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Delhi in September, Completed!!

 
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dan
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Joined: 18 Dec 2012
Posts: 61

PostPosted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 4:44 pm    Post subject: Delhi in September, Completed!! Reply with quote

INTRODUCTION:
Greetings to fellow members!!! It’s been while since I wanted to pen down a trip report. For some reason though, call it laziness or lack of planning, I couldn’t make it happen. This being my first trip report, suggestions and comments are welcome. Coincidently, this also happens to be my 50th flight ever. All the more reason for this to be my first trip report.
BACKGROUND:
Mizoram in Northeast India, being a remote, hilly land locked state, is accessible by air only to two destinations in India-Kolkata and Guwahati. Its only airport- Lengpui is one of the 12 most critical airports in India. The runway 17-35 of this airport is a table top runway due to which cancellations and delays are frequent at this airport. The two airlines operating to the place are-

1.Air India-now a Star Alliance member operating an A319 via IMF to CCU and

2. JetKonnect-the no-frills section of Jet Airways operating an ATR72 to GAU and CCU.

The plan to visit Delhi in the middle of my semester came up just two weeks before the trip. The plan was to fly to CCU and then connect to DEL. Since cancellations were likely in Mizoram during the monsoons, we were advised to book flights on the same airline.

The question was, which one will it be? 9W or AI? From the AI website, I got know that the segment from CCU to DEL was being operated on the B788 Dreamliner. Without any further doubt, it had to be AI for this trip.

This was my first trip on AI after they joined the Star Alliance. So, the itinerary was as follows:
AJL-CCU:

AI 713-A319

VT-SCC

STA 14:20 15:20

6th September,2014

Seat 2F


I had checked the weather forecast for the day that very morning and it said that mild thunderstorms were expected that afternoon. I checked with AI’s website and my flight was on time. We got slightly delayed on the way to the airport because of traffic congestions and barely made the allotted check-in time. After security check, we went airside, where I expected to see the aircraft waiting on the tarmac. To my disappointment, the incoming flight landed only at 14:00. Boarding was announced at 14:20 and I anticipated departure not before 14:50. For some reason, my mother (who was accompanying me) was very optimistic that the delay will be covered. To my surprise, we both turned out to be wrong. We were asked to hold short off runway 35 due to incoming traffic and the actual time of departure was 15:00. Turns out, its like this at Air India on any given day!!! One of my co-passengers, who also happens to be my professor in college, said that a delay of one hour is no big deal on AI.

The aircraft for the day was VT-SCC in old IC colours. Call it aging or poor maintenance, but this bird has seen better days.


The incoming 9W ATR72(COMPETITOR)

Upon take off, a rainbow was visible outside. A beautiful start to a fantastic journey!!!!

The flight attendants were middle aged but polite. The food trolley came on the aisle, 20 mins after take off.

The tray had a dry chocolate cake, a hot Indian snack called a Kachori and two sandwiches (veg).

Rest of the flight was uneventful with arrival in CCU at 16:00. Even though we docked at an aerobridge, we were bussed down to arrivals. I was looking forward to an interesting spotting session at CCU. Upon entering the terminal, AI disappointed me further by informing me that my flight to DEL was re-scheduled by two hours. The STA now being 19:30 .

The airside is nice place to be at CCU. There are no big birds at this time of the day but a few interesting birds anyways.

While de-boarding the A319, I got to see this B737-200, I think, which was lying outside the hangars. Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad

An international visitor from Bangladesh. I couldn’t get the airline name.

A Dornier belonging to the Indian coast guards

A G8 A320 with sharklets:

The 9W flight from AJL:

The 747 gate at CCU:Are there any jumbos flying here??

Spicejet ‘Poppy’ pushing back:

All in all, a beautiful terminal for CCU:

An hour before departure,we headed out to the food boulevard. The Chaatwaale joint there has a fantastic Bhelpuri on the menu which is reasonable and a substantial amount offered.

CCU-DEL:

AI-701- B788 Dream)liner

VT-ANA

19:30 21:50

Actual: 19:30 21:20

Seat 35J

I had checked on FR24 during the spotting session and the incoming flight AI20 was operated by VT-ANA, delivered in March, 2014. My 50th flight, A treat on the Dreamliner.

Boarding was through door 2L after J class. Didn’t get to see J at boarding. The crew gave me a mute blank look for a welcome. Sometimes I feel that AI is not making the best of the assets it has. It has Dreamliners, it is the only airline in India offering meals on board(free), it is a member of the Star Alliance and it has the largest fleet of airplanes in India. The people at AI spoil the entire experience. Other than the ground staff and the flight crew, I don’t find any reason not to fly AI. With all that it has, along the Maharaja heritage, it is shocking that they amount such massive losses.

Getting back to the flight, the IFE was on at push-back. The headphones were actually quite comfortable with a decent sound quality. The windows are massive on this bird.

The take off was powerful but silent. I love the shape of its wings.

The IFE was an AVOD system. I chose to see a regional (tamil) film, Singam II.

The food cart was pushed in an hour after take off. As many say, AI never makes a mistake with the food. The dinner was Delicious.

