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Excess Luggage: LIVE DOG! (9W212 CCU-BOM May 2007)

 
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jbalonso777
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 9:58 am    Post subject: Excess Luggage: LIVE DOG! (9W212 CCU-BOM May 2007) Reply with quote

Hello everyone, and welcome to a trip report from 2007.
Now, back then, I didn't know that writing about a flight existed as a thing, however, once in a school English Essay, I wrote about this rather unique flight.
8 years later, I'll try my best and recount the proceedings of this special day, from what I remember in that essay.

INTRODUCTION
Flashback: August 2005 - Jishnu was scared of dogs. Very scared.
Mum and I had just landed in Bengaluru from Kolkata (via Hyderabad) on an Air Sahara flight (VT-SAY, Boeing 737-300). We headed to a friend's place. Two very old Welsh Corgis walked up towards me. Scared, I put my legs up but they assured me the old dogs won't do a thing. This was the first interaction I had with a dog.....

Flashback: September/October 2006 - Jishnu wants a dog?
During the Durga Puja, we went to see a relatives' pujo, where a frisky 4 month old lab Max and his mother Shona (Rolling Eyes) lived. This house was the Lalbazar Raj Bari'r Pujo. From the same litter, another frisky bitch Pixie was with another relative at Beleghata. Interacting with these dogs, talking to my parents, convincing them, I knew I had my brother on my side: we wanted a Labrador no matter what.

Flashback:Early December 2006 - Welcome Home, Dobby!
A rather large bungalow within the locality of Kashba in Kolkata was the location of Whirlwind and seven other labrador pup's birth. Whirlwind was the name given to a cute black labrador retriever, whom we all now know as Dobby. Dobby was only 45 days old when he came home: a poster on our apartment's main door said 'Welcome Home, Dobby!' This poster, was read with very interesting enthusiasm by the 'dhobi wallah' (laundry man) the next morning as he wondered why we were welcoming him home Razz
Dobby cried and cried. He missed his mum, Gracy, another jet black labrador.
I had the honor of buying Dobby's first items from the pharmacy - some Stage 2 Cerelac. The attendant was shocked when I said the patient's name is 'Mr. Dobby'. "...Eta kerokom nam...?" (What sort of name is this) is what the nice lady asked me.

The first night - he only slept for half an hour at maximum, he kept my brother up all night long...


The next morning - in the brother's safe hands! Smile


A few days on - slowly getting used to family proceedings, and trying desperately to be a part of it!


He was an expert while getting on to the bed - getting off was rather embarrassing for him as we'd have to pick up him and bring him down Razz


The things we did to comfort him during the notorious Kolkata winter.
Did he like it? Of course! Haha! Not. Rolling Eyes



Teething dictates - bite everything!

Flashback:Mid December 2006 - The Transfer!
Things were quite weird for me - all of my friends seemed to be going away on transfers. Delhi, Mumbai, Singapore, Nagpur, everywhere. 3 years in Kolkata, I wanted something new. And it so happened, very soon, Dad's office sent him an order to move to Mumbai by April 2007 at the very least. So this meant the prospect of taking Dobby on a plane with us! (Yes, had the order come in a few days earlier, Dobby would be some other dog from Mumbai!). Of course, the little furball would be slightly larger by May 2007.....

FLIGHT DAY!
Of course, one day prior, I did do the web check in for the flight, only my second time going through this wondeful process! I also didn't pay attention to the emergency exit and all, but I selected a bulkhead seat 10F for myself, and something for Mum and Dad, I don't remember
(My brother would come in a few days later, he had some exam formalities to get through)

Jet Airways was our airline of choice - this would be my third flight with them in 2007. We reached the old Kolkata Airport terminal. A teary eyed granny left us and went home.
A blue-ish grey crate was ordered for my 7 month old Dobby. We offloaded him from the car and into the crate. This, was surprisingly easier than what we expected. This also dragged in some attention from the large crowds Razz

CHECK IN
A Jet Airways luggage handler came and assisted us with the luggage, and of course, Dobby. He helped us go through the long CISF ID check line, without a hitch. As our bags were put through the screening, a vet came over and checked Dobby's papers. He was good to go! It was about 1130 hours, and our flight 9W212 would depart only around 1400 hours (9W212 today is 9W624). As we were checking in, I had no window seat to worry about since that was selected, Dobby was kept on a trolley close by. I got another trolley and sat right in front of him. He kept panting. He wouldn't stop. Confined in that small place, I tried to calm him down, only to receive a very loud WOOF that went across the terminal, setting NSCBI Airport into half a second of silence. Embarrassed, I walked off.....

