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Clash of the ATRs: 9W/IT -- MAA-COK-MAA

 
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karatecatman
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 3:04 pm    Post subject: Clash of the ATRs: 9W/IT -- MAA-COK-MAA Reply with quote

Clash of the ATRs

Jet Airways vs Kingfisher Airlines
Chennai-Kochi/Cochin-Chennai
Jan. 25, 2009


Background
The Big Boss was on a 10-day vacation in Coimbatore, so a note came from Super Boss. "Seminar in Cochin/Kochi tomorrow/on Jan. 25. Fill in for Big B. Office will make all the arrangements. You need attend only for a day." Ticked 'yes' and sent it back. Seconds later, Big B on the line. "Did Super B speak to you?"

Ya! Ya!! Ya!!!!

Travel Dept. got in touch. Was to stay in a "Regency" near the venue at Palarivottam. Tickets would be the cheapest, and 'Y'. Was to take the first flight out and get the last flight in.

Picked up the tickets in the evening and what a surprise! Outbound was by Jet and inbound by Kingfisher. Decided to take charge from this point onwards and visited 9W and IT websites to check-in.

Jet allowed me to only go as far as confirming the ticket but no check-in … technical issues being indicated by a red pop-up … while IT's kept timing out with a blue message. Maybe this was what was meant by the Jet-Kingfisher alliance.

No problem.

Next step was buzzing toll-free! Jet confirmed the ticket and said web check-in was a problem. "Check in at the counter, Sir. Thank you for choosing Jet Airways."
Not too good!

Kingfisher confirmed the ticket. "Yes, you can check in straight away, Sir. Have you visited the web? Explained that it was timing out. "Not a problem. We'll do it. Aisle or window? Front, overwing or back? Right side or left? Meal preference sir? … Yes, sir, all okay. Thank you for choosing to fly Kingfisher."

Whoa! All my reservations about IT were eroding. And as Chief Threekay puts it, one more wicket scalped by Mallya!! This was to be my first ever flight on King!!

***

Jet Airways 9W 3529
ATR-72 VT-JCD
Dep MAA: 6.30
Arr COK: 8.00
Seating capacity: 62

Jan 25th
Alarm went off at 3 a.m. Recovered from the shock and got ready by 3.45. Transport came at 4 a.m. and was off. Smooth ride to Kamaraj Domestic in just 25 minutes only to find that CISF was overactive even at that hour. No cars in the first bay. Fog and haze hung heavy in the air. Looked back and up and noticed that our rocky spotting perch had just vanished in the mist.

One round of frisking, e-ticket checked against "ID Proof" and was let in. Not much of a crowd and spent the time feeling sorry for a tankful of gold fish fighting hard to breath in what looked like sewage. A bronze Ganesha gazed tranquilly. A 9W staffer kept trotting around in her stilettos and bugging everyone trying to catch a few winks.

In a few minutes, things changed after the first announcement for the day. Huge crowd began recharging mobiles at charger points all over. The screens indicated 'check-in' and so moved to screening. Sticker fixed and then to check-in. 9W staffer ticked something in a notebook. Got a window. Formalities over and off to security.

This is the time for the morning battery of flights starting with the back to back battalion (4 flights) to Port Blair. CISF came up and asked me to go to the first floor. Too much of a crowd. "You can finish screening and use the lift to come down to ground floor."

CISF got a bit bugged when I pointed out that the tag hadn't been stamped. Got a glare and was done reluctantly. Kept slapping his forehead in disgust. Found the lift hidden behind a palm tree pot … and appeared on ground floor much to the amazement of the pax of Kingfisher's Port Blair flight. No one realised that there was a lift and probably thought I was a VIP or somethin! Lounge cleared slowly. A few celebrities drifting around. Two-movie wonder Tamil/Malayalam actor Rehman in an undersized shirt and flexing non-existent biceps kept pacing all over. Actress Trisha with a coffee cannister was getting a tad bugging. No one cared. Both departed on Paramount for Thiruvananathapuram with a platoon of extras.

