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ajaind · Member Joined: 25 Jan 2009 Posts: 146 Location: Dubai, UAE

This is my first international flight on 9W and my first TR on airliners-india.net. Sincere apologies for the lack of pictures. I mistakenly put my camera in checked-in baggage and my phone's battery dried out before I could even make a call...

Preview: It was a long weekend and I planned for a short trip home. I checked fares on all airlines including EK, 9W, G9, QR, EY and even AI. But 9W turned out to be the cheapest of all.

9W started operations on this route with the A332 but just 3 months later, they downgraded it to a 737....due to falling loads.

DXB - DEL:

ETD: 2255
ATD: 2310
ETA: 0335
ATA: 0340
Loads: Y:100%, J:100%
Aircraft - B737-800NG with winglets

9W have started offering online check-in from their international destinations. The day before I was to leave, I got an email from them stating that online check-in is open now. Though its of no use as there are no dedicated counters for online check-in, it is useful in selecting seats and earning some extra frequent flier miles. 9W have been offering full JP miles irrespective of the booking class.

Reached DXB Terminal 1 at about 20:30 and was expecting a long queue. Moving EK to T3 has done no good to DXB T1 as it is more crowded than it used to be. Could not see 9W on the check-in area screens so it took some time to find the check-in counters.

Right next to the 9W check-in counters, there were the IT check-in counters servicing the newly started flight to BLR. There was this cute family in front of me in the queue. The kids seemed to talk like businessmen!! The 10 yr old boy was talking on the phone as if a business deal was falling apart!. 9W ground staff were such a charm. They offered packed mineral water and juices at the check-in counter.

In the other queue, there was an old lady who was traveling alone. The ground staff took her to another check-in counter and made sure she was comfortable...Sweet!

Check-in and immigration was a breeze and I ended up in the duty free area with almost two hours remaining. Picked up some chocolates and settled down to pass time on my laptop.

The boarding announcement was made 45 minutes before the departure time. I noticed that the aircraft was in the old 9W livery. I was surprised to see the JetScreen IFE installed behind every seat in Economy. I took the emergency exit row seats while checking in online and boy the legroom was more than it is in Business class!!

There was this family of 3 - Couple and their young daughter. The kid and her mother sat next to me in the emergency exit row. The FA came up and said that they had to move to other seats as kids are not allowed in the emergency exit row seats.

Push-back started at the usual departure time and we took off 10 mins later than scheduled. I tuned into their IFE as soon as we were in the air. I was pretty impressed with their offerings on a 737. There were at least 50 movies in all and Indian TV shows too.

Dinner was served and it was simply awesome!. I had given a preference for a Jain meal and I got exactly that...served hot and fresh..

Half an hour before we were to land, the air-hostess came up with the immigration form and a swine-flu screening form. The swine flu screening form required the passenger to mark any swine flu related symptoms that he was exhibiting.

Landing was smoothed and the aircraft parked at a remote bay from where we were bussed to the terminal. There were counters setup before immigration where some ppl with masks on were checking the swine-flu screening form and stamping it. These were very crowded as there were a lot of flights that had arrived at that time. That made me realize that I was back in India...

After immigration, I picked up my bags and headed out of the terminal to receive a warm welcome from my parents...

Scores:

Check-in: 9/10
Aircraft interiors: 9/10
Punctuality: 9/10
Crew: 8/10
IFE: 9/10
Catering: 10/10

My expectations from 9W were higher than ever..

DEL - DXB:

ETD:1930
ATD: 1950
ETA: 2125
ATA: 2130
Loads: Y:100%, J:60%
Aircraft: B737-800NG with winglets

For the return flight too I had taken the emergency exit row seats while checking in online. I was a little too late shopping before heading to the airport and reached at 18:00 alarmed by the fact that I could miss the flight. But as soon as I reached inside, the check-in counter was absolutely empty as if they were waiting for me...Checked in my bags, got the boarding pass and headed for immigration. Immigration and security check were a breeze too. Something which DEL is not famous for. I was at the gate 15 mins after I had entered the terminal.

An announcement was made by an Air India official stating the AI flight to BOM has been delayed for an unspecified time and he will get back as soon as there is an update. I could see AI passengers getting annoyed. Its a usual thing for them now...

Again the aircraft was parked at a remote bay. We were bussed to the aircraft. This one was in the new 9W livery.

Boarding finished on time and push-back started. We were 3rd in the queue for take-off so that took some time.

The IFE was showing the same movies and tv shows since I was going back in the same month.

I booked a Jain meal while flying back too and I was served the same...hot and tasty!

The air-hostesses and the FAs were very polite and courteous.

Smooth landing at DXB followed and as usual, it was a breeze coming out of DXB.

Scores:

Check-in: 10/10
Aircraft interiors: 9/10
Punctuality: 9/10
Crew: 9/10
IFE: 9/10
Catering: 10/10

I must say - 9W have a credible offering on the international circuit with the potential to beat the likes of EK, SQ. Except for the aircraft size, everything is comparable.

An enjoyable experience altogether.

Nimish · Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 2:37 pm Post subject:

Nice TR - pity about the camera though!

9W has the potential to beat AI hollow if they want to, I don't know why they've generally gone so wrong on their intl ops... But it seems like this trip has proved that they're doing well (and a good job) on their short haul intl ops.
_________________
We miss you Nalini!

Spiderguy252 · Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 2:45 pm Post subject: Re: DXB - DEL - DXB on 9W