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US,Nov'13-5: Haring back, Return from O'Hare

 
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sumantra
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Location: New Delhi

PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 9:18 pm    Post subject: US,Nov'13-5: Haring back, Return from O'Hare Reply with quote

US,Nov'13-5: Haring back, Return from O'Hare


http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic14255.html

77.1 Introduction
Once again, I apologise for the slightly unpalatable title.
This was a rushed US trip, with little scope for sightseeing, or
meeting friends and relatives. I had to `hare' back, a bad pun on
the name of the famous aviator after which the main airport at
Chicago is named. This is the concluding part of a 5-part report
on my trip. The previous parts can be found at the following URLs:
73. US,Nov'13-1: Tailwinds to the Windy City!
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic14179.html
74. US,Nov'13-2: Winds/Sands of Time..Windy City-Sandy Ego!
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic14198.html
75. US,Nov'13-3: Midway, from Midway, to USS Midway
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic14215.html
76. US,Nov13-4: San Diego-Midway, Chicago
http://www.airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic14233.html

The day started quite early for me.
I woke up with the alarm at 04:00 am.
It would have been nice to keep it at that, but let me add, for
the benefit of those who know me well, that I lazed around for
half and hour more, before finally waking up, and realising that
I had to get ready quickly. The last afternoon and evening had
passed by in a flash. My uncle and aunt had come over from
Madison, Wisconsin the evening before, my cousin's daughters were
having all of us in splits, and her mother-in-law was also there
at home, along with my younger cousin sister. The cacophony
continued into the night. Lunch and dinner were meals to remember.

After a filling breakfast of four types of cereals with milk, I
set out with my cousin's husband and my uncle towards O'Hare
airport, which we reached in less than half-an-hour from Oak
Park. There was quite a crowd at the Air India check-in, where
there were four counters for Economy class passengers. Seeing the
crowd, I was directed to the First Class check-in counter (alas,
just the First Class check-in on a red carpet, nothing else!). I
bid good-bye to two people I had spent the last 20
hours or so, only punctuated by the period of some well-deserved
eye-shut for all of us. Just prior to the check-in, there was a
check of the weight and size of the cabin baggage/carry-ons. Mine
was well within limits. Once again, I was not subjected to
secondary screening at the TSA security check.

77.2 Plain plane spotting from inside the O'Hare Int'l Terminal

Soon, I was air-side, and roamed all around the 21 gates at
Chicago's O'Hare International airport. There was not much
traffic at that time. I noted a United A320, an Asiana B772-ER, a
Korean Air B77W(?), a United 772-ER at the gates, which were soon
joined by a Hainan Airlines A346, a Cathay Pacific B77W(?), one
more United B772-ER, an ANA B77W, two American Airlines B763s,
and a Lufthansa B748, not in this order, though. Here are a few
pictures of the same.

The Asiana B77E Flight 214 crash at San Francisco had taken place
about four months before. I was reminded of the sad incident on
first sight of this good-looking plane.


A United Airlines A320 was the only narrow-body aircraft parked
at the International terminal, at that time.


There was a Spirit Airlines 319, in an attractive colour scheme.
There seemed to be some work going on in the starboard engine.
I was going all around the International terminal, trying to spot
interesting planes all around.


A long Korean Air B77W was parked on the other side, with the
logo which looks rather like the Pepsi one, as a friend commented.



American Connection ERJ-145s were seen all around.


By now, the longest plane around was ready to move out, and take to the skies.


My eyes fell on the lounge at the International terminal, which
had a special display for Air India! It was the SkyTeam lounge,
to be patronised by Air India passengers with status, as well.

Air India is a prominent operator at Chicago, and I liked the
prominent attention the carrier got there.