Final calls were being made for the 12pm departure to Mumbai (9W630 today). With that crowd cleared off, the very nice check in agents invited us to sit close to Dobby, close to the check in counter. She asked us a lot about Dobby. I chipped in - 'What is the registration of the plane today?'
'November Whiskey' she told me with a very wide smile on her face.
I had a confused look. I didn't know the pilot's alphabet....
She got out a piece of paper and wrote on that: VT-JNW.
My heart sank a little bit knowing it wasn't a Boeing 737-800, but in fact, the tiny sibling, a Boeing 737-700. Damn it!
But it was indeed, November Whiskey, Dobby's first plane!

I looked at the tags on the bags: priority, fragile. Dobby's crate had priority and fragile tags almost all over it. It also said - 'LIVE DOG'.
A receipt also printed for the 33 odd kilos of extra luggage, contents: LIVE DOG.
We soon headed for security and all.

THE PRE-BOARDING STUFF
Our flight was departing from gate 1, a bus gate.
After security we headed there, where another 9W agent came and assisted us. He asked me if I wanted to see Dobby again: he had a dedicated luggage carts attached to a tractor, parked in the shade. Dobby looked dazed and tired. The typical summer Kolkata heat and the confined space was getting to him. Now this part of Kolkata Airport the regular passenger doesn't see, it was full of many other airline carts and tractors!
He guided me back to the terminal and asked me - 'What if we don't send your dog with you to Mumbai?'
I boldly said - 'You will have to refund my parents' money then...'
This raised some eyebrows, both the agents' and my Dad's. The agent laughed afterwards and told Dad - 'your child is smart!'
Happy times eh Razz

ON THE PLANE!
I honestly can't remember a thing about boarding.
Must have been a jaw-rattling bus.
VT-JNW was parked at the remote bay, and we boarded, I remember the cabin was volcanic hot, and it remained like that well after half way through the flight.
It was only when I took my seat that I realized that 10F was a strategically located seat for me: I could see the ground proceedings - hopefully the excess luggage, LIVE DOG, fragile & priority Dobby crate would be loaded from the front! And this is where I became a fan of the B737 even more because as opposed to the Airbus narrow body, the cargo doors do not open outwards, and hence, no view was obstructed! And VOILA! Not too long after, I see Dobby's cute face with the tongue hanging out, on the inclined conveyer belt, heading into the cargo hold. All doors were armed after this.

We took off, CFM56s sounded awesome, as always.
I got the JetKids thing, was some Shah Rukh Khan (and Don) stuff, I can't remember much, I filled in the form and gave it to the flight attendant. By the way, there were mostly male FAs on this flight.

Meal was on the blue tray and the large ceramic white and blue containers, metal cutlery, after mint was present. Main course consisted of mutton keema with some very warm pieces of bread (there were 2 I think), and a dessert which I obviously cannot remember.

Passed the rest of the flight wondering how Dobby is, but managing to convince myself, he's fine!

BEGINNING OF A NEW CHAPTER - MUMBAI!
Some pretty crazy thunderstorms greeted us, dark clouds with that. Turbulence was getting serious after a very smooth flight. Roller coaster-ing our way closer to earth, an Indian Airlines A300 was followed by a Kingfisher A321, waiting to depart, while some old Air India Boeing 747-400s and 777-200ERs were parked at the now demolished international terminal 2. Add in the Emirates A330-200 and some Jet Airways wide bodies.

Taxiing took some time in the mad rain as we waited for a bay to be empty. Being the child I was, I instead headed for the washroom before doors were disarmed, did my quick thing and headed out soon. Door R1 was disarmed, and I saw the rain subsided, but also - Dobby was off the plane, still panting but absolutely fine! Once again, he had the entire cart to himself, but this one had some awry rain protection: a black cover which would make the inside completely dark!