Boarding announced for "9W 3529 to Kochi". A sudden rush to Gate 4. Full flight! Hand baggage checked again. Frisked once more and saw something ticked in a notebook and boarded the first of two buses. Long drive past the cargo terminal, onto a taxiway and to secondary 12/30. We had to stop to let a Lufthansa MD-11 Cargo taxi and moved once more.

Stop again.

This time, it was a Blue Dart 757 being towed to Cargo. The APU was sounding great.

The Jet A330 was very late in from Brussels.

Onto the secondary runway, past the Coast Guard station and there it was. (A journey that took 25 minutes.) An ATR-72 in solitary splendour. Quickly put the camera back in after spotting all the 9W ground staffers being frisked by what turned out to be CISF in mufti. The runway was still in darkness. Just the sound of APUs and the spooling of engines all over. The start of a busy day for aviation. The chill in the air was energising. It was almost like boarding a private jet.

Chennai in darkness. Almost like boarding a private plane.

A fire engine had all its strobes on and we boarded slowly. Had to hangout on the stairway as the 9W cabin crew, Miss C and Miss A, were having issues with the galley. Watched the Luft MD-11 blast off from 07/25. Fifteen minutes later, we were let in.

'Seat 14A' for me. Senior citizen occupied the next seat.
Firang Capt. Andrew hopped into the back and Miss C had her best accent on. "You are having that freshner," asked Andrew. "Change it. It's givin me a headache.He he, Ha ha." So Miss C yelled out to ground staff and 20 minutes later it was a new bottle. Clatter at the back as spoons fell out.

Andrew finished his walkabout with the ground crew and got in. This time it was about Miss C's next stop. "It's back to Chennai," was her chilling one-liner to him. More spoons fell out and Andrew made his way to the front office. Miss C stopped at 13A and told the lady pax that as part of safety, her child was to remain on her lap at all times. A round of lime juice bottles and the galley was closed. Doors armed and the props came to life. One chime. Quick safety demo including one with the "Demo cushion – Property of Jet Airways." Miss A made her way back with her fingers still entwined in the shabby looking Demo cushion.

One more chime. "Crew to your stations."


Take-off roll begins. Delayed Jet A330 seen. Disembarkation by stepladder.

Back tracked all the way to 12 and full throttle.

Lift-off after 20 seconds and it was a bit scary. We climbed, the condensation trailing off the windows. A dull thump and the landing gear was in. At this point we started to dip for about 4 seconds. Everyone looked out of the windows. Just then we started to climb again. 180 and over the airport towards the GST Road. "Andrew crackled on the wire. "Good Morning to you. This flight will take 1 hour and 30 minutes and we are slightly delayed. We hope you have a pleasant flight."

Still climbing

The view was hazy and 14A's window was scratched! Still managed to get a few shots. Sun was climbing out too and made the photo-ops tough!

Clatter in the galley and sambhar essence filled the air. Soon the trolleys came out and then the trays. Miss C handed out the crew trays and banged the door shut.
"We have veg and non-veg, Sir." After removing the foil, "veg" was a horror. A tiny vada in an ocean of sambhar, an anorexic masala dosa "with less oil", a jam carton with mayonnaise … and a bun. Stainless steel fork+spoon+knife, wooden tooth pick, salt, pepper, sugar, 'Dairy whitener', Napkin. Seat pocket had Deccan Chronicle, Jet Wings and "For your Wellness bag" = "For your Vaamit bag".

For some reason, we were still nose pitched up. Result was all the trays kept sliding off and 15A decided this was just a bit too much. Miss A was summoned for an explanation. "Sir, as you can see the plane's nose is still up sir. So the trays are sliding off." But 15A would have none of this. "That's part of your job to make sure the trays are proper." Miss A vanished into the galley and fixed a stopper to the tray. 15A stopped cribbing. The rest of us had to eat while playing TT with the tray.

Time to tackle breakfast. Touched the vada and that was it. It just dissolved. That's it. Had to hunt for it amidst the sea of dal debris. Solved the issue by just drinking the whole thing. Next was the dosa. Released a steam of peas which had to be tracked. The fork came in handy. Gave the jam and mayonnaise a miss and ate the bun flat. Dumped the Dairy whitener and sugar into the cup and waited for tea. Had a glance at "non-veg" in next seat. All the same except that omlette substituted the vada.

