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himmat01 · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1392 Location: DEL

Flight: AI 102
Date: 16/06/2013
A/C Type: B777-337
Reg: VT-ALO

Background:

I had been to Mumbai in April for a week with "TW" and "TD" (Copy Rights: Sumantra). They stayed behind for the summer vacation and I returned.

The original plan being that I would not return to Mumbai during the vacations and they would return on June 16. Things however started getting "hot" in Delhi. I decided that I need to get away from the heat.

I was keen on trying the business class on the B777s, the first option was to request dad for an ID00N1 ticket which was declined. I had to settle for the Upgrade scheme. For a payment of 6K plus ST, you can upgrade from Y to J.

Departure day:

On the day of the departure, I had to first drop my cousin and her family at Terminal 1D for their SG flight to Jammu. Got back, changed and waited for the Meru Cab to arrive. As usual it was on time and I was on my way to T3. I walked to the AI check in counter and asked the young lady whether it would be possible to upgrade to J. She checked on her system had said that there were a couple of seats available and that I would have to go down to the booking counter to make the payment. I hurried to the booking counter, made the payment and returned. She checked in my baggage and issued the BC with the seat number 8K. What more could I ask for, a window seat on the first row of J Class.
In the excitement, I forgot to collect the lounge invitation but that does not matter, the food court offers much better options. After spending sometime at the food court, I walked down to the shopping area and purchased some chocolates for kids and then proceeded towards the gate. At the gates, there were two majestic beauties, one departing for HYD and the other for BOM. Boarding for my flight was announced at around 4.10 PM, I could see that there was not much of a crowd and the flight would be relatively light. The boarding was orderly and I was one of the last ones to board. A young FA welcomed me and led me to my seat. A welcome drink and a hot towel were offered.

I was on AI J class after almost 20 years. Settled down, pretended to be familiar and comfortable with the seat operations.

The push back was on time and we proceeded towards RWY 28 for departure. A few minutes after the takeoff, Captain Grover announced on the PA that we might experience some turbulence during the second part of the flight. All his announcements were first in Hindi and then in English and he would end the announcements with Jai Hind.

I now turned my attention to the AVOD, there were plenty of options available in English, Hindi and selected Indian languages but very limited options for other International languages. I prefer to keep the screen on flight map mode.
I then noticed a familiar face amongst the senior FAs, my old neighbour Ms. S. I prayed that she would not notice me but she did. She then went on to enquire about everybody in the family and where I was, what I was doing, when did I get married and how many kids I have.

Now, the most anticipated moment, the snack service which consisted to a Kabab platter - two pieces each of chicken tikka, haryali kabab and sheekh kabab plus a slice of chocolate cake and fruit salad.

As we approached Surat, Captain Grover announced that we would be holding there for 10-15 minutes due to weather related congestion at Mumbai. There were further hold ups at Mumbai and we landed on RWY 27 and proceeded to a remote gate and were bussed to the terminal. I don’t think I will use the current T2 at Mumbai. There have been great memories and I will always cherish them.

PS: I have prepared this report in a record time so please excuse me for any errors.
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Save Maharashtra!

ameya · Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 2:20 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the short and crisp TR. It was a nice read.

Nimish · Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 3:14 pm Post subject:

Nice report - but leaves the reader with more questions Smile

* How was the J hardware on the 77W?
* How was the service in J on this sector?
* How was the ground handling overall?
* Did your bags arrive on time?

etc. etc. Twisted Evil

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We miss you Nalini!

himmat01 · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1392 Location: DEL

jbalonso777 · Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 4:16 pm Post subject:

Nice small TR, I enjoyed reading it.

Interesting incident with the FA you had!

Anyways, another question, what condition was the aircraft it? Aged? Or still crisp?

Regards
Jish
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http://www.youtube.com/c/JishnuBasu777

himmat01 · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1392 Location: DEL

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

How I wish all things in life were like that.
Ask for them, and you get it, forthwith.
Himmat - thanks a lot, thanks a lot for acceding to my usual begging request, `can we have a trip report, please?' It was superb, indeed.
Very nice and detailed descriptions - you really know what we AI.netters love to look for in trip reports! From your description, I think I shoudl remember to ask for a lounge invite if at all I ever am lucky enough to get an upgrade voucher. I liked your descriptions around you - the people, their reactions - the Mrs. S part was hilarious! I can visualise it. The snack was quite classy - I liked the choices. It is nice to see `Karnataka' being maintained in a pristine state. You say that you have typed this in a great hurry - please keep it up - this was marvellous.
Cheers, Sumantra.

himmat01 · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1392 Location: DEL

Thanks for your kind comments, Sumantra Sir.

I had been thinking of writing TRs but as usual laziness takes over. I need to thank you for motivating and encouraging me to write this TR.

Cheers,

Himmat
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Save Maharashtra!

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

Even without any pictures it was a nice TR Razz

Q) What is an ID00N1 ticket? So you bought a regular economy and paid 6k to upgrade to J or how does that work?
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eP007

himmat01 · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1392 Location: DEL