Shahi Paneer, rice,salad,dal and rabdi.HMMMM!!!!!

Rest of the flight was uneventful with arrival into T-3 DEL at 21:30 .The landing was super smooth. By far, I think this is the best bird I have flown on. The only landing which was so smooth was on an old IC A320 with double bogies, VT-EPB.

We de-boarded from the right-front door even after docking at an aerobridge gate. I suppose we had docked at the international gate. The bus took 30 minutes to come and we were left standing on the tarmac. A treat for me!!!!!! Got some pics of my aircraft.


Massive engines and characteristic nose:


Notice the SQ A380 behind.

The bus drove us to the domestic wing of T-3 en-route to which, I got to see an SQ A380, a UA 772, a TG 772, a CX A332 and other AI B788s- VT-ANG and VT-ANH.

The luggage was already on the carousel by the time we reached the swanky and beautiful Terminal-3.
All in all, a great day. But for a few disappointments from AI, the experience was great. I really hope AI sees better days very soon.

Thanks for reading it and like I said, comments and suggestions are welcome. I will be posting the return leg soon.


Last edited by dan on Sat Aug 29, 2015 2:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
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jbalonso777
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Location: Never, never land

PostPosted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 6:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Dan, great TR from a unique routing! And awesome for a first-timer Smile
Nice to see the last of the IC colored Airbus'.
Do you have a cabin picture of it by any chance?

Unfortunate about AI and is shortcomings, to add to those, their OTP is not all that good from the metro airports....I hope they rectify these soon!
Sad to see the classy B737-200 in that state Crying or Very sad

The ATR from Bangladesh is of United Airways.

Nice late night pictures! I hope to see the new CCU terminal sooner than later!
Lucky you with the tarmac wait! What I'd do to get such an experience! Very Happy

Great stuff, I look forward to part 2!

Regards
Jish
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 9:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah...the early bird get the early worm. Jishnu Sir: it pays to wake up early, and identify the neat United Airways livery Smile
Dan: what a lovely trip report, with superb pictures, to boot!
And what a way to have your 50th trip...with sharing a nice TR with us, on a slightly out-of-the-normal routing. This is also the first TR covering Lengpui: wow! CC, the `unfair means' plane. The truly-leased AI birds are dwindling in number (with the return of SCD and SCE), and CC is one of the three(?) such birds in service, with all other A319s bought-and-leased-back. Yes, CC is not in good shape, and AI will possibly not have any more refurbishment on it, too.
Nice rainbow pic! It is also nice to know that AI served you a decent snack on this leg. Is this a North-Eastern special? AI is extremely stingy on the short legs since the cost-cutting started, and Jet's full service snack seems to be much better than AI's infamous hot-beverage-and-Marie-biscuits offering. On some flights, it gets a bit better with a fruit drink and groundnuts/peanuts, or cookies in place of the Marie biscuits, but that is just it. Those are some really nice pictures from CCU. AI 020-701 usually gets gate 16, which is common to the domestic and international parts, with separators. Was it the same for you as well? 747 flights for CCU: AI deploys a B744 on occassion (on this very AI 020-701 routing, though it is once in a Blue Moon), and of course, the Haj runs see a B744 or two (AI, and sometimes, other operators as well). The dinner on AI 701: looks lovely! A bus ride from the international terminal is something I love: the bird docks at an International gate, following which passengers go by bus to the bus gate at the domestic terminal. The bird then embarks on an international leg.
Yes, we look forward to the return leg TR!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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dan
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 11:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks a lot, Jishnu and Sumantra sir. It means a lot coming from you.
Yes Jishnu, I do have pictures of the IC bird's interiors. Will post them in part 2. I got the same bird back to AJL from CCU on the return leg. However, it is not in good shape. Lot of duct-tape on the walls and arm-rest. Sad Sad
There were news reports that AI planned to deploy their B788s on busy metro routes.That could work for them.
And yes sir,it was gate 16 for me at CCU. They kept it locked till the incoming aircraft came in. Apparently the snacks on this route are heavy because the passengers on the previous leg from IMF to AJL aren't served anything.
Would love to ride AI's B744 before they retire.
Thanks again.
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ameya
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 12:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the TR Dan. Enjoyed reading it, specially because of the origin airport – Lengpui, Aizwal.
Did you taxi out and hold short of the aircraft did not start up ?
Interesting 787 flight 
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dan
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 12:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Ameya.
We had the engines running and.waited.The airport has just one taxiway to and from the runway. ( at that point of time,I was just praying that the flight wasn't cancelled. Because it has happened once that the aircraft taxied all the way to the runway and returned to the airport after waiting for 15 mins only to be cancelled). The ATR coming in was a relief.
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pradeep777
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 6:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very nice trip report dan.
Good 2 see the the 737-200 in india post livery.
Those paneers surely look shahi..!!! Razz
Thanks again for sharing this wonderful TR.
Smile Smile Smile
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dan
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 6:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks pradeep777 Very Happy Very Happy
Means a lot.
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Nimish
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 4:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lovely TR Dan - thanks for sharing. AI seems to be the pits in the domestic market - 1 hour delays are "common", buses take 30 minutes to arrive to pick up pax from aircraft - thankfully at least the food on board seems good!
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shivendrashukla
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 5:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Dan
Great TR for a first timer. I would have loved to see more of Manipur and other NE states, which are known for its beautiful nature. Looking forward to more from you.