Anyway, after reaching the terminal on the bus, we walked towards the baggage claim belt. There stood a Jet Airways luggage handler with a trolley, and on that, our fragile priority excess luggage LIVE DOG Dobby! He was absolutely fine and delighted to see us after almost three and a half hours! The unmistakeable windmill tail wagged for the first time on that day!
The handler helped take us Dobby up to the car park (I think we arrived at the IC/IT terminal since T1B was undergoing renovation), we let Dobby out and he leaped on to the seats of the rented car that had towels on the back seat, just in case. A stop at the Shivaji Park didn't help, as Dobby waited till reaching home to take a big leak on the floor. Rolling Eyes
Furniture didn't reach home, but thankfully there was a TV. I watched the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix, as Fernando Alonso led Lewis Hamilton a McLaren one-two finish. Being a Ferrari fan, it was painful to see Felipe Massa finish a distant third, while Kimi Raikkonen finished a lap down in 8th place, while the arch rivals McLaren Mercedes score full points.

This was a new beginning for us. A new chapter began. The 4 year stint that followed was possibly THE best time of my life so far, and its the life I missed a lot in the 4 years I spent in Sri Lanka. But some things never change - Dobby remained as influential as he ever since we got him home one day in early December 2006.

Speaking of which, brining Dobby in from Mumbai to Colombo was not easy in 2011 as his larger size required a larger crate - a crate just one inch too wide to fit in the cargo hold door of an A320 (UL) or a B737 (9W). We got Dobby through Dubai, as he flew on both an A330 and a B77W. If I thought this flight was bad for him, the DXB route meant he had to spend 27 hours confined to a crate! His behavior trends were well documented on the papers on his crate, as the people informed the DNATA staff of Dobby's habit of holding on to the leash with his mouth during a walk. The last thing I wanted to hear was Dobby running free at Dubai Airport, but instead, I heard that he was one of the most well behaved dogs they ever handled! (Which is not a surprise. He behaves well with Mum, Dad and big brother, while with me discipline hits a new low Laughing)

It probably is too late but a shout out to Jet Airways for handling everything right from curbside at Kolkata to the parking lot at Mumbai. I thank you, Jet Airways. I hope you enjoyed reading this report as much as I enjoyed writing it! Very Happy

Some recent pics:

The things he does for food....


Biscuit on the body of the phone Razz


Disturbing his sunbathing session, heh

Regards
Jish

VIDEO TRIP REPORTS
9W256 BOM-CMB 19th Jan 2015
9W354 DEL-BOM 18th Jan 2015
9W307 BOM-DEL 16th Jan 2015
9W255 CMB-BOM 16th Jan 2015

2015
Quick trip to DEL on 9W (4/4): 9W256 BOM-CMB/b]
[b]Quick trip to DEL on 9W (3/4): 9W354 DEL-BOM

Quick trip to DEL on 9W (2/4): 9W307 BOM-DEL
Quick trip to DEL on 9W (1/4): 9W255 CMB-BOM

2014
4 short flights: Part 4 - SpiceJet's Q400 hop back home.
4 short flights: Part 3 - The AirAsia India flight to MAA
4 short flights: Part 2 - Conflicted thoughts on 9W-K to BLR
4 short flights: Part 1 - UL quad-jet joy to Chennai!
Short(er) TR: A final flash of brilliance from SQ!
Back to Singapore on the upper deck: SQ consistency!
Finally the B747: return to Hong Kong on the EVA combi!
(Short): The Taiwan High Speed Rail Experience (railways, non-aviation)
Venturing new land in Taiwan: Taipei in 101 pictures! (non-aviation)
Venturing new land in Taiwan: to Taipei on the MD90!
Discovering more in Hong Kong, drama in Hong Kong! (non-aviation)
Discovering more in Hong Kong, venturing new land in Taiwan!
Voyage scolaire: Paris pour une semaine avec SriLankan!
Mumbai with my mates: madness multiplying massacre?!

2013
2 A's and an A - beloved Bangalore, cheery in Chennai!
Jaw-rattling to joyful Jaffna!
Dreamy Diversion to Delhi: Mumbai, here I come!
Finishing off Singapore: Comprehensively Contrasting Cathay!

2012
Kolkata during the Durga Puja
Quick quick! Formula One in Singapore!
I'm coming home! (Flight 4 of 4).
I'm coming home! (Flight 3 of 4).
I'm coming home! (Flight 2 of 4)
I'm coming home! (Intro and flight 1 of 4)
Emirates to South Africa! (4/4)
Emirates to South Africa! (3/4)
12 days in South Africa. And a flight with Kulula.
Emirates to South Africa! (2/4)
Emirates to South Africa! (1/4)

