Airliners-India.com

[jbalonso777]

Link to previous TR: http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?p=115023#115023

INTRODUCTION
Well, after my first TR, I told you all about my trip to CMB on 9W. Sadly, that is going to be my third TR. Here I get you, my second TR, which is because of a decision which took a few minutes! A few days after I came back from my trip from Bagdogra and Kolkata, Dad had met a childhood friend, who was based in Nagpur. He invited us to visit Tadoba National Park, in a bid to see a few tigers! Well, so this is my last Domestic Trip in India before we moved to Colombo, Sri Lanka!
There is another reason for me writing this TR: we didn't get tickets on any overnight train to Nagpur! So, we had just 10 days to book the tickets on any airline, which would suit over timings.
IndiGo and Go Air had the cheapest fares, but the first was too early, and the latter too late via Nanded. Air India was a perfect option, but looking at their financial state, people advised us not to fly with them. Well, the second Air India opportunity lost for me. So, it was down to Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways. Kingfisher didn't have flights from Mumbai to Nagpur, but Jetlite had 3. Well aware that back in the Air Sahara days, flights used to get cancelled or badly delayed, so we were prepared for it. Anyhow, outbound, we booked on the last flight, leaving at 1755, while inbound, we selected the second flight, which left Nagpur at 1705.

JETLITE S2-115 (JET AIRWAYS 9W-7043) MUMBAI-NAGPUR 9TH JUNE 2011.

PRE-DEPARTURE STUFF
I tried to web check in for us on the Jetlite website, but because this was a codeshare with Jet Airways, I was being blocked. Instead, I tried tele check in. And it worked! The efficient agent gave me details of the flight, and I was surprised to hear it was being operated by a Boeing 737-700! Anyhow, 3 seats on the exit row and seat 5A were taken. I later packed my bag, (it was just as small as a video cam recorder bag ) and fell asleep, and unusually unexcited

DEPARTURE DAY
I woke up to a pilot’s biggest nightmare: THUNDERSTORMS! Well, I don’t think it’s a nightmare, but the weather which you really don’t want. As the day progressed, really slowly, nothing to do, no school, no homework, I went to the 9W website, only to see all flights are badly delayed! This got me a little scared. I knew that Jetlite, even when it was Air Sahara, got its flights cancelled very frequently. I then tuned into the news. It was the day the very famous artist M.F. Hussain died.

As we drove down to the airport, racing with a black Aston Martin DB7 (we lost obviously), we received an SMS from Jet confirming our fears. The flight had been delayed until 1825 hours. Oh Great. We had to spend one and a half hours in the airport. Not a problem for me and Dad though, because we are pretty big plane freaks, noting down registration numbers, etc.

CHECK-IN, SECURITY, PRE-BOARDING, ETC..
As we reached Terminal 1B, the rain had subsided. While we were checking in (giving our bags) the agent told that senior citizens cannot be seated in the emergency row. So, my grand mom was given seat 5B. I now had cover for all my photography! Check in was then done in minutes. Even the boarding passes had the revised departure time of 1825. Security was an unfortunate breeze. Now we had even more time to kill! So, we went to the Cafe Coffee Day. All the planes facing towards the Terminal were 73G’s, 738’s and 73H’s of Jet Airways. Nothing else. On the other side were couple of 6E, IT, AI and G8 320’s, one 9W 739, another set of 9W 738’s, SG 738’s and one lonely little sausage.... I mean a Jetlite 73G. It had nothing but one Sky Gourmet truck attached to Door 2R. That was most likely our aircraft. After having a chocolate milkshake, and chocolate muffin, we went to our assigned gate 11. All the Gate Info screens showed Jet Airways and Jet Airways Konnect flights to Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmadabad, etc. Then finally an announcement came: “Jetlite...” many people stood up as if boarding had started, and the announcement continued “....regrets to announce the delay of its flight S2-115 to Nagpur.” And those people’s faces grew longer. Now our scheduled departure was around 1845. We saw many planes (mostly 9W 738’s) take off and land, listening to their engines, nothing to do. And then, the highlight arrived. An Emirates Boeing 777-300ER just splashed all of the water off the runway when it arrived from Dubai! It was a sight to be seen, that thing is HUGE! I bought an Autocar magazine. It was a special version, giving details about all cars on sale in India.