By this time we had reached Coimbatore. Indian co-pilot on the airwaves this time. "We are just crossing Coimbatore airspace and should be landing in Cochin in 40 minutes. We are 95 miles away."


Over the Western Ghats between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Frost and mist over the ranges. And a very scratchy window.

The Western Ghats came into view. A few high peaks, which should have been in the Nilgiris, and then Wayanad. We crossed a huge peak and from the top it was breath-taking. Solid granite that rose out of the dense forests. And everywhere was a blanket of mist. Then tea estates and what looked like the long tin sheds of tea factories. The High Ranges!

Tea or coffee? Not too hot and it was washed down. Soon after this was one more water bottle round.

Remains of breakfast. Jet needs to improve in many areas. Interior maintenance is one.

Time to look out again. A huge pool of water and what looked like a lake. Should be the Athirapally Falls near Thrissur. Soon the props changed their drone and we began to pitch slightly nose down.

A few minutes later and it was a Google Earth moment. We were crossing Nedumbassery!!! Spotted the 737s, A320s and a widebody. We crossed and circled for a 180. On the way in we seemed to be heading into a hill!!!
Fortunately the props began to whirr frantically and we crossed the hill and settled for an approach. Over the river and the railway tracks. Soon a sharp thud and we bounced down to the taxiway. The Pratt and Whitney PW127Fs whirred even more and felt the pull back into the seat. Just loved that grating sound. Makes the ATR sound so hardworking!!!


Whirring into Kochi. EK's fully loaded 777 for Dubai.

First to be spotted was an Emirates 777-300ER!!! Go Air A320, Air India Express with 3 737as, a 9W 737 followed by an IA A320 in the interim colours. Moved to the domestic terminal and halted. Quick disembarkation and into the bus. Miss C quite happy to see us go especially after that exchange with 15A and his tray issue.

We were the only ones in the terminal. Got the bag from the belt and made a quick exit. On the way a Bengali family wanted to know whether Alleppey was closer to Kochi or Calicut!!! After the answer, Bengali gent clasped his heart in relief!! Heard them then negotiate a taxi for a backwater cruise at the Kerala Tourism counter.

Found the transport and off to 'Regency' which was a dump.

Then off to seminar.

****
Kingfisher Airlines IT 2486
ATR-72 VT-KAC
Dep COK: 20:50
Arr MAA: 22.25
Seating capacity: 66


Jan 25. 5 p.m.
Seminar over and time to explore the place. Cochin office staff and us walked the length and breadth but not a single shutter was up. Sunday and also a part hartal! Hopped into "Varkeys" and picked up some stuff. Endless gold shops and watched a bus go by that said "Naval station". Finally time to say our byes and head back to the "Regency".

(No use contacting a certain captain of this Forum as the Captain was away in Dubai!!!)

Got ready, clicked every angle possible from the balcony of what was Paradise and checked out.

Ride to Nedumbaserry was smooth. Signboards "Thrissur 50km. Coimbatore 150km, Salem 345 km. Angamaly turn right. Kodungaloor turn left".
Swept past Toyotas and Hondas and Marutis and turned right into CIAL. Past the CISF hostel and command centre and some new drive-in-hotels.

Not much of a crowd this time. Had reached almost 40 minutes early, so decided to watch the sun set. Great refreshing Kerala.

Sun set and the mosquitoes took over. Time to move. Passed the first round against "ID proof" and proceeded for screening. NACIL/Air India does the screening and had the Air India tags all over. Was greeted warmly by "Joby Jacob of Kingfisher" and checked in a flash. Saw the Air India security stickers being ripped off and Kingfisher tags being stuck on!!!
Proceeded to security and the lounge was a mess!!! Every seat was full and it was like in an auditorium. A huge bank of flights to Mumbai and Delhi. Spicejet, Go Air, 9W and Air India.