77.3 Boarding VT-ALN, `Jammu and Kashmir'

We were to board from Gate B-09. There was a huge crowd which had
assembled there, signifying some excellent loads.
Our ride for the day would be VT-ALN `Jammu & Kashmir', a B77W.
My itinerary for this leg of the trip was as follows:

Set out 10 Nov (Sun) for New Delhi from Chicago
AI 126: Air India (B77W) [Seat: 39K; PNR: J6RL8, Class L]
O'Hare Int'l Airport, Chicago - IGIA T3, New Delhi
Chicago (ORD) - New Delhi (DEL)
[01:30 pm - 03:25 pm, 11 Nov (Mon)] {14:25 hrs}

I noticed quite a few pallets being loaded, one after another, so
the plane would carry quite a bit of cargo, as well. As we were
boarding, I noticed a few passengers being called aside, their
cabin baggage being weighed, and an agent performing checks
inside, and for one passenger, telling him that extra baggage
charges would be levied, as the piece was beyond the allowed Air
India limits of 8kg, and would need to be carried into the
baggage hold. I was looking forward to occupying the only window
seat in the two two-seat extreme rows in the Air India B77Ws,
among which only 39K was free. I had got this reserved for me
over a phone call to the Air India call centre, when for some
reason, I was not able to save my choices on the Air India
website. I connected my laptop to the power-port, kept my camera bag
beside me, put my reading material in the seat pocket in front of
me, and started taking pictures of the action on the tarmac.
Just then, an old couple came up to me and requested if I could
move up to 38K, so that they could be seated together, all after
I had made myself quite comfortable there.

I surprised myself by agreeing immediately, and moved to the seat
ahead. The view from the window was a bit constrained, as was the
fact that row 38 was a three seat row, and not my favourite
two-seat one. The IFE pod was in working condition, as I powered
my laptop from the power-port, and settled down for a second
time. I overheard requests all around for seat exchanges, but now
I was determined not to budge, in case someone requested me to do so.
The mood lighting was in place, but the plane was not perfectly
spic-and-span. There were some grime marks on the plastic surfaces,
and the seat arm rest wore a tired look to it. While the IFE unit
was in working condition, the wired console (or should I call it the
`tired' console) had a couple of buttons missing, especially the
small ones. I looked around me - most of the units were in a
similar state. the buttons (or rather, the metal contacts exposed
by the removal of the buttons) could only be operated with
the tip of a pen, or a pencil. That was disappointing.

I starting taking pictures from inside the plane.
A United Airlines B77E came in, around.
``Hey Air India big brother, will you take me under your wing?''


The Captain came on the Intercom from the flight deck, and
announced a flying time of 13.5 hours (for a distance of 12,670
km), at an average altitude of 35,000 feet. I did not catch the
name of the captain in the two announcements in Hindi and
English, respectively. It sounded a bit like `Captain M. P.
Sibal' The chief of the cabin crew was Mr. Hansmukh Singh.

An attractive JetBlue ERJ-190 was taxi'ing to its position.


American Airlines has Chicago as its major hub. A common sight
was a B738, in the new livery.


There were planes in the old livery as well. I apologise for the
back-lit picture.


After a long and powerful
take-off (with an Austrian B763 waiting for us to take-off,
before crossing the runway into an taxi-way), the Captain
executed a left turn, followed soon by a right turn, as we
followed the coastline for a while, and then headed over the huge
expanse of water. Here is a picture just after the take-off bank,
with a large part of the beautiful airport visible:



77.4 Hunger pangs...and satisfaction

After the seat belt signs went off, the announcement which I wait
eagerly for, highlighted a snack, dinner, and breakfast, though I
had expected a lunch, a snack, and another lunch on this flight.
What do I know about optimal meal timings, when I find myself
eager to eat almost at will, at any time of the day...or, night?
I was clearly mistaken, since Air India's offerings would not in
the order announced, and quite fine, instead of what my hungry
inexperience had suggested.

There was an amazing view outside the window, with the moon
visible near the end of the wing.


The mood lighting is always something I look forward to seeing in action.