BOARDING (FINALLY!)
Finally, at 1820, an announcement came: “Jetlite announces the departure of its flight S2-115 to Nagpur.” Big relief. We entered one of those super-chilled King Long buses that Jet Airways leases. There was a huge threat of cancelation. By then, another S2 73G, VT-JLD had arrived. I hoped that was our aircraft because it was a former Jet Airways VT-JNF. But no, the bus went towards the secondary runway, took a big turn, round a Jet Airways 738 VT-JGM another turn towards the international terminal, a final U-turn and stopped, right behind the other busses in front of us. I was right. The little sausage I saw from the terminal was our aircraft. It was VT-SIV. It still had those cockpit eye-brows. We then realised VT-JGM was undergoing some maintenance on its right engine (You call it Engine 1...right?). Dad then told me that back in the old days, the cars used to start by putting oil in the carburettors. He then asked if even the Boeing 737 has the same system. I got owned by my Dad! Ugh! Now let me be honest, my Dad is more of a Airbus A320 family fan, just like most of the people. And I like the Boeing 737NG family. Not many people like it though. Well, 7 or 8 minutes, the bus just waited near the aircraft. No one was getting off. We saw a few Air India and Kingfisher A320’s take off and arrive, a SriLankan A320 land etc. Finally at 1845, the revised departure time, we boarded the aircraft.

FLIGHT DETAILS

AIRLINE/FLIGHT NUMBER: Jetlite (S2/RSH) S2-115 (9W-7043)
REGISTRATION/AIRCRAFT TYPE: VT-SIV/ Boeing 737-7K9
SEAT: 5A Economy (Single Class)
SCHEDULED DEPARTURE: 1755 hours, RESCHEDULED DPEARTURE: 1825/1845 ACTUAL DEPARTURE: 1917 hours.
SCHEDULED ARRIVAL: 1915 hours, RESCHEDULED ARRIVAL: 1945/2005 ACTUAL ARRIVAL: 2039 hours
LOADS (ESTIMATED): Y= 80-85%


Picture on Airliners.net by Vinish DSouza

This was going to be my second JetLite flight, but the first time on a Jetlite Boeing 737. I have gone on this airline’s Boeing 737 before, but that was when it was Air Sahara. I flew it on a CCU-BLR sector (via HYD) on an old Boeing 737-300, and returned in a brand new 737-800! (I forgot all the details, and I was a small kid, and I had no camera back then!) But, when I entered this 73G, it was like entering old days in a Jet Airways aircraft! Jetlite uses the old 9W seats. I took my seat, kept my bag, my grand mum got seated and I clicked away!









The domestic terminals were getting empty, and all traffic was seen in the International terminal. By the way, that small CFM56 engine is not really that small when you sit right next to it! I wonder what a GE-90 would be! Just then, the Captain (a lady, not being sexist) came over the PA, to apologize for all the delays. She said it was because of Operational Reasons due to single runway operations. She also said that by the time we departed, the weather would get slightly worse. ‘MORE DELAYS’ is what came to my mind. My father then came to check on us, and he told that the emergency exit on a 73G has no legroom. Only the passenger sitting behind in row 13 Window seat has a lot of legroom. This was confusing! Just then a van pulled over to the stairs, with an elderly couple boarding. The old guy said: “Don’t look at us like that; we are not the reason for your delay.” I really wanted to tell that guy: “If we leave don’t in 15 minutes, it’s your entire fault!” Meanwhile, the passenger sitting on seat 5C sat went in front to seat 4A. So for extra comfort, I and my grand mom had an extra seat to keep our things.