Had to stand hoping for a seat. Firangs and the Delhi/Mumbai crowd all heading back. Just two gates – Gate 1 and Gate 2. Soon it was boarding for Go Air and Spice to Delhi and Mumbai and there was a massive stampede. Half the lounge empty. Phew!!


Finally a place to sit. Just after the stampede left for Delhi and Mumbai on the LCCs.

Just then there was a scream and saw an over excited teen pointing out to Malayalam superstar Mamooty. CISF was not clearing his security and he was getting red in the face. Launched into one of his dialogues and waved his huge arms. Seemed to have dropped his tag somewhere and had to be rescreened. Soon Kingfisher sorted out the issue and he strode in … to board Kingfisher Cochin-Trivandrum-Chennai IT 2883 (which originates from Mangalore and Kozhikode).

"This is the pre-boarding call for 9W 408 to Mumbai (Dep: 20.00 Arr 22.05). 112 people rose like a tidal wave and rushed to Gate 2. Lounge almost empty.

Then, 2 minutes later, came the highlight.

"This is the pre-boarding call for Indian Airlines IC162 to Mumbai (Dep Cochin 20.20 Arr Mumbai 22:10). Please proceed to Gate 1."
Five IA Aunties, one with a black sweater, rose to board. Three pax behind! Total = 10. (Flightdeck crew on board).

Watched in shock then found a seat and read a paper left behind.
A few minutes later it was our flight.

"This is the preboarding call for Kingfisher IT 2486 to Chennai. Please proceed to Gate 1. In order to make boarding easier we call upon families, ladies and the elderly to proceed first followed by passengers in rows 1 to 9."

No one cared. Line was a mess. Ground staffer Divya Unni smiled and directed us to the bus. Another round of frisking and names were struck off against a master list. Got into the first of two buses and reached the gleaming Kingfisher ATR.

IC162, the Indian Airlines Airbus A320 rotated and lifted off in just 150 metres!!! The V-2500s whined into the night air and the craft was on its way to Mumbai.

Back to the tarmac.



On board. Seat 4A
Into the aircraft and greeted by two grumpy looking crew Miss D and Miss A.

But the aircraft was a revelation. New red leather seats, new red carpet, sparkling windows with not a scratch. And "ooh-la-la-lehyoo" played softly in the background.

It was 4A for me.

All settled in and it was a relief to have no one in 4B.
Found The Times of India, Deccan Chronicle, Week and the Kingfisher mag in the seat pocket, Safety card and Sickness Bag along with the menu card!!

Miss D came around with the tray removed from the overhead locker in 1A. Toffees, Pens, and cologne towelletes.

Captain Rastogi came online. "We trust you will have a very pleasant flight in the hands of cabin manageress Miss D and Miss A. Fly the good times".
Two chimes. "Crew arm doors."


"Ooh-la-la-leyo, Mallya on a wayoo" -- here he's talking about handpicked crew.

Soon there was a whirring sound and 10inch screens appeared out from top. The cabin was filled with the sound of "ooh-la-la-lehyoo" and Mallya appeared on the screen. "… Kingfisher is your airline of choice even though there are many other airlines. I have personally selected the crew …."


Miss India prelims. Safety demo.

Then the safety demo. More like Miss India prelims. "Welcome aboard this ATR-72-200 …"

Cabin was darkened for take-off and watched the ground staff hurry way. Props whirred and we began the long taxi towards 09/27. Almost took 13 minutes as we bumped along and whirred away in the darkness. The blue runway lights showed the way.


Whirring along the taxiway to active.

Waited for an incoming Emirates 777 and we moved to active.

Props whirred and whirred. The wing strobes flashed from white to blue. Five minutes later the props increased pitch and we rolled smoothly. Quick lift off and we climbed out fast. The landing gear lights added to the air.


Lights on again after take-off

Soon there was clatter in the galley and the aroma of biriyani filled the cabin air. Soon Miss D came with the trolley. Went into the cockpit first and with the crew meals.

Then shut the door and then to us.

"Veg or Non-veg sir?" And what a spread. Biriyani rice, Chappati, Kurma, Corn with cucumber, Chocolate cake and Mango nectar. Water bottle. Catered to by Sky Gourmet. Stainless steel spoon+knife+Fork, Napkin, Salt, Pepper, Sugar, Whitener.

