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Spicejet BOM-MAA (My first time on an Indian LCC!) - 56 pics

 
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Spiderguy252
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Joined: 10 Aug 2007
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Location: Indian Ocean

PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 3:54 pm    Post subject: Spicejet BOM-MAA (My first time on an Indian LCC!) - 56 pics Reply with quote

Welcome to my third Trip Report, on a Spicejet flight from BOM to MAA. There are 56 pictures included.

The flight was scheduled to take-off at 11AM. It was to be a Boeing 737-800. This is also my first time on an Indian LCC.

Some pics of the domestic terminal at BOM:





After check in, I bought a donut and sat down near the glassed wall at the opposite side of the check-in area.

There, to my astonishment, I saw no fewer than 3 rats scurrying about. Shocked

I quickly got up and walked away.

After clearing security, I roamed around the shops a bit, and also picked up a copy of the GVK CSIA Magazine. There were also copies of newspapers and other magazines available at the boarding area (for free). I spent the remaining time watching another Spicejet flight board to Delhi and Varanasi.

Around 10 AM there was a heavy downpour, and I was anticipating some sort of a delay in my flight but it was not to be. At 10:25, there was an announcement for my flight to MAA, and there were only 7 of us on board the flight. We boarded the coach amidst the heavy rain, and made our way to the parked a/c. Somewhere along the way, I think the driver got confused, because he got off next to another Spicejet 737-800 and enquired whether this was our flight. But no, it was the one going to Varanasi/ Delhi. So he drove past another few a/c to take us to our 738. The rain had gotten a lot heavier now. We were escorted to the a/c under umbrellas. I assume they did this because there were so few of us. Luckily the boarding ramp was covered, so we didn't exactly get wet.

There were 4 FAs on board this flight to MAA [for 7 pax Cool ]. They welcomed us on board and due to the light load, allowed us free seating.

The captain, a Brazilian national, came and welcomed each of us personally. Again, this was easy to do, with only 7 pax. His name was captain Haas or something....not too sure the way he pronounced it. Anyway, it felt like we were on a Private Jet.

Legroom:



Nearly empty plane:



Engine view:



9W next to us:



We pushed back at 11:10 a minor delay of 10 minutes.



We were second in queue for takeoff, behind an SQ 744. It was still pouring cats and dogs outside.

After the SQ had taken off, we began our take-off run and were up in no time.

An AI 747:



Take off:



Slumdog Millionaire's homes:



Higher:



Up through the clouds:



Still very dark and stormy:



Traces of a rainbow:



In clear skies at last:



Empty Seats:



The seat pitch was fine for an LCC, and I could stretch out in the remaining two seats.

The FAs came around with the food/beverage cart. I bought a chicken sandwich for Rs. 100. It was awful.

The Chicken Sandwich:



Spicejet advertising for Microsoft:



There was nothing much to do in the flight. The magazine was drab, and worse, there was nobody to talk to. I managed to get a quick nap, listening to my MP3 Player.

When I woke up an hour later, we had begun descent and were flying somewhere over Andhra Pradesh. The Captain announced the local time and temperature, and asked us to fasten our seatbelts.

Land:



A cloud:



Descent:



Lower:



And lower:



Even lower:



Lower again:



A lake:



Right overhead:



Entering Chennai, with the coastline in the distance, oil refineries below:



The Marina Beach:



Overshooting the coast:



We banked right and all of a sudden we were hit with a strong gust of wind or something, for we started shaking dangerously. In a minute, it was over. Still scary though.

Banking right:



Ships down below:



At this point, the gears were lowered, and we began our final descent to Chennai Airport.

Re-entering the coast:



The Marina Beach again, only with a different angle: Smile



Into the city again:





Greenery:





Final approach:







Touchdown!:



AI (IC) 320:



Note the SQ Cargo 747:



MAA's Domestic Terminal:



Leaving the runway:



IT 320:







AI (IC) 320:



IT ATR:



Deccan ATR:



We were using the aerobridge today. Sad, as I wanted to be on the ground for more pictures. Crying or Very sad

Jet 737 in the distance:



Parking next to the 9W 737:



The FAs thanked us, and I exited the a/c in a matter of 20 seconds after docking. And I was out of the aiport in 7 and a half minutes or so. Record time! Very Happy

Overall Analysis:

Punctuality: 9/10
Aircraft: 10/10
Food: 2/10
FAs: 8/10
Seat: 8/10

Overall: 37/50 = 74%
3 stars out of five.

Thank you for reading.
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karatecatman
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Spider,

Nice TR. 7 pax!!

Pics look nice as well. You were coming over North Chennai -- the city's main water reservoirs, industrial units and then over the Bay before looping into approach for 25. Thanks for all those details!

All the highlights of Chennai's landscape are very visible!!
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Nimish
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the report - the pictures were also very nice.

I guess the SQ 747 in BOM was a cargo plane? Aren't they operating passenger flights to India only with the 777s these days?

7 passengers is abysmal, especially on a LCC. Were you able to get a sense for why the loads were so low? This will totally skew the average load numbers for Spicejet!
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Spiderguy252
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 9:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks KCM and Nimish!

The SQ was a 744. Maybe a substitution?

Yeah, 7 pax was surprising. I overheard another passenger ask the FA if there were more to come, when we were on the ground at BOM. She replied in the negative and said that they were having really bad loads to MAA and BLR these days.

7 pax can fit in an entire row of a 737 + 1 jumpseat. Wink
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avbuff
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Spiderguy252 wrote:
The SQ was a 744. Maybe a substitution?


Nice TR.

When did you do this trip? dd/mm/yyyy? I can try to pull out what the SQ B744s was doing there?

During daytime I suppose the B744 was a cargo plane.
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karatecatman
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 12:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thats's Mega Ark!!! Picture also seems to say Singapore Airlines Cargo.

SQ is now only night as a 777. The morning flt has been dropped like all the other SE Asian carriers. Sad
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justbala
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 4:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

karatecatman wrote:
Thats's Mega Ark!!! Picture also seems to say Singapore Airlines Cargo.

SQ is now only night as a 777. The morning flt has been dropped like all the other SE Asian carriers. Sad


The Mega Ark is @ MAA. I dont think there is a pic of the contentious SQ 744 at BOM in the TR.
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Spiderguy252
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Perhaps it was a Cargo Plane. I just checked the schedule on the SQ website, and SQ 421 leaves BOM at 11:45 AM. So this might have been a cargo jet. Difficult to make out in the rain....
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sri_bom
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice TR thanks for posting...

Sri_Bom
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carlos gomes
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Joined: 02 Apr 2010
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 2:26 am    Post subject: Re: Spicejet BOM-MAA (My first time on an Indian LCC!) - 56 Reply with quote

Hi
Very good photos......
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HAWK21M
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 5:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice Pics....Amazing only 7 Pax though.
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Spiderguy252
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 11:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the replies, Carlos and MEL. Though this TR is over a year old and I don't think you'll see such light loads on domestic flights these days. Smile
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