post subject: The Insomniac Domestic Run (64 pics) Reply with quote

Bangalore - Chennai is effectively a routine commute for yours truly, and over 2014 I've done all sorts of permutations on this sector - flying 737s, 320s (with and without sharklets), ATRs, and Q400s back and forth.

During the year, I also had the opportunity to fly Air Asia India on the route, shortly after their launch, and put up a TR on them a few weeks later:

http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=13860

(This morning flight has since been canned)

In hindsight then, the only airline I haven't flown on the route is the international Air India flight (263/264) that hops across to Male, but I reckon it's only a matter of time.

-------------

This particular flight I am going to describe was an IndiGo run taken on the 1st day of November on BLR-MAA, and was the second departure of the day to MAA - the first being Air Asia India's.

My cousin and family were travelling to MAA that morning as well, though by the third departure of the morning - a Jet Airways flight that departs right behind the IndiGo bird. The end result is that all three aircraft - a 320 with sharklets, a 320 (perhaps with sharklets, but most probably not) and a 737-700 in the harpic blue livery - in that order, touched down in MAA one after the other.

Going into this flight, I knew I was going to be in the airport for a while - having promised a friend that I'd see him off for his departure abroad. So I went ahead and booked all the bells and whistles IndiGo had to offer on their site - the lounge, priority passes, front row seating, food, the works.

I also carried my camera of course, enjoy the pictures:

The Volvos from various points in the city taking a break before they make their way back South.



The departures board. A 6E flight to BOM is the first domestic run of the day.



An intra-terminal cab.



The kerb.



Cue the CISF warning me that I'd effectively be jobless once I entered the terminal. Nevertheless, my friend's group and I made our way in, and they went ahead to check-in for their 2:50 AM flight, while I headed to a Coffee Day to grab a beverage that'd help me get through the night. It was only then I realized that I had never really overnighted since college - so there would be some friction in the hours to come.



Sparse check-in desks.



After a while with my computer and dongle and seeing off my friend, the 6E desks opened (at around 03:10) and I checked in and made my way upstairs to security and the lounge. Security itself was closed until 04:30 but the friendly guy there made an exception when I said I wanted to head upstairs to the lounge.



The check-in area from above.



Boarding card.



6E uses the Plaza Premium lounge for Rs. 600/- per person per booking. If you haven't booked a 6E ticket, the cost for entry is Rs. 1000/-, though it is effectively free if you have an HDFC credit card that offers lounge access - point to note.

At this stage, I was all alone this side of the terminal.



Sleeping aircraft past the glass.



A Lufty jumbo taxiing past.



The deserted waiting area below.





The food wasn't great, I have to say - may have something to do with a lack of appetite that time of the night too. The personnel within the lounge were eager to please though, and kept topping me up with additional cups of coffee and such.



An I5 bird docking to an aerobridge. We will be chasing this aircraft into MAA, with my cousin's flight close behind.



Sharklets! I haven't flown on a 6E bird with sharklets so far.



It was past 04:30 now, and the gates below were starting to fill up with pax, as was the lounge around me.





After yet another cup of coffee, I decided to head back downstairs to wait near my (bus) gate.



I guess this will be an A319.



A BA 772 at the international gate.



Boarding was called at 0545, and the bus was packed to the brim before setting out to one of the numerous aircraft on the apron.

The I5 bird has gotten a headstart, as expected.



IEF was the bird for the day's flight, and it would head out to CCU and IXB later in the day, from MAA.



Dawn.





Cabin crew welcomed us in with a crisp 'Good morning' and I was in my front row seat in quick time.



To our right.



It was a full flight, so these seats were filled in by pax in the following 10 minutes.



We pushbacked at 0625 sharp, with the FA gleefully announcing so and were on our way.



The I5 beginning its take-off roll. The aircraft was VT-ATB, by the way.



2 x 6E A320s.



Following a counterpart, slightly better endowed than ours. Twisted Evil





My cousin's flight right behind. The WA group also revealed that Vinish was pushing back on his ATR run from MAA, clearly a lot of us in the air that morning!





It was VT-SJA, which seems to do MAA-BLR-DEL and back through the day. I had flown the type on 17/8.









After an Air India A320 in the Star livery touched down, the sharkletted 6E in front of us rocketed through its take-off roll. A couple of minutes after that, so did we.





The Star 320 is on the right, at a jetway.



We performed a series of right hand banks before climbing towards BLR's typical overcast sky.







Of course, the catch on this leg is that hardly two or three minutes go by without the FA announcing something or the other (in multiple languages, mind). Aside from the regular safety instructions, there are airline specific calls on services, seatbelt sign is off but keep it fastened, hot beverages will not be served on this short run, we're proud to have been voted for xyz award, help us collect the trash so we can maintain our OTP, do you want to purchase duty free, we're going around with feedback forms now, oh lookie here we're on time again, so on and so forth.

The chicken sandwich and a carton of juice. I was actually stuffed from the lounge, so I packed the sandwich for later.



Beginning our descent to MAA.