Meal uncovered






By the time that was finished and looked out we were near Erode. Large circles of sodium vapour lights on the ground.

Tray collection and one more round of water bottles. Miss D had to sort out the rubbish from the trays.

Cabin was dimmed. The red leather and red carpets were quite pleasant.

Miss A was online this time. Announcement about the benefits of joining the King Club. The cabin was once again filled with the sound of "ooh-la-la-lehyoo".
No one cared to watch or listen.
Cabin lights dimmed again.


Enjoying the good times ... some kind of mood lighting!!!

Soon it was the lights of Chennai and made out that we were going to get in straight from the South. The screens whirred out from overhead and we were requested to fasten our seatbelts. Miss D rushed back to the front and pulled the seat out. "Ooh-la-la-lehyoo"!! Screens whirred back in.

The landing gear lights came on and the props increased pitch. Whirred and whirred and we came straight in.
Our Reco spot was in darkness!!.

We hit the runway quite hard and the props whirred hard. Pull back and exited active.
Past the cargo bay and to Kamaraj Domestic.
International arrivals were Malaysia Truly Asia and Singapore. Air India Express had a lone 737.

Settled between an IA A320 and a Paramount.

Co-Pilot Harpreet Deo wished us a pleasant stay in Chennai.

Quick deboarding and saw Miss A writing something in a notebook after each pax went past.

Waited for a Kollywood villain and stuntmaster to move out as his large frame almost got him stuck in the door.
Miss D looked relieved.
Into the Kingfisher bus and then the long wait for the bag.

Out in 30 minutes!!

Reached home in 20 minutes.


Last edited by karatecatman on Thu Jan 29, 2009 11:49 pm; edited 1 time in total
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ameya
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Joined: 09 May 2007
Posts: 3671
Location: Pune,Maharashtra

PostPosted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

gr8 TR !

How were the loads to Port Blair ?

I guess almost the same no of flights come from CCU as well...

wonder how they manage the parking bays out there, when I had gone couple of years ago, there was place for just 4 a/c
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shivendrashukla
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great TR KCM.

Cheers
Shivendra
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Nimish
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 11:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great report KCM - pleasure to read!
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vivekman
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 10:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very nice TR KCM! Smile

You know what? Even I faced the issue of sliding meal trays on my 9W ATR flight from BLR to MAA. So I wonder whether all ATRs have their nose pitched up for most of the flight, or there is a problem in the design of the tray tables. Question Confused

I never faced this issue on the IT ATR though!

- Vivek
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stealthpilot
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 11:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Haha very very very nice TR.
Glad you had what seemed like 2 fun flights.
Really enjoyed reading it.
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karatecatman
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 11:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very Happy


***
Not sure about the loads to Port Blair. But Air India/IA once again seemed to be taking a battering. Same case with Kingfisher.

Trays on IT were very stable! In fact the whole flight seemed smoother right from lift-off when compared to the 9W experience. And both were fair weather operations.
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TKMCE
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Joined: 27 Feb 2007
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 4:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

KCM

Excellent TR. COK is one of the best airports and if youcompare with BIAL, the public seating area post security (not counting the ones inside the F&B outlets in BIAL ) is bigger(ofcourse not as big as BOM or DEL)

By the way IC 162 is a TRV-COK-BOM flight so I guess there must be a lot of TRV transit pax onboard esp since TRV has just 9W and IC on the BOM route (other than a few AIX/AI flights).

Cheers
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avbuff
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 10:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

excellent TR KCM, a nice read!
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent TR, KCM - thanks a lot!
Cheers, Sumantra.
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rutvij
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

vivekman wrote:

You know what? Even I faced the issue of sliding meal trays on my 9W ATR flight from BLR to MAA. So I wonder whether all ATRs have their nose pitched up for most of the flight, or there is a problem in the design of the tray tables. Question Confused

- Vivek


So, i guess somethings really wrong with their simulator training at THE HUB, andheri. Twisted Evil

Very Good TR, Mr. KCM. Smile
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