The drinks cart came up soon. Yes, I noticed some evil spirits
displaying some vibratory movement characteristic of fluids with
specific gravity less than one. Evil Spirits?
I recounted a conversation with a friend, on seeing a picture of
him, sitting happily in front of a cupboard, well-stocked with
tastefully placed bottles of some of the...famous liquor brands.
Quite envious of him, I said,
``I would be happier with the contents of the shelf in front
of me, rather than behind, and their contents inside me.''
He replied,
``Why don't we catch up for drinks sometime after Diwali?''
I replied, a bit non-pulsed,
``Sure, Sir - though age sure is catching up with me,
especially with regard to the evils spirits part.''
As the reader may have expected, my lack of sleep often induces
headaches, when the Doctor advises me against alcohol. Moreover,
the Doctor does not recommend evils spirits on board long
flights. As we flew over a steady layer of cottony clouds, I
noticed on the moving map that we were over Northern Canada.
I could see snow on the ground where there were small
breaks in the cloud cover.

There was nothing to go with the drinks run.
What was the world coming to?
However, there were some pleasant smells filling the cabin.
Would this be the dinner?
I would not mind that!
There would be the usual Indian vegetarian and non-vegetarian
option, but I asked for what I was looking for.
The continental non-vegetarian option!


It started with a salad, where I could see lettuce leaves, with a
slice of thick-skinned lemon, and a thick large chilly.
The lettuce was very fresh and crispy, and the lemon slice was a
pleasant surprise. It had quite a bit of flavour, and the first
taste of the salad with a bit of the lemon's juice
gave me adequate Vitamin C for the day.
And many more, as well.
It was really sour, but extremely flavourful.
I kept the rest of it for the main course.
The main course had some steamed carrot squares, with peas. The
peas were not boiled, or baked: they had been cooked in steam.
They retained the original colours of the two vegetables, and
flavours of the same. To the right were slightly larger potato
squares. The potatoes had been lightly browned, and then baked to
perfection. In the middle were some extremely tasty braised
shanks, which had been cut into thin slices. The outer covering
showed the effects of the braising, while
the interior parts had the flavours of the subtle marination.
It was extremely filling as well.
The dessert was an interesting take on the famed Air India
firni, the famed broken rice-based pudding dish from the
Indian state this aircraft was named after, Jammu and Kashmir.
I had been wondering what the dessert was.
It had two roasted pistachio nuts on top, and a rather dry-ish
yellow-ish version of small pieces of beaten rice cooked in milk,
till it got thicker, and in this case, quite solid.
This had an interesting flavour of its own, and I liked it.
The beverage: I had asked for coffee, but was served tea instead,
as the cabin crew somewhat rushed through the last part of the
service. The tea was quite strong, and had a very nice flavour
that went well with the creamer in the sachet, and the sugar.
The cabin was darkened almost immediately, in line with the
darkness outside. Most people decided to get some eye-shut.
I was among them.
It was not that I believed that I would be able to do it.
I was not feeling sleepy in the least, but very soon, a deep
drowsiness overcame my visage. I did not realise when I fell asleep.

77.5 Tea Time!

At around half-way in the flight, there was an announcement that
would give me enough incentive to break my reverie.
A tea service was announced.
By the time I actually woke up completely, the carts were going
down the aisles. The offering set my digestive juices in action.