Cheers
Shivendra
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sri_bom
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 9:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great crisp report Dan specially this being your first trip report.

The photographs are excellent and the food on Air India dream liner seems sufficient and great. As I have commented previously Air India needs to capitalize on its strength like food, free luggage and star alliance membership. Unfortunately the staff is all demotivated and lack desire and energy to turn this ailing airline. I hope things improve or they privatise it sooner.
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dan
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 5:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks a lot for the positive remarks.
Will be posting the second part(return leg) very soon.
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avbuff
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 1:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I liked your TR, nice pictures.

Thanks for sharing.
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Karan69
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 3:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice and crisp TR

karan
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dan
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Joined: 18 Dec 2012
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 2:47 pm    Post subject: Part2 Reply with quote

Introduction:
Greetings fellow members!!! Firstly, I would like to apologize for the delay in posting the second part. Secondly, I wish to thank all of you for the positive response that my first ever trip report received.
Before I continue, I would like to apologize for the vague details of this trip and a lack of pictures in the aircraft itself. The star on this trip was the Dreamliner anyhow and on the second part I just wanted to post pics of the trip as such. I have also added some pics of the spotting session in DEL and CCU. I hope this TR is not a letdown. I haven’t added much of the flight details either because I don’t remember much of it anyways.

The trip:

Now coming back to the trip, after a great ride on Air India’s B788, I spent a marvelous week in Delhi. It is truly the land where royalty of these times can be experienced firsthand. Upon exploring, I got to know of a bus service called the HoHo bus. It was a really convenient and inexpensive way to see the city. I covered the entire city in two days at an expense of less than INR 800. After wrapping up the work that I came there for and meeting up with some old friends, it was time to head back. Let me share a few glimpses of the city with you:





This is a better alternative to malls and cinemas:






I had a great time here and could have spent two or three full days in this place:



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Captured this little guy outside the ministry of External Affairs:



Home ministry:

It feels proud to be an Indian here:








This is an Aviation spot. View of the strip in Safdarjung from the flyover is awesome.

I don’t want to leave this place- Paranthe waali gali.



Purana qila:


At CP:



The flight:

My journey back was with good old Air India. The early morning A321 flight AI 401 (VT-PPJ) from T3 DEL and AI 711(VT-SCA) from CCU to AJL on an A319. There was a short layover of 2 hours in CCU and the flight to AJL was a direct one without the stop at IMF. After the Dreamliner, I didn’t expect much from the flight to CCU. I can now say that it wasn’t a disappointment. Interestingly, it turns out that the same flight is now operated be a B788. Two Dreamliner flights for the CCU-DEL sector?? Must be profitable.
There was just one more place left to see in Delhi now. The last attraction, DEL@T-3.






Some spotting- Sorry for the bad pictures. It wasn’t the best time of the day for photography.


I didn’t get to ride her:

Its like a dreamliner carnival here:





I miss flying on her too:

I will fly on these someday:


I was extremely sleepy after we boarded and dozed off, so no pics on this flight. I missed breakfast on the flight and woke up to hard landing on 1R at CCU.

Got this unusual picture of Netaji in the arrivals at CCU. My favourite leader and an audacious personality.


Then some spotting:
A 9W family gathering?






Big guy in CCU:




My bird. Pathetic.

This fellow was humming along close by:


These could fly to AJL someday.


Hello there:



At-IMF

And back to VELP:

I hope you liked this TR and welcome your suggestions as always.
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 7:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dan, thank you! The sheer number of hits, and the number of replies should tell you how popular this trip report of yours, has been with readers, and I must also re-iterate, how lovely this second part has been.
Delhi is my home-town, and seeing all these images from a period a bit far back in time (yes, the lovely AI A332s were still around!), brought back many sweet memories.
Delhi is essentially the city where `it all happened', and having been the capital of India for a good period of time since 700AD when the Tomar Rajputs made the city of Dhillika their base (if one does not count the Mahabharata era, with the remnants fo the Iron age city being foudn close to one of the place you have described in your pictures, the Old Fort). Yes, there is history at almost every nook and corner in the city. You seem to have done the tourist circuit really well, though there are many, many places you have missed out, which if you read about the history of the city, you will come back for, many times.
Dream)liners on DEL-CCU: this route has also seen 3 out of the four services a day on Dream)liners, in the season. As I pointed out to many fellow members, one evening, Air India rotated one of their AT4s through their CCU heavy Engg base, and managed to sell seats on a 3+ hour trip, which did not end up as a ferry flight. The fifth DEL-CCU flight of the day, and they can sell seats.
Lengpui! Please keep it coming. We are loving it.
Thanks, Sumantra.
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