Well, I was distracted by the entrance of the HYBRID. Now, the Hybrid is a Jetlite aircraft, completely of the Jet Airways livery. That was VT-JLE. Well, 7 or 8 minutes the push back started.

DEPARTURE
At around 1917 hours, 2 minutes after scheduled arrival at Nagpur, the CFM56 engines of the 737 were fired up, and we started our long taxi towards runway 27. It started raining heavily and sunlight had almost disappeared. As we slowly rolled down runway 14 (taxiing), I was assured that the flight would not be cancelled any more, but more delays were expected. I was right. As we exited runway 32, we made the first of many stops along the taxi way. 7 times we stopped, so we spent a good 30 minutes just to taxi towards the runway, when it usually takes 6 or 7 minutes (if it’s a fast taxi and there are no planes holding short of the runway). I also noticed that the 1915 Emirates flight was delayed, as it was being pushed back as we passed it. Finally, our turn arrived. We turned onto Runway 27 for departure.

Pushback and start: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBelBTizC8E&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=101&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afhNbBSAnEM&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=10&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbNTBuuhZrU&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=9&feature=plcp

Taxiing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCDi75zPLBc&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=8&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6N_mNTHv9Q&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=7&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tckD14CSEYw&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=6&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXHIaLGGq9g&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=5&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIABX5fLHcs&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=4&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR5Y46fzYeU&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=3&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A2zX4e0864&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=1&feature=plcp

THE BEST TAKE OFF EVER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5uudGDUOoc&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=2&feature=plcp


Finally the CFM56 were applied full power. The engines made a splendid sound, better and louder than what I had on VT-JNN a few weeks ago! We turned east and headed for Nagpur, through the thick clouds. What looked great was the effect of the setting sun on the clouds. 2 different colours together was surely one the best of God’s creations!





INFLIGHT
Seat belt signs switched off, and there was no action in the aircraft. Everyone kept still. No one even got up to go to the wash room. Well, the food service ‘ByteLite’ had started. I asked for a Non-Veg meal, which they didn’t have. Instead, I asked for a Non-Veg combo meal, which had a Chicken and Raisin sandwich, a brownie and juice. I also asked for 2 cups of water. The F/A quite rudely took the money from me, which I think is standard on LCC’s these days. The flight was largely uneventful. I went to the wash room, just before we started approach.


Cabin of the 73G.


Non-Veg Combo Meal


Door Assembly of the 73G.

[i]ARRIVAL[/i]
Approach began about 25 minutes before we touched down into Nagpur. Nothing unusual in the descent, but the landing was terrible! Not only did we leave about half of the runway, we also had a hard touchdown. Heavy breaking followed causing my bag (with the DSLR in it) to fall. A long taxi followed, and we parked beside VT-SCF (whom we met in Mumbai!!!) and VT-KAD, a Kingfisher ATR 72-500, which was heading out of the parking bay as we arrived. A boy, who probably was mentally challenged, went up to the CFM56 engine. A very rude staff member told him: ‘Move out from there, it’s dangerous!’ Since Nagpur had only 2 or 3 busses, we had to walk down the tarmac, which was fun for me and Dad! The airport had 2 (maybe 3) aerobridges, only for international flights. Nagpur Airport arrivals are the same for International and Domestic passengers. So, the immigration counters and Customs counters were closed and deserted. The airport has a modern way for baggage claim: the same way as in Dubai. We got our entire luggage, but only 1 thing was missing: our ‘Limited Release’ umbrellas. They were given to us by hand. I also took a final sight of VT-SIV: Doors were armed, all ready to go back to Mumbai. We came out of the neat-looking terminal: small, but modern.