There was a small sachet of tomato sauce/ketchup.
First to go in would be a very tasty cheese sandwich in brown bread.
The bread tasted very fresh indeed, with lots of roughage: an
excellent brown bread. Inside was a thick-ish slice of Mozzarella
cheese. I had left a bit of the tomato sauce for the white bread
sandwich as well. The bread here again tasted very fresh, and the
cucumber and tomato slice filling inside pleased my palette. The
beverage service had commenced by now. Yes, it would be coffee for me.
I could not wait to sample the taste of an American instant coffee.
The coffee was quite different from the usual brand of instant
coffee that Air India serves usually, but there wasn't anything
great about it. I was hot and strong however, and would hold my
sleep back a bit, I guessed. My slight disappointment at the
coffee was more than offset by the slice of the moist raisin cake.
This really took the cake. All three baked items were quite
exceptional, with the piece d'resistance being the raisin cake slice.
Almost half-way through the 13.5 hour journey, the moistness was
still well in place, and must have been packed just before
departure, and loaded, and the Air India procedures have made
their patrons become life-long admirers of the culinary finesse.
I delayed the consumption of this masterpiece to a small piece-by-piece
procedure, savouring the flavour in each small bite, morsel-by-morsel.
We were over the Scandinavian peninsula by now.

Dawn was breaking on the horizon as our flight path came close to
Moscow, while curving in a south-easterly direction. The galleys
had been well-stocked all this while. There were numerous water
bottles in the phase after the dinner, and had juice cartons
(tomato, unfortunately, not my favourite orange), a bottle of
coke, and two favourite Indian drinks, water and tea bags. The
lavatories were also well-stocked, with soap in the dispenser,
and a bottle each of mouthwash and moisturiser. The were enough
tissues, facial tissues and seat covers. This is a complaint one
used to hear on Air India flights. On this particular flight at
least, one could not blame the cabin crew for any indifference,
or mistakes. Except serving me tea instead of coffee in the
dinner of course, which was perhaps just as well!

77.6 Breakfast!

By now it was nearly three hours to land in Delhi.
My drowsy sleep was punctuated thrice with the fear that a meal
service had gone by, without my waking up. Amazingly, I dreamt of
three situations where I missed out on the food, and woke up with
a start. The third time, extremely appetising smells had reached
my nostrils, and much to my dreamy relief, there was a young
gentleman asking people for their choice, two rows ahead of me.
Non-veg, of course.


It started with a fruit bowl.
There were three pieces each of water mellon, and three of musk
mellon/honey dew mellon, and a nice piece of a pitted candied
cherry with the stem on top. What a lovely start to the breakfast!
The croissant possibly shared its origins to the same bakery from
which the other bakes had been sourced, and was superb.
The crew had warmed the croissant lightly, which hardened the
crust slightly, with the delicious soft interiors inviting me to
partake bite after bite, with a margarine chiplet, and a
Smuckers strawberry preserve.
Vitamins, minerals, roughage, followed by carbs, fats and sugars.
The proteins would come next.
The main box had a nice mashed vegetable chop done in a potato
base, and fried lightly with crumbs on the outside. I had this
with the tomato sauce/ketchup. Under this was a large and tasty
omelette, served with large mushroom slices. Hiding from view
under the omelette were two slices of lightly diced and herbed
potato slices! By this time, the beverage service had also started.
Coffee. Yes, it was the same American instant coffee, but much
stronger this time. I was eyeing the last item in the menu.
What could be exceptional about a muffin?
Quite a lot, actually.
There was the subtle and sinful smell of butter, which got
released when I opened the air-tight packet. As I dug my teeth
into the soft bliss, the moist sweetness spread its magic all
around my mouth, as it went down with all the goodness down my
oesophagus, and the heavenly feeling (and hopefully, not the
lipids) straight to my heart.

77.7 Coming back to Delhi!

Here is a picture of our plane VT-ALN `Jammu and Kashmir',
crossing the mountainous regions over Afghanistan, then into Pakistan.


By the time the lovely breakfast had crossed the
boundaries of my oesophagus, we had crossed into the plains of
Punjab. At 02:20 pm, the Captain came on board, announcing that
were flying 37,000 feet and said that he would commence the
descent into Delhi in about 6 minutes. We would make it 25
minutes before the scheduled arrival time.

