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rakesh959 · Member Joined: 28 Aug 2012 Posts: 58 Location: Chennai

Jet Airways Chennai-Pune

First of all I would like to apologize for the lack of pictures.Please do bear with me for this!

Trip Planning:
This plan was on for a long time.We(My Dad,Mom and Me)were planning for a long time to visit shirdi for a long time now.This is when Jet Airways announced the freedom sale on 15Aug2014.I tried various ways of booking this flights.I first tried on the Jet site which showed a very low return fare of 3500INR but when it was processed to the payment page,This message pops up that the fare has increased and all the stuff.Jet Fail here Evil or Very Mad

Tried booking on makemytrip but the same thing happened there too.I tried various dates and options but the same result.Then tried booking separate bookings for the onward and return.It worked!I booked the return first on Makemytrip for a cool fare.The E-Ticket was out without any delay.Then I made the booking for the onward flight.This was a bit cheaper than the return.I made the payment but the E-ticket wasn’t generated.I waited for about an hour but nothing happened.Only the receipt of the mail was sent to Me from Makemytrip.Called the makemytrip Customer Care who said the problem was with Jet Airways who hadn’t generated the PNR.I was like why did I choose Jet?All my recent flights have been with Indigo and I am in love with them.But anyways the E-ticket was generated a full 24hrs after I made the payment.And it took rounds of calls to the makemytrip customer care and some heated arguments on the phone for this to happen.

So the final itinerary was as follows:
26Sept2014 Chennai-Pune 9W2491 09:50-11:30 B737-800-Operated by Jet Konnect
28Sept2014 Pune-Chennai 9W2492 15:50-17:35 B737-800 Operated by Jet Konnect

I kept tracking this flight on fr24.The rotation was BOM-MAA-PNQ-AMD-PNQ-MAA-DEL-BOM.I saw most of the days newer aircraft of VT-JFx series were operating this rotation and one strange thing I saw was even though the flight was on time upto pnq it was delayed either at PNQ or AMD almost daily.

The day of Journey:
My dad had travelled the day before to BLR and returned the same day(Onward was SQ Q400 and return was 6E A320) and he told me that due to holiday season the security q at MAA was huge.So taking no risks We left home by 7 for a 0950 dep.I wasn’t complaining either!Reached the airport at 0730.The security who checked the ticket on my Mob kept asking me where was I flying 2-3times and asked If Jet had a Pnq flight at that time.Weird!Proceeded to the Jet checkin desks.I had already checked in online.The weird thing was most of the seats were full by the time I checked in(The eve before).I managed to select 26 D,E,F for the 3 of us.Jet counters were empty.We went to the first one.The agent there seemed not to bother and was chatting with his colleague.He just put his hand out for the ticket.Absolutely not acceptable!No greeting or not even a polite question for the ticket?Nothing just he put his hand out and after I handed my ticket to him and He just asked where we were flying to.He then quickly checked and told me I had done web Check in.I somehow prefer seats in the last 3-4rows.I asked him whether there were seats somewhere behind 26.He just said The flight is full and gave a grin.Then he noticed our cabin baggage and asked us to put it on the weighing scale.It was some 8Kgs.He rudely said Its not allowed very very rudely and even almost put the baggage down from the weighing scale.I lost all my patience and asked him to speak politely Evil or Very Mad

.My dad too joined me.Anyways ,He wasn’t ready to allow it inside and I went and screened it and came back to check it in.I asked him to attach a priority tag to the baggage to which he said no Its not possible and its only for JP Gold and platinum members and premier guests.I asked him to check the ticket properly Rolling Eyes

and he did so with a grin.He quickly saw my Dad’s Jp number and attached the priority tag to it and handed the boarding passes.I was totally disappointed and lost all my cool at the agent Sad

Neverthless headed for security which wasn’t crowded and We were airside in no time.I took some time to roam around the waiting area.There were many departures at this time.Go Air’s VT-WAN was boarding for port blair.VT-IEA was operating 6E284 to DEL.VT-IEX was operating 6E502 to PNQ.And an Indigo with Sharklets(IFO?)was operating to Mumbai as 6E428.I turned on FR24 on my Ipad and was checking my flight.It had left BOM 20mins behind schedule.The aircraft operating was VT-JFJ.I kept tracking all the flights on it and saw the EK 77W from DXB,Spicejet’s VT-SZK(with all our heart livery)from CCU,Jishnu's UL A340 Razz