The approach that will take us past the coast only to zig back to the runway.







Just looking at these photos while typing up this TR now I realize there was this spot of dust on my camera lens on the full-zoom setting. Apologies.



Always fun when you're really close to the water, eh? Cool



Marina Beach and the Chepauk cricket stadium.



The MRTS.



A river.



A cloverleaf flyover and two forking metro lines.



Coming into the perimeter.



Clearing the runway.



The international terminal with an IndiGo and Air Asia (mainline) flights parked.





Guess who came in before us? Smile





Unlike the I5 flight, we were allotted an aerobridge though, which sped things up. I made my way to belt #3 and the first bag that plopped onto it was mine - thanks to the 'Fast Forward' tag. I waited for 20 or so more minutes for my cousin and family to exit as well, and we caught a cab home.

Thanks for reading, and sorry to be rather infrequent on this particular sub-forum - work has been rather hectic but seems to be smoothening out now, so I hope to dedicate more time to read all of your reports as well! Smile

The first quarter of 2015 for mine doesn't have too much by way of variety, but I hope to make a KWI and DXB trip come April/May - and I shall be TRing away come those months.



Cheers,
Varun
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star*gold
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 6:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice trip report!

That river pictured on your approach to MAA is the Adyar River.
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 9:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, Varun: it has been well worth the wait. Nice descriptions of BLR at an unearthly hour, and possibly the first TR describing all of 6E's bells and whistles!
There is a nice sense of speed in this TR as well, with all the back-to-back flights to the same place! I have been unlucky with 6E sharkletted birds as well, unfortunately. I have also consistently missed (even taking a picture of!) AI's *A liveried bird, the `safe' plane, VT-ESF. I also remember discussing with you, that fact that most of us look forward to MAA's approach from the sea, with the nice views of ships, the dockyard in the distance, Chepauk, and the Marina beach! Variety or not, each flight experience is different from the other. We look forward to you describing the domestic runs as well, in your inimitable way. And yes, I love the organised way you maintain your flight log. Thanks a lot for sharing this with us, Varun!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 9:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

star*gold wrote:
That river pictured on your approach to MAA is the Adyar River.
River? My Chennai-based friends term it as the Adyar drain. It is ironical that most cities have some drain or the other close-by. Delhi has the Yamuna drain, Mumbai has the Mithi drain...
Cheers, Sumantra.
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jbalonso777
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 18, 2015 10:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Varun, fantastic trip report, good to have you back! Smile

The three way battle into MAA sounded like fun - good to know Ferrari (red - AirAsia) won it! Wink

Nice to see BLR at that point in the morning, airports sure do feel spooky when no one's around lol

How was the sandwich? I look forward to some of the 9W TRs Very Happy

Regards
Jish
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ameya
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 12:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice pictures Varun ! Thanks for the TR. Enjoyed reading it.

I assume that the total cost you paid for the ticket with the frills was more then the 9W FSC departure ( not FSC back then ?) but I am sure there will be people who would pay extra for lounge / baggage first option. And for loading your bags last and getting them out first, if somebody is willing to pay any amount extra, airlines should explore it !
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sri_bom
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for posting this picturesque trip report Varun, enjoyed every bit of it.

Good to know you were in good spirits to kill your time at the airport, but I am guessing most aviation enthusiast will not have a problem sleeping/lounging at an airport.

It is interesting to see that Indigo uses a ramp style access to board airplanes instead of the traditional stairs, is that a standard for all Indigo flights where they don’t use aerobridges?

The approach in Chennai is always fun over the sea’s and back to mainland.

Sri_Bom
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Spiderguy252
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, all.

star*gold wrote:
Nice trip report!

That river pictured on your approach to MAA is the Adyar River.


sumantra wrote:
star*gold wrote:
That river pictured on your approach to MAA is the Adyar River.
River? My Chennai-based friends term it as the Adyar drain. It is ironical that most cities have some drain or the other close-by. Delhi has the Yamuna drain, Mumbai has the Mithi drain...
Cheers, Sumantra.


Yes, that along with the Cooum are the two polluted rivers that drain through Chennai city. As with the big Ganga, plans for cleaning these things are all talk and no action.

jbalonso777 wrote:
How was the sandwich? I look forward to some of the 9W TRs Very Happy


Shall do my best on the 9W TRs starting this Friday. The sandwich was stone cold, but that's not a surprise coming from 6E.

ameya wrote:
I assume that the total cost you paid for the ticket with the frills was more then the 9W FSC departure ( not FSC back then ?)


Yep, it was Konnect and Lite codesharing with the other back then. One of the reasons I've gone all 9W this year is because of the free food. Twisted Evil

sri_bom wrote:
It is interesting to see that Indigo uses a ramp style access to board airplanes instead of the traditional stairs, is that a standard for all Indigo flights where they don’t use aerobridges?


Yes, it's their branded ramp at all domestic airports - makes it easier for wheelchair access too.