2011
An International Transit with 9W: BOM-MAA-CMB
They know how to be brilliant! 9W BOM-CMB-BOM
Konnecting to Bhubaneshwar
16 Hours in Colombo
Mumbai-Colombo-Mumbai on Jet Airways
Nagpur (not its oranges) on Jetlite
North Bengal (And CCU) 54 pictures & few videos (9W/IT)

2010
Kolkata during the Durga Puja (2010)
International on Jet Airways: Hong Kong! (2010)
Brainstorming! CCU-BOM (via BBI & HYD) on S2 & 6E

SPOTTING PHOTOGRAPHS
New Delhi
Hong Kong 2
Hong Kong 1
Negombo 2
Negombo 1
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 6:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Now that the A-level exams are behind you, I knew we could expect gems from you, and if the gems come in your writing style, what more could one want? Thank you for yet another incredible trip report. You really have a way of organising facts and events, and weaving all of them into an endearing read. I wish I could do so as well, and as well as you, but I guess I'll have to keep on trying. Thank you for setting the bar so high! Starting from a docile part about a school essay, you rally turn it on with your doggie encounters, and we get to know about the history of furry wet-nosed Dobby being adopted by the Basu family! And baby pictures of Dobby...he is really cute, and adorable. Adorable, to the hilarious! I also read and re-read this report right from the title, to all the descriptions, and also admired Dobby's taking it all in his stride, and like a seasoned traveller, in spite of the heavy pants beside you at the old CCU T1-D. One of my rare sad memories of DEL T1-A is hearing a doggie cry pitiably when separated from the family, as the crate was being taken away from the check-in. I am sure I would have loved to hear happy noises on being re-united with the family at Mumbai (yes, it was a DEL-BOM Air India flight). The terminal had gone into pin-drop silence when the little doggie had started crying out.
I was really relieved at your usual tail windmilling expression, I can picturise his delight, and yours as well, on being re-united.
His adorable Dubai behaviour was a pleasure to read about.
His recent pictures are such a delight!
Thanks once again, Sir!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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abhijith16
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 7:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent TR, Jishnu and my word, DOBBY IS CUTE DOG!!!

Very interesting to read a TR with your co-passenger as a Lab Retriever Smile
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jbalonso777
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 10:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
Now that the A-level exams are behind you, I knew we could expect gems from you, and if the gems come in your writing style, what more could one want? Thank you for yet another incredible trip report.

Come on sir, I guess we all look to you for the encouragement, and the will to write a trip report pretty quickly! Yes, I have promised some old stuff ever since 2012, I will try and write a few more! However, like your TRs have become more of FRs (food reports Razz ), like member iflybt20 put it, this is more of a DR - as long as the aviation parts are there, it qualifies to be on this forum!

sumantra wrote:
You really have a way of organising facts and events, and weaving all of them into an endearing read. I wish I could do so as well, and as well as you, but I guess I'll have to keep on trying.

And I wish I could describe some things as well as you do..and write content regularly enough!

sumantra wrote:
And baby pictures of Dobby...he is really cute, and adorable.

All pups are generally very cute, aren't they? Very Happy

sumantra wrote:
One of my rare sad memories of DEL T1-A is hearing a doggie cry pitiably when separated from the family, as the crate was being taken away from the check-in.

It always pains me to hear dogs howling in sadness, no matter what the pain! I guess dogs (or animals in general) are more human than human themselves, but this being an aviation forum, I should keep it to planes Razz

sumantra wrote:
I am sure I would have loved to hear happy noises on being re-united with the family at Mumbai (yes, it was a DEL-BOM Air India flight).

And that is pure joy! Very Happy

sumantra wrote:
His recent pictures are such a delight!
Thanks once again, Sir!
Cheers, Sumantra.

And thank you once again for taking the time to read this DR! Very Happy

abhijith16 wrote:
Excellent TR, Jishnu and my word, DOBBY IS CUTE DOG!!!

Very interesting to read a TR with your co-passenger as a Lab Retriever Smile

Hey Abhijeeth, thanks for your words! Always is unique to have a dog flying on your plane...even better if its your own dog!

Regards
Jish
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stealthpilot
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Doggie!!!!!
Nice pics and interesting TR. Sorry or not saying a lot I have a bunch of catch up reading to do Smile
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jbalonso777
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 7:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

stealthpilot wrote:
Doggie!!!!!
Nice pics and interesting TR. Sorry or not saying a lot I have a bunch of catch up reading to do Smile


Of course...I can understand from your busy schedule Wink

Anyway, thanks for reading Nikhil! Very Happy

Much appreciated Smile
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