land on rwy 25.The takeoffs included Air Asia’s morning service to KUL and the Jet Konnect 73G to BLR.I had my breakfast-a Sandwich from a stall there.Just about then the cabin crew of Jet arrived near the gate for my flight.I was sure that they would be on my flight.Sometime later,I spot two Jet airways pilots walk towards the gate.They were talking with the ground staff there.Just about then,I went and introduced myself to them.The captain was an expat and he was from France and the F/O was an Indian who had upgraded from the ATRs.I showed them that our aircraft was on final for rwy25 on my ipad and we spent some time talking about aviation in general and also about the flight for the day.The agent there too joined us and we discussed about the booming aviation sector in India and the need for bigger airports,etc.I bid them adieu as the aircraft landed and went to view the plane dock at the gate.Just when I reached there,Another person was also watching all this quite closely and in the process he dropped his boarding pass.I took it and handed it over to him and here is why I’m talking about all this!The person was none other than our forum member-Rishul!I couldn’t recognize him nor could he recognize me!I was kicking myself after I came to know about this.It would have been a bliss to travel together with an Av geek and given Rishul’s 9W knowledge it would have been even more fun.Sorry Rishul on that!

Boarding was called for row nos. 21-33 first.We were made to wait at the aerobridge for quite sometime before we were let in.I was welcomed on board by the purser with a smile.Went in through the premiere section and to my seat.I was flying on a 737 after a long time and I,being a Airbus fan couldn’t help that.But I just love those winglets on the 737.Boarding was being done pretty slowly.And doors were closed at 09:54 and we pushed back at 09:55.The cabin crew consisted of 2Male and 2Female FAs.The purser made the welcome announcement .Captain Bernard Gerald was in command assisted by F/O Rajesh Pannicker and the flying time would be an hour and 20mins.The CFM56 engines were brought to life and we started our taxi to runway25.The manual safety demo was conducted and the crew made their checks as we taxied past the cargo area.Just then we turned on to the Taxiway Intersection near the Cargo bays.So we weren’t going till the end of rwy25!The same thing had happened when I travelled to COK on Indigo!The crew to be seated announcement came and we were rolling in no time.We were off by 10:02.A takeoff towards the southwest and a right turn to proceed on our way to Pune.

The seatbelt signs were soon turned off.The crew took their time to start the service.I didn’t feel like eating anything and just took a glass of water.We were cruising at FL360(As told by the F/O on the ground).The flight was uneventful and I spotted a small airstrip which most probably must be bellary airport.The flight was almost full in economy and premiere too had good loads.The FAs came around collecting trash and also offered water to the pax.They also distributed some Sky Shopping or some AVA brochures.I took a small nap and as I woke up we had already commenced our initial descent.The weather on that was actually very good and mostly devoid of clouds thorughout.The seat belt signs came on and we were banking quite sharply to the right.A couple of turns later,we again made a sharp left turn to be on finals for rwy28.The flaps and the landing gear down and we passed some low lying clouds.We seemed to come in a bit too fast but the captain executed a good landing at 11:30 and after a burst of reverse thrust,we slowed down to exit the runway.A Go Air A320 was waiting on the taxiway for us to pass.We parked next to Indigo’s VT-IFP.There was a Spicejet 738 parked on the tarmac too.I waited for the pax to deplane and was the last to move out.I asked the purser if I could visit the flight deck but that was politely declined by him.Just as I Went out The Go Air A320 took off!Off to Arrivals and My bag was one of the first ones out!There ended a mixed flight with Jet Airways.

End Remarks:
The Jet Experience wasn’t Good to say the least.Right from the ticketing to the mess at Chennai.But The inflight experience was a whole lot better.The crew were great.Overall I liked the way the crew went about their job and very friendly as well.I somehow felt the full service carrier feel even though it was a Konnect service.The aircraft wasn’t very clean.My seat pocket had some trash from the previous sector.The legroom and the seat,I felt was better.Overall,It was a mixed experience for me.And if you ask me if I would take them again,No would be my answer and I would stick to Indigo rather.I Prefer Indigo,Spicejet,Jet,Air India in that order.

Ratings:
Aircraft:4/5
Crew:5/5
On time performance:5/5(We arrived on time)
Overall:3/5(They loose out on the ticketing and ground staff part)

P.S:Sorry for a long review without any photos.My friend had my cam and I couldn’t collect it from him before leaving.And this is my first TR here,So please do bear with me for my mistakes.

Return review will be up soon!

Comments and suggestion always Welcome!

Cheers,
Rakesh.

jbalonso777 · Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:39 pm Post subject:

Great debut, Rakesh!
Thanks for giving me a mention here, I sure do hope that plane is an A340, initial signs look positive Smile

Hmm, MakeMyTrip. Just wait 2 or 3 weeks and you'll know its much more than the shambles you talked about over here. Its interesting to say the least.
Usual post-Konnect Jet again, I see: terrible ground staff, the absolute opposite up in the air. Hopefully the rectify this soon, before they turn into a FSC, completely. For the better, hopefully.
Wow, nice you saw Rishul there, but so close yet so far fair you! Hopefully next time, perhaps Smile

So do we have a return part to this as well? Would be great to have one!
Looking forward!

