A topic that isn't really related to railfanning: My first trip by Air. The trip was quite un-expected. I had gone to kerala to bring my mom back from a hospital in Trichur. She had been to the hospital for treatment of Osteo-Arthritis. She had to stay back for about 21 days for the treatment. I travelled to Kerala by Netravati Express. (That was my maiden journey on the Konkan Railway route : Click here for the travelogue). Our initial plans for the return journey was by 6334 Hapa (now Veraval) Express. The tickets were waitlisted and showed no signs of confirmation even as the date of journey closed in! Finally on the day of journey, we got the ticket cancelled and opted to fly instead!
My dad called up a relative in Ernakulam, who inturn contacted his travel agent and managed to get a confirmed ticket on board Air Sahara (S2) 203 bound to Delhi via Mumbai. The flight was scheduled as 15:15. We reached the airport (Cochin International Airport Limited, Nedumbassery. India's first and only Greenfield airport!) at about 1400. The Check-in was already opened, and we checked in by about 14:15. I did not know the procedures of check-in. The Luggage was X-Rayed and cleared. We had about 2 pieces of Cabin Baggage and 1 piece of Checked-in Baggage. I was watching the action at the airport with a wide-open eye! I was amazed by the size of those birds!!! I saw a Jet Airways flight touching down (The bird was VT-JNN, B738). The aircraft would take off 10-minutes before my flight and is bound to Mumbai.
My aircraft was another Boeing 737-700, VT-SIG. I saw the aircraft touch down, and the bird looked beautiful. The aircraft came to the bay. Sometime later, Boarding was called. The security at the gate verified if our hand-baggage had the tags on. We walked towards the bird, and boarded through the rear-door. The seat number was 23E & 23F. I grabbed the window seat. Candies were served soon after. Some time later, the aircraft was pushed off, and the aircraft ran towards the Runway. The take-off point on the runway was far from the tarmac. My mom asked if the aircraft would run all the way to Mumbai. Sometime later, the captain asked all of us to wear seatbelts and to switch off all electronic equipments. The safety demo was done.
The aircraft made enough thrust for take-off and took off! That experience was marvellous! Just after take off, I saw a WAP4 hauling a train on the line adjoining the airport! The aircraft gained cruising altitude very quickly. The meal service started off soon. The Veg. option had 2-3 Chappatis (very soft), Dal Makhani, a dessert and a choice of Coffee or Tea. The meal service was outstanding. We reached Mumbai very soon. I spotted the Express way and that confirmed that we were about to land. Some time later, the Thane creek was visible, soon Ghatkopar and Dharavi was visible. The aircraft touched down at about 1700. The captain relayed a message regarding our touch down and the temperature outside. The captain was a lady, and she finished the announcement with the standard "Sahara Pranam"!
We got out of the aircraft. The climate outside was hot and humid. We were taken on an Airconditioned bus to the arrival terminal. The door of the bus failed to open on reaching the terminal. The driver got down and physically opened the door for us. We collected our checked-in baggage and walked out of the terminus. My brother was waiting for us. We reached home at about 1830! That was a marvellous journey, a journey that I remember always! About 6 months later, I flew again this time on Indian Airlines on the same sector!
My dad called up a relative in Ernakulam, who inturn contacted his travel agent and managed to get a confirmed ticket on board Air Sahara (S2) 203 bound to Delhi via Mumbai. The flight was scheduled as 15:15. We reached the airport (Cochin International Airport Limited, Nedumbassery. India's first and only Greenfield airport!) at about 1400. The Check-in was already opened, and we checked in by about 14:15. I did not know the procedures of check-in. The Luggage was X-Rayed and cleared. We had about 2 pieces of Cabin Baggage and 1 piece of Checked-in Baggage. I was watching the action at the airport with a wide-open eye! I was amazed by the size of those birds!!! I saw a Jet Airways flight touching down (The bird was VT-JNN, B738). The aircraft would take off 10-minutes before my flight and is bound to Mumbai.
My aircraft was another Boeing 737-700, VT-SIG. I saw the aircraft touch down, and the bird looked beautiful. The aircraft came to the bay. Sometime later, Boarding was called. The security at the gate verified if our hand-baggage had the tags on. We walked towards the bird, and boarded through the rear-door. The seat number was 23E & 23F. I grabbed the window seat. Candies were served soon after. Some time later, the aircraft was pushed off, and the aircraft ran towards the Runway. The take-off point on the runway was far from the tarmac. My mom asked if the aircraft would run all the way to Mumbai. Sometime later, the captain asked all of us to wear seatbelts and to switch off all electronic equipments. The safety demo was done.
The aircraft made enough thrust for take-off and took off! That experience was marvellous! Just after take off, I saw a WAP4 hauling a train on the line adjoining the airport! The aircraft gained cruising altitude very quickly. The meal service started off soon. The Veg. option had 2-3 Chappatis (very soft), Dal Makhani, a dessert and a choice of Coffee or Tea. The meal service was outstanding. We reached Mumbai very soon. I spotted the Express way and that confirmed that we were about to land. Some time later, the Thane creek was visible, soon Ghatkopar and Dharavi was visible. The aircraft touched down at about 1700. The captain relayed a message regarding our touch down and the temperature outside. The captain was a lady, and she finished the announcement with the standard "Sahara Pranam"!
We got out of the aircraft. The climate outside was hot and humid. We were taken on an Airconditioned bus to the arrival terminal. The door of the bus failed to open on reaching the terminal. The driver got down and physically opened the door for us. We collected our checked-in baggage and walked out of the terminus. My brother was waiting for us. We reached home at about 1830! That was a marvellous journey, a journey that I remember always! About 6 months later, I flew again this time on Indian Airlines on the same sector!
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