Captain Sibal made a superb landing on the new runway 29. As we
exited the plane, the four members of the cockpit crew: the two
captains, and the two first officers, also exited the plane. The
arrival of this flight tunes in perfectly with the bank of
international arrivals at around the time, and the late afternoon
to early evening bank of domestic departures from Air India's
hub, IGIA T3 at Delhi. The immigration did not take long, as
there were quite a few officers there. The bags had also started
coming out much before the passengers reached our belt number 8.
The number of connections was perhaps too large to be announced. I
could see a large number of passengers destined for the final
destination, Hyderabad. The rest of the passengers were directed
to the transfer counter, and some were asked to stay back at the
gate itself, for more information.

The baggage tags all showed domestic connectors: BHO (which would
possibly be for the following day, since AI 126 did not connect
to AI 634, the Bhopal flight, at the time of my trip), NAG (the
next day, again), and other same-day connections: CCU, BOM, BLR,
PAT. Those on the Air India International connectors would
simply clear Immigration at the first point of arrival into the
country (Delhi), and their baggage would be automatically be
transferred to the corresponding domestic flight: they would
clear Customs at their final destination, after clearing
Immigration at Delhi.

I was quite tired, and the jet-leg would set in, very soon.
It stays for about a week to ten days with me after getting back
to India, and manifests in many ways. I often get annoyed with
myself, for dozing off with bright sunlight all around.
The jet lag stayed for exactly the period I mentioned above.
However, this also gave me an excuse to doze off at odd hours!
---
Links to my 77 trip reports:
https://sites.google.com/site/sumantratrip/


Last edited by sumantra on Wed Mar 04, 2015 6:17 pm; edited 1 time in total
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jbalonso777
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 6:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I shall proudly take pole position in replying to this fantastic final part, Sumantra sir. Thanks so much for sharing this!

I had similar thoughts standing in front of 9M-MRF in HKG, a MHB772. 2 planes gone, none of which were MH's fault Sad

Interesting, AI pax had to use the SkyTeam lounge!

Awesome take off pictures. Your awesome as always text and descriptions, along with some stunning shots - you've set the bar high!
Especially the picture of the moon and the B77W wingtip - classy!

AI's ULH flight meals look absolutely awesome, and pretty much on par, if not, better than the competition (I'm looking at you, UA). I hope they keep this trend up! And yes, I'm talking about ALL three meals! Many airlines do not even give a tray with the second meal, the snack. That could be a weight-fuel-money saving exercise, who knows?

You knows its a Sumatra sir TR when a 13.5 hour flight is described only with food, that's all, nothing else! But seriously, this is some awesome stuff, and I was looking forward to it. How many pax headed for HYD, if you managed to have a look?

Thanks for sharing this with us. I look forward to more!

Regards
Jish
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sabya99
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 8:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A well written trip report. I hope you will agree that getting a window seat has advantages. Your pictures are really good! Very Happy
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 9:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jbalonso777 wrote:
I shall proudly take pole position in replying to this fantastic final part
Thank you, Sir! Cliche'd, but doesn't one associate Alonso with the pole position?
jbalonso777 wrote:
I had similar thoughts standing in front of 9M-MRF in HKG, a MHB772. 2 planes gone, none of which were MH's fault Sad
Hmm...yes, it was all very sad.
jbalonso777 wrote:
Interesting, AI pax had to use the SkyTeam lounge!
I found this interesting since I have seen a Korean Airlines B77W around at a similar time slot, and I have seen Aero Mexico birds as well (the picture came out horrendous, hence I did not put it in), and here is a SkyTeam lounge that has a near-full sized Air India ad. I have circumstantial evidence of this flight getting some good premium loads, plus *A status passengers, who would patronise the lounge. I wonder if it is big enough to handle three carriers at about the same time.
jbalonso777 wrote:
you've set the bar high!
Hardly Sir: I love your pictures! Which reminds me: The Wife has put away that bottle of rose wine high up in the larder, so that I would have to make quite an effort in order to reach it on a regular basis.
jbalonso777 wrote:
AI's ULH flight meals look absolutely awesome
And Sir, just to think about the B744 days of AI 127, when it was BOM-FRA-ORD, and there were four meals, since one of the beverage offering was similar, and a mini-meal in itself. I enjoyed this last in 2007.
jbalonso777 wrote:
You knows its a Sumatra TR when a 13.5 hour flight is described only with food, that's all, nothing else!
He he...since the IFE part was mostly old Hindi film songs, and the moving map, for me.
jbalonso777 wrote:
How many pax headed for HYD, if you managed to have a look?
I have both circumstantial evidence, as well as some factual inputs from my sources. The number of HYD passengers is relatively large in both directions, but the domestic demand for the DEL-HYD and HYD-DEL sectors (both pax+cargo) is quite decent, which justifies the 2 hour domestic segment with an otherwise fuel-thirsty B77W. The AI 127/126 combination often gets booked out quickly: both the international jaunt, as well as the domestic legs, quite unlike the AI 101/102 combination on BOM-DEL-JFK, and vice versa.
Thanks for the detailed read once again, Sir!
The next TR will feature a AI 127 HYD-DEL trip...a domestic widebody trip!
This was a Dec'13 trip to Gulbarga.
khilte hain gul yahAn: Gulbarga, Dec'13
Cheers, Sumantra.
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 9:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sabya99 wrote:
I hope you will agree that getting a window seat has advantages.
Thank you Sir, for your regular patronage of my TRs!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 12:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks a lot for sharing the TR and the culmination of a wonderful trip. Fantastic pictures ! Specially the one of ORD post take off and one over Afghanistan

The food looks interesting too.

Your description of missing buttons and using pen and pencil reminds me of using pen and pencil to start the fan in railways

Thanks again !
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 6:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ameya Sir, thanks a lot for not just your detailed reads. Your constant push to get my trip reports backlog clear, is just incredible. It feels nice to be wanted. It always feels nice when in spite of not being regular on FB, and not being on Twitter or WhatsApp, you still update me with a gist of scoops from all around.
ameya wrote:
Your description of missing buttons and using pen and pencil reminds me of using pen and pencil to start the fan in railways
Ha ha! When one uses paper and pan (and the keyboard) to start fans of railways, the result is www.irfca.org. Very Happy
Are you a member of the Indian Railways fan club as well, by the way, Sir?
Thanks a lot again, Sir!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 10:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
Ameya Sir, thanks a lot for not just your detailed reads. Your constant push to get my trip reports backlog clear, is just incredible. It feels nice to be wanted. It always feels nice when in spite of not being regular on FB, and not being on Twitter or WhatsApp, you still update me with a gist of scoops from all around.
ameya wrote:
Your description of missing buttons and using pen and pencil reminds me of using pen and pencil to start the fan in railways
Ha ha! When one uses paper and pan (and the keyboard) to start fans of railways, the result is www.irfca.org. Very Happy
Are you a member of the Indian Railways fan club as well, by the way, Sir?
Thanks a lot again, Sir!
Cheers, Sumantra.


Inactive member but active reader of the forum
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 05, 2015 2:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lazing around after the alarm goes of is a nice habit that I subscribe to as well although much to the annoyance of my wife.

The Asiana was a nice catch so was the Pepsi Air (I mean Korean Air). The air port shot soon after liftoff was excellent so was the moon shot. I am sure in a century from now flying to moon might be just a regular thing if we can make quantum leaps in engine technology.

I see you had a great family time that is what life is all about.