Regards
Jish
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sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Thank you Rakesh, for a lovely trip report! When you write so well, the mental imagery that the reader forms in his/her mind, more than compensates for the lack of pictures. I loved the part on the trip planning, and the descriptions, which most of us AI.netters can well associate with, especially with regard to availing discount offers You are a complete geek, tracking every flight on FR24: it is nice that you got the front office crew to talk to as well, before the flight. Last year, I had some nice experiences on Jet (my next TR features that), which also makes me sad about your experience on the ground. Wow, you and Rishul ran into each other, and did not know it!
Thanks once again, and we look forward to many, many more TRs from you!
Cheers, Sumantra.

rakesh959 · Member Joined: 28 Aug 2012 Posts: 58 Location: Chennai

rakesh959 · Member Joined: 28 Aug 2012 Posts: 58 Location: Chennai

ameya · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 10:14 am Post subject:

Thanks Rakesh for the nice TR.

MMT or other OTAs for that matter, have horrible service and your experience in no different. There still are cases where these people charge you, generate a ticket without the airline PNR and more often than not is the mistake of OTA and not airline.

Did you or your dad write to 9W about the staff behavior ?

I had started off with this line “What were the loads on the MAA-PNQ sector and if you know, people who did not disembark and went onwards to AMD and also similar on the return, who flew in from AMD for MAA.” But then I already know this from Rishul Smile

cannot ask now after you have now told us that Rishul was on the same flight !

Only if we all update and track – your future flights . . . can we have more meetings at the airport Smile

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Spiderguy252 · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 10:34 am Post subject:

Pretty awesome that you managed to catch Rishul on your flight!

Security at MAA is always a mess, Diwali or not, and is the biggest bottleneck in that terminal. But check-in was indeed an average experience too as you mention.

Great report, and hopefully the first of many.

Cheers,
Varun
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Yeah.

rakesh959 · Member Joined: 28 Aug 2012 Posts: 58 Location: Chennai

rakesh959 · Member Joined: 28 Aug 2012 Posts: 58 Location: Chennai

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Oh Rakesh Sir: please post any trip report, be it old, or new. You have a nice and compelling writing style, and your in-depth knowledge about aviation really helps.
Cheers, Sumantra.

rakesh959 · Member Joined: 28 Aug 2012 Posts: 58 Location: Chennai

Karan69 · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 1334

Nice report rakesh, would have been so much better with pics,

The behavior of the check in agent is simply not acceptable to anyone let alone a gold status member

Karan

Nimish · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 6:38 pm Post subject:

Great report Rakesh - thanks for sharing. And the scene of dropped boarding pass etc. seems so very filmy! Glad that you and Rishul connected and I'm guessing he pointed you to this forum Smile

.
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We miss you Nalini!

rakesh959 · Member Joined: 28 Aug 2012 Posts: 58 Location: Chennai

rakesh959 · Member Joined: 28 Aug 2012 Posts: 58 Location: Chennai

Nimish · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 11:07 pm Post subject:

Ah - thanks for the clarification Embarassed

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We miss you Nalini!

me111993 · Member Joined: 04 Sep 2009 Posts: 3225 Location: MAA/AMD

nice TR Rakesh, thanks a lot for sharing.

Too bad, with the counter experience, especially given the Gold Card holder.

I can't really say how my agent was, as 2 seconds after I handed her my boarding pass, I her in that strange question statement voice - it's JFJ today right, how are the loads? Once that happens, there's no real was you can judge these guys, talked for a while, I liked that she gave me the plane configuration, and class wise loads. Then in a very very Chennai way, said "This flight, always full".

When you were talking to the agent and the pilots, I was completely distracted as I was wondering who that guy will upgrade, and then later while snapping JFJ coming in, I dropped my boarding pass.

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Hey Rishul, where did the boarding pass picture vanish? I guess it was the boarding pass for your other leg, but I cannto be sure, since I was half-asleep while going through this, last night. By the way, the aisle picture was simply superb, thanks for this mini-TR. However, I also sincerely hope that this will also eventually result in a full TR from you!
Cheers, Sumantra.

ameya · Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 10:50 am Post subject:

Nice pics. What are those Mi-17s doing there. . .3 of them. . .
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sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

ameya · Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 11:15 am Post subject:

rakesh959 · Member Joined: 28 Aug 2012 Posts: 58 Location: Chennai

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi