| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
patkini
Member
Joined: 27 Oct 2007
Posts: 313
Location: BOM
|
 Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 7:47 pm Post subject: MAA - BOM on SG 296 |
 |
|
Hi,
Traveled from Chennai to Mumbai on 7th August on Spice Jet. Sadly could not snap any pics as my cam had conked!
I reached the airport at about 6pm for the 7:55pm departure. Since I did not have a print out of the ticket, approached the spice jet counter & received the ticket with out any hassles.
Proceeding to the terminal, the security seemed extra tight that day, esp with I-day approaching. The CISF guards were out in huge numbers & one of those questioned me about a few things like whether i was carrying any liquids & where i was off to. He suggested I check in my luggage, which i was gonna do any ways!
Proceeded to check in, where on a parallel counter, the 6:35 pm flight to DEL was also being checked in. There were a whole lot of flights from IT, 9W, 6E, etc. also, checking in at the same time & the departure area was slightly crowded. Proceeding towards security check, I realised that AAI seemed to have learnt a few lessons from GMR & GVK with significant changes being made to the terminal building since I last flew out of MAA a few years ago.
Has a soup at the Maggi counter & checked in. Again, with multiple flights boarding from the same gate & with an hour for departure I decided to try out the wi - fi. Being a Tata indicom subscriber, it worked like a charm.
By the time, boarding was announced, a huge queue had already formed. I resisted standing in the queue & was 1 of the last few on board. Had to change seats with a member of a family who wanted to sit together. Got to sit near the exit door on the wing & I just love the extra leg room.
It was 8:00 pm already & around us I could see an AI A-321, a couple of indigo 320s & 9W 737s. In the distance I could see a Sri Lankan 320 & a just arrived Emirates ferry (A330 I presume). The windows were very dirty & the bright orange lights at the apron made viewing outside even more difficult. We soon pushed back & taxied to the runway. We waited for a couple more 9W 737s to land, before zooming to take off over Chennai's famous Marina beach.
The service on board was nice with the crew taking good care of the children on board as well as entertaining all requests from the pax.
The captain soon reached cruising altitude & informed us that though we would reach Mumbai by 9:30 pm, though we finally landed at 10:05 pm due to the congestion (as usual). On arrival spoke to Capt. Mark from Europe about his experiences at Spice Jet & he spoke about being worried every time about landing on runway 27 in spite of having landed on it a million times!
Terminal 1B at BOM is still being upgraded at a feverish pace. Was saddened on arrival to see that the regular Meru/Gold cabs were not avl & had to take a black & yellow taxi at the prepaid counter bringing my journey to an end!
FLIGHT
MAA - BOM
Date: 7th Aug 09
Spice Jet 296
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Registration: VT-SPL Cardamom
Seat: 14F changed to 15F
STD: 19:55 HRS/ STA 21:30 HRS
ATD: 20:15 Hrs/ATA 22:05 Hrs
Load factor: Y (95% approx)
Rgds,
Prathamesh
_________________
You will never Fly Alone! |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
sri_bom
Member
Joined: 22 Dec 2006
Posts: 2365
Location: Singapore
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 2:26 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Nice short TR, any specific reasons he quoted about landing on runway 27 that makes him extra cautious.
I do know previously it was an issue of billboards on top of the buidlings on the approach path that made pilots nervous....
Sri_Bom |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Spiderguy252
Member
Joined: 10 Aug 2007
Posts: 4259
Location: Indian Ocean
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 5:13 pm Post subject: Re: MAA - BOM on SG 296 |
|
|
| patkini wrote: | Sadly could not snap any pics as my cam had conked!
|
Pity that! You made the most of it anyway, thanks for sharing. 
_________________
Yeah. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
patkini
Member
Joined: 27 Oct 2007
Posts: 313
Location: BOM
|
| Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 11:35 am Post subject: |
|
|
| sri_bom wrote: | Nice short TR, any specific reasons he quoted about landing on runway 27 that makes him extra cautious.
I do know previously it was an issue of billboards on top of the buidlings on the approach path that made pilots nervous....
Sri_Bom |
Yeah the billboards as well as the supposedly strange cross winds were the reasons he quoted! Also, he said that during the night time, there are a lot of funny incidents which happen due to some stray reflections from the houses as well as the slums which are way too distracting, esp while exiting one of the low lying clouds....
yeah I am sorry about the cam...that it was not working!
Rgds,
Prathamesh
_________________
You will never Fly Alone! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
karatecatman
Guest
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 12:42 am Post subject: |
|
|
| patkini wrote: | | sri_bom wrote: | Nice short TR, any specific reasons he quoted about landing on runway 27 that makes him extra cautious.
I do know previously it was an issue of billboards on top of the buidlings on the approach path that made pilots nervous....
Sri_Bom |
Yeah the billboards as well as the supposedly strange cross winds were the reasons he quoted! Also, he said that during the night time, there are a lot of funny incidents which happen due to some stray reflections from the houses as well as the slums which are way too distracting, esp while exiting one of the low lying clouds....
Prathamesh |
This is not Mumbai.
If residents heard him say this he is certain to be stoned. There are no slums or strange reflections but residents fighting an on-off battle to save their plots and houses. There is also a premier military academy here on both sides of the airport.
The area around is one huge green land with lots of tree cover.
There are no billboards as well after the Court ordered everything to be brought down.
On the approach though there are a couple of highrises mainly IT parks and centres with cranes towering over them. The cranes could be a (main) reason.
On the whole, captain seems to story-telling here. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