Cheers,
Varun
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Nimish
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 4:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great report Varun - thanks for posting. Courageous - staying up all night at BLR airport - quite the desolate spot on the domestic side eh Wink?
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 6:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Spiderguy252 wrote:
sumantra wrote:
star*gold wrote:
That river pictured on your approach to MAA is the Adyar River.
River? My Chennai-based friends term it as the Adyar drain. It is ironical that most cities have some drain or the other close-by. Delhi has the Yamuna drain, Mumbai has the Mithi drain...Cheers, Sumantra.
Yes, that along with the Cooum are the two polluted rivers that drain through Chennai city. As with the big Ganga, plans for cleaning these things are all talk and no action.
Hey Varun: that is not all that I wrote! You may have missed my post, above. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to reading much more from you!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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Spiderguy252
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 11:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
Hey Varun: that is not all that I wrote! You may have missed my post, above. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to reading much more from you!
Cheers, Sumantra.


Oops, I did quote bits of the following post in my response but must have mistakenly erased them before publishing it all. Glad that you enjoyed the TR!

sumantra wrote:
Yes, Varun: it has been well worth the wait. Nice descriptions of BLR at an unearthly hour, and possibly the first TR describing all of 6E's bells and whistles!
There is a nice sense of speed in this TR as well, with all the back-to-back flights to the same place! I have been unlucky with 6E sharkletted birds as well, unfortunately. I have also consistently missed (even taking a picture of!) AI's *A liveried bird, the `safe' plane, VT-ESF. I also remember discussing with you, that fact that most of us look forward to MAA's approach from the sea, with the nice views of ships, the dockyard in the distance, Chepauk, and the Marina beach! Variety or not, each flight experience is different from the other. We look forward to you describing the domestic runs as well, in your inimitable way. And yes, I love the organised way you maintain your flight log. Thanks a lot for sharing this with us, Varun!
Cheers, Sumantra.


Seeing that you're AI's most frequent flier on this forum, I would suspect that you will fly on VT-ESF in its Star costume sooner rather than later. Razz

I'll try my best with the TRs - perhaps one for the night ATR run a few days from now if I have my hands free!
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Spiderguy252
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 12:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nimish wrote:
Great report Varun - thanks for posting. Courageous - staying up all night at BLR airport - quite the desolate spot on the domestic side eh Wink?


Very, and it's actually a calming effect too. Smile
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 7:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Spiderguy252 wrote:
Seeing that you're AI's most frequent flier on this forum, I would suspect that you will fly on VT-ESF in its Star costume sooner rather than later
Hmm...the thought that I've never had my camera in a suitable position to be able to even capture it in a picture speaks of my bad luck. The all-Y A320s do most of the low-yield high volume routes.
Spiderguy252 wrote:
I'll try my best with the TRs - perhaps one for the night ATR run a few days from now if I have my hands free!
Yes, we all look forward to it! It will be all the more better if you can get a popular front office occupant on this sector as well!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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Spiderguy252
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 11:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
Yes, we all look forward to it! It will be all the more better if you can get a popular front office occupant on this sector as well!
Cheers, Sumantra.


Pity the pilot in question has stated that he is on his day off, but with my recent 9W booking spree it should only be a matter of time. Wink
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rakesh959
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 4:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wonderful TR Varun!As always Indigo has been the same with the negative being the food Evil or Very Mad I hope they sort that soon.Awesome pictures of the city on approach to rwy25 at MAA!Nice to see 6E getting good loads even in this fiercely competitive sector!Very good read!
Thanks once again!
Cheers!
Rakesh.
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Spiderguy252
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 5:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

rakesh959 wrote:
Nice to see 6E getting good loads even in this fiercely competitive sector!Very good read!


True, but they're still at only 2x flights a day at the moment - down there with Air Asia. They should step it up because 9W is the clear winner on this sector.

Cheers for the read!
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 5:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Spiderguy252 wrote:
rakesh959 wrote:
Nice to see 6E getting good loads even in this fiercely competitive sector!Very good read!


True, but they're still at only 2x flights a day at the moment - down there with Air Asia. They should step it up because 9W is the clear winner on this sector.

Cheers for the read!


Yes!I hope they increase the frequency but with an all A320 fleet I dont think they can do much on this very short sector!

Cheers!
Rakesh.
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 9:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Spiderguy252 wrote:
Pity the pilot in question has stated that he is on his day off, but with my recent 9W booking spree it should only be a matter of time. Wink
Ha ha! And given that I am the uncrowned king of gluttony on this forum, do I not agree with the primary reason for your choice of the airlines as Jet Airways? Very Happy
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great TR Varun, nice idea as well.
- Brave man to go sooooo early Laughing
- I always found the bus convenient .... used to get dropped off at the bus station near my house or catch the one at Mehkri circle.
- What's an intra terminal cab? Never seen that before?
- BLR airside looks as brown as ever ..... keep hoping they put some of that UDF money to use and grassify the areas around the taxiways and runway.
- Can't wait for you to fly with ViD and make fun of his landing Wink
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 10:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very Nice TR, liked the pictures at BLR.

Good to you managed to stay awake at those ungodly hours!
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