Sri_Bom
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 05, 2015 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sri_bom wrote:
Lazing around after the alarm goes of is a nice habit that I subscribe to as well although much to the annoyance of my wife.
I guess it is the same everywhere, Srinivas Smile
Thank you for your generous comments, and the read!
Quote:
I see you had a great family time that is what life is all about.
No Srinivas: this was a solo official trip to a conference.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 1:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

- That's Spirits new colours
- I really like KE colours. Not the Pepsi part, the top half of the fuselage light blue bit. (not as nice as QRs grey tho)
- SkyTeam lounge and AI hehehe.
- The first meal looks better than the other 2, although I'm sure they were all good.
- The pilots got off the plane with the passengers ...... hahahaha AI! Rolling Eyes

Great end to a wonderful trip.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 5:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

stealthpilot wrote:
- That's Spirits new colours
Thank you, I didn't keep track of that. It looks quite smart! And once again, thank you for giving this trip report a thorough read!
stealthpilot wrote:
- SkyTeam lounge and AI hehehe.
Yes, it is ironic, since Indian Airlines were supposed to go the SkyTeam way, way back then. The lounges at ORD T5 are a bit mixed up, as I checked from a page on the Flyertalk forums, on a casual read.
stealthpilot wrote:
- The first meal looks better than the other 2, although I'm sure they were all good.
Dinner, snack and breakfast: in that order. All very tasty!
stealthpilot wrote:
- The pilots got off the plane with the passengers ...... hahahaha AI! Rolling Eyes
It sounds a bit like, `The Pakistan cricket team won the toss, and elected to bet' Razz I guess there is no specific company policy to stay back. I have often seen the cockpit crew going back after their paperwork is done: both domestic, as well as international.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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vvk106
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Joined: 19 Apr 2008
Posts: 38
Location: nagpur

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="stealthpilot"]-
- The pilots got off the plane with the passengers ...... hahahaha AI! Rolling Eyes

Well when i flew to Brisbane on SQ even the Singapore Airlines pilots got off the plane with the passengers..so its not just AI
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sumantra
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Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4685
Location: New Delhi

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 4:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

vvk106 wrote:
Well when i flew to Brisbane on SQ even the Singapore Airlines pilots got off the plane with the passengers..so its not just AI
vvk106, for a person who joined the forum in early 2008, how come you have only 32 posts? And what about requesting you for a trip report!
In anticipation, Sumantra.
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vvk106
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Joined: 19 Apr 2008
Posts: 38
Location: nagpur

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 5:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
vvk106 wrote:
Well when i flew to Brisbane on SQ even the Singapore Airlines pilots got off the plane with the passengers..so its not just AI
vvk106, for a person who joined the forum in early 2008, how come you have only 32 posts? And what about requesting you for a trip report!
In anticipation, Sumantra.


Sir i have always been more of a reader because im not a pro in aviation like most of the guys here. I love aviation and log in to this forum almost daily. Im a big fan of ur trip reports and the attention u and the other guys give to every minute details is awesome. I dont think i can write like that but still i will give it a shot. Did NAG-BOM-GOI-BOM-NAG on 9w very recently Will try writing a TR Although i dont have any pics anymore due to phone issues.
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sumantra
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Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4685
Location: New Delhi

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

vvk106 wrote:
... im not a pro in aviation like most of the guys here. I love aviation and log in to this forum almost daily.
Thank you Sir, for the kind words! Many of us are definitely not pros, and I am but an armchair enthusiast!
vvk106 wrote:
Did NAG-BOM-GOI-BOM-NAG on 9w very recently Will try writing a TR Although i dont have any pics anymore due to phone issues.
Sir, please do not mind the lack of pictures. I am sure the wealth of your experiences will be appreciated by one and all. Your routing sounds quite exciting to me! I have been to your home town quite a few times, and have quite a few friends in the city.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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stealthpilot
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Joined: 19 Dec 2006
Posts: 2325
Location: BLR, DXB

PostPosted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 12:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

vvk106 wrote:
Well when i flew to Brisbane on SQ even the Singapore Airlines pilots got off the plane with the passengers..so its not just AI

Yea same with my SQ flight to DXB, they walked off with the passengers. With AI I partly expected it Rolling Eyes no excuse tho after a longhaul flight.
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