Approach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqdtP9Ea2ek&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=10&feature=plcp

HARD landing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_oVC18TEUk&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=9&feature=plcp

Walking to the terminal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym5JOxQB8u4&list=UU-ctDj1bPedp4Dg5mDNxxxg&index=8&feature=plcp

IN NAGPUR AND AROUND
The next day, we headed for the Tadoba National Park, in southern Maharashtra. After a 4 hours drive, we reached the hotel. On the evening safari, our first sighting was a sloth bear. Then a few deer, wild dogs followed. As we were about to finish our safari, the driver got a call. A tiger was sighted near a water body! The driver rushed the car towards the lake. We were one of the last jeeps to reach the water body. The tiger was sitting there, until he got up and walked into the lake. Prey was walking by. We were hoping for a fight. But the big cat just rested in the cool water on a hot sunny day. One of the deer did make an alarm call, but the guides told us it was just a mating call. We waited for about half an hour, but nothing happened. So we went back to the hotel.


Sloth bear (FOCUS )


Langur (FOCUSSS!!!!! )


Bee eater..


That's our cat!!


Peacock..


The morning slumber..

THE BRUSH WITH DEATH
The next morning, we went for another safari. There were many birds and the usual animals. But on the way back, in an artificial pond, we met the big cat once again! This time he was half asleep. But, he showed no signs of movement, so we went back. In the forests, you are supposed to keep your shoes against the wall, with the tongue facing inwards. That’s something I forgot these past few days. We went for our final safari. This time, we saw the usual things, and a sloth bear taking a bath deep inside the forest. This was a great sight! As we came back, I headed for my room. I felt some tingling thing in front of my right leg toes. I thought it was a beetle. When I opened my shoes, I saw it was a big creature. On first sight, I saw felt it was a lizard. And I told mum: ‘Houston, we have a problem’. My mum looked in my shoe and said: ‘was this inside your shoe??!!’ Mum then put the shoe upside down, and jumped out: A SCORPION! It had its sting, all ready to attack! But, with no other option, we killed it. (R.I.P). I know most of you are thinking, why a scorpion would be a ‘brush with death’. First, in India (and in the rest of the world also), smaller scorpions have far more toxic venoms than in the larger scorpions. The big ones only have a big structure to scare us, but in reality, the smaller ones are more dangerous. Second, the nearest hospital was at least 50 km’s away. A scorpion’s bite can kill a person in just a few hours. And for me, going to a hospital would’ve taken a few hours. The scorpion must’ve been stuck in between my toes, or under my feet, which may have prevented it from stinging me. 4 hours with a creepy crawly in my leg, and I didn’t feel anything was there for those 4 hours. I promised myself; I am never going to another jungle trip ever again! (Even if it’s Kruger ) Overall, this trip was a great experience, and more importantly a great lesson.



R.I.P my friend, or is it, my enemy?

JETLITE FLIGHT S2-176 (JET AIRWAYS 9W-7134) NAGPUR-MUMBAI 12TH JUNE 2011

We headed back for Nagpur and on the way back, I tele-checked in for the flight. This time it was a 186 seater Boeing 737-800. I took seats 18A and 18B for mum and Dad, while I took seats 22F and 22E for me and my grand mom. I saw the schedule of Nagpur airport. Around the departure time of my flight, the airport was supposed to be busy. 2 IndiGo flights (one to CCU and uhm, I cannot remember.) a Jet airways Konnect flight to Delhi, and my Jetlite flight to Mumbai. As we entered Nagpur, I saw an old Boeing 707 half scraped and left. I thought it was just my imagination. Clouds were starting to build up. There were also some thunder and lighting. We arrived at the modern looking airport.

CHECK-IN, SECURITY, PRE-BOARDING, ETC..
Everything looked modern at the airport, except, the baggage screening. This was still the old system of screening luggage before check in. We quickly checked in, but we were also told that the flight would depart at 1730 hours. Near the security hold area, I saw a deserted part of the terminal, almost like it was haunted. This was the international departures area. After a slightly slow security, we went to the departure lounge. I expected to see atleast 2 aircraft. But none of them were there, except for the Boeing 707 which I confirmed my ‘imagination’. VT-INB had arrived after about 10 minutes. Sometime later, its sibling VT-INF came from BOM, heading for CCU. The Jet Airways aircraft was nowhere to be seen, while we got a message saying our flight would depart at 1745 hours. We met a person, who was also at Tadoba National park. He showed us all his photos, especially the close ones with the tiger. About 20 minutes later, at 1720 hours, a Jet Airways liveried aircraft came. I thought it was the Jet Airways flight from Delhi, but it turned out to be our aircraft! My turn to fly on the hybrid! The aircraft was in full Jet Airways colours, but with ‘Jetlite’ decals on it. Aircraft was VT-JLE, earlier with Ryanair.

BOARDING
At 1745 our flight along with the IndiGo flight had started boarding. Flight 6E-324 to CCU had its doors closed, ready to depart. IndiGo had separate security checks for their passengers. They were boarding from Gate 2, while we were boarding from Gate 3.


Hybrid for me!!

FLIGHT DETAILS
AIRLINE/FLIGHT NUMBER: Jetlite (S2/RSH) S2-115 (9W-7043)
REGISTRATION/AIRCRAFT TYPE: VT-JLE/ Boeing 737-8AL
SEAT: 22F Economy (Single Class)
SCHEDULED DEPARTURE: 1705 hours, RESCHEDULED DEPARTURE: 1745 ACTUAL DEPARTURE: 1805 hours.
SCHEDULED ARRIVAL: 1830 hours, RESCHEDULED ARRIVAL: 1905 ACTUAL ARRIVAL: 1935 hours
LOADS (ESTIMATED): Y= 100%


Picture from Jetphotos.net by Mr. Natin Nair

As we reached near the aircraft, VT-INF had its engines started. We were the one of the last ones to board. There were 2 F/A’s welcoming us onboard, from Door 2L. The seats were the same as Jet Airways Konnect’s Boeing 737-800’s. I and Grand mum took our seats, while VT-INF was at Runway 14, all ready to take off. A Religare Beech Craft VT-RSN was parked beside us.


VT-INF preparing for take off...


Tarmac view..


The private aircraft..


November Foxtrot is on its way to CCU!

The start up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sm_ZbH373Y

DEPARTURE
After a quick boarding process, doors were armed, and at 1805 hours, the CFM56 engines were fired up. There was yet another child sitting behind me. As we taxied down towards Runway 14, the kid behind said this, looking at the winglet: “Mummy, Daddy, look the wing is going up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down.......” He kept on telling this until we turned at the end of the runway.

The CFM56 engines were applied full power, and after using most of the Runway, we took off, heading west for Mumbai. There were luckily only a few clouds as we headed out of Nagpur.

Take off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwJJ4J8B-Ko

INFLIGHT
It suddenly started to get dark outside. Before the ‘ByteLite’ food service started, all the passengers were given a Jet Shoppe scratch card and a Booklet. I didn’t take one. As the food service started, I took a Raisin Chicken Sandwich, Butter Cookies and a glass of water. Not many takers for the food service, so the service was concluded pretty fast. The sun suddenly came out, giving out a lot of rays inside the 737. As Dad went by, going to the wash room, he asked us if we got the Jet Shoppe booklet. He told me to take two of them, because there were interesting things in it. I called the F/A for a booklet, who came pretty quickly. Thinking that I would ask for a glass of water, he had a glass in his hand. I told him: ‘Can I have 2 Jet Shoppe booklets please?’ He said: ‘Sure sir, here’s a glass of water for you’. ‘Thanks’ I said. I scratched the card, in which I got a Dining Table set. I didn’t need it!


Climbing out..


Banking..


DARKNESS!!






B.O.B food...












Wasn't useful for me

[i]ARRIVAL[/i]
Approach started a few minutes later, in which we encountered heavy turbulence. The kid behind me treated it as a roller coaster ride. It was raining heavily as we approached. As we landed smoothly, the rain disappeared. We made a slow and steady taxi towards a parking near runway 14-32. Again, I was the last one to get off. We arrived at the arrivals area in Terminal 1B. The bags took a lot of time to arrive. In the meantime, Mum went and claimed a Sandwich Grill (which we had to give to my brother, as he was about to stay alone in Mumbai). We came out, where it was getting extremely dark.














Sandwich maker..

Approach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGCHL5W1ZGw

Landing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLUSVO15ABw

Interior: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSfvBVR7-wQ

Bus ride : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih84Aiueq9k&feature=channel&list=UL


This was an unscheduled trip, so I had to get back to studies for my entrance exams in different schools in Colombo, but only after seeing Jenson Button’s brilliant win the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix that night . Jetlite is just like any other low fare airline. Nothing too special, not so bad either. It’s terrible that they don’t stick to their timings, getting us more than an hour late on both occasions. It is rumoured that Jetlite will completely disappear and become Jet Airways Konnect. VT-JLE is a proof that it will happen, but no one knows when. Jetlite (I think) is an airline for two types of people: 1. Jet Privilege members, and 2. People who do not get seats on other LCC’s. It’s not a bad airline after all, considering the reviews other people give.
Regards
Jbalonso777

Link to next TR: http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=12463
_________________
http://www.youtube.com/c/JishnuBasu777

[sumantra]

Jishnu, thanks for yet another nice trip report. The personal touch that you add to the descriptions, with conversations, and observations, make sit very enjoyable to read. Further, thanks for including a large number of videos too, to make us feel the action unravelling in front of us.
Some minor observations:
- The superb A.net photograph of Capt D'Souza: we are lucky to have him on our forum!
- NAG has two aerobridges, not three. If you saw NAG in the daylight, do not miss the old Continental B720B with the earlier Atlanta Skylarks appearing amidst the fading livery.
- [Caution: self-advertisement included, in what follows, among other things] I have some descriptions of the NAG terminal: both the old (from the outside) as well as the new, in two trip reports. Another one should follow in the next few months, since I had a trip there, 22-22 Jan this year (2012).
Going Bananas over Oranges: Nagpur, Aug'11
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic12333.html
DEL-NAG-NDC, NDC-BOM-DEL on G8
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/airlinersindia-ftopic10169.html
Do also check out Ojas's superb PNQ-NAG trip report:
Cheers, Sumantra.

[HAWK21M]

Is that a cloth rag mop besides the right girt bar on the door......
_________________
Think of the Brighter side !!!

[rutvij]

^ Mel, I was wondering what that was! And also note the Tape (Clothed Airline Tape) that they have applied/nailed across the Door's window. Wonder what are these for?

Well documented, Jishnu. Lucky enough to fly on the Eye-browed 737 in the recent times. Loving the spate of TRs we are getting from everyone over the past coupla months. Good TR, brilliant low light pics of the Monsoon Sunset, considering that the Video was shot in total darkness. And fair amount of details and levity to go along with it. What more could one ask for?

Loved the part about the Old Couple the most.

To all the 9W followers here, how many 737s/738s still have the Eye-brow windows?

@Dr. Sumantra: Agree with your point. Videos really do bring Life to a Trip Reporting. Maybe we Forummers here could contribute and gift you a Brand New DIGITAL SLR, that captures videos as well.
We are missing out on a lot of great Decent-Res pics also you know!

- Rutvij

[sumantra]

[ameya]

Any idea what was the delay on account off ? OR was it the standard announcement - late arrival of incoming a/c

[Nimish]

Another super TR - thanks a lot!
_________________
We miss you Nalini!

[jbalonso777]

[sumantra]

Thanks, Jishnu - I wish I knew as much as you did, about planes, their registrations, and specific features!
Cheers, Sumantra.

[jbalonso777]

[Spiderguy252]

Those wildlife shots take the cake in this one, thanks for sharing.

That tiger shot was especially quality.
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Yeah.

[jbalonso777]