Airliners-India.com

[jbalonso777]

Hello and welcome to the last part of this 4 TR series, wherein I finally return to Colombo from Mumbai. It all began with an awesome flight from Colombo to Mumbai on VT-JFQ, which was followed by a flight on Jet's newest bird, VT-JTB It all went very wrong very soon as drama unfolded on the Delhi-Mumbai flight. With Jet reaching a new high, and then crashing to a low, it was all to play for.....

FLIGHT #4: JET AIRWAYS 9W256 MUMBAI-COLOMBO 19TH JANUARY 2015
THE TRANSFER EXPERIENCE…..AGAIN
We were taken out of the Mumbai Terminal 1B arrivals, past an electronic barricade separating the departures and arrivals. The GVK person there happily obliged as we were taken to the parked bus right in front. It looked to be in a similar run-down condition as the bus which got me from T2 to T1B.

Onboard


Arming doors!

We departed from T1B towards T2, going past T1A. Quite a bit of traffic was present in front of the Sahara Star, so rather than turning right onto the Western Expressway Highway, we went left. Towards Bandra and the like. It was a fun and cold bus ride as we went past the airport boundary, and finally took a u-turn under the bridge at the junction which takes you towards BKC, close to the footbridge. Yup, a default Mumbai tour

Airport boundary!


Oh, Mumbai...

We finally made it towards the International terminal, much to the fright of a young man (probably a bit older than me..), as he asked Dad if we were indeed heading towards Terminal 2. While I was enjoying this Mumbai drive, I was disappointed. Ever since 2011, when I moved into Colombo, I always wanted to be in the transfer buses within the airport boundary. But oh well….

Close to the New Airport Colony, a tunnel brightly lit with signs of purple lights took us straight on to the six-lane approach road with the palm tress. This was good. No sort of traffic at all

THE SPECTACULAR TERMINAL 2!
One big turn followed, and what I saw afterwards was truly mesmerizing. I couldn’t believe where I was! The size of HKG, maybe bigger. The lighting of DXB, maybe brighter. I couldn’t believe that the Mumbai Terminal 2 was right in front of me. Back in 2007, I wouldn’t have ever believed such a structure would ever take shape, let alone 7 years later!



Oh man!

The size though…well, if a passenger got off at the wrong gate, a long walk would follow, no doubt. But the signs were more or less very clearly marked, no issues. And all electronic, so making any changes should be straightforward for MIAL. One thing that didn’t change: the number of people. Absolutely amazing, the sea of life! But thanks to the much higher roof of T2, it didn’t feel cramped like the old T2, not one bit.



9W check in area

IMMIGRATION AND SECURITY
We headed off to the Jet Airways counters to pick up our baggage tags. Security was up next, and this took a while because annoyingly:
a) I had to get my laptop out of its case. I asked the CISF guy why, because I didn’t have to the same in MAA/BLR/DEL/BOM T1B, but he just gave me a rude look. Well; new-beyond-belief terminal or not, you’re still in India after all.

Security check, followed by immigration

Comprehensive screening was going on for a bag placed just after mine, so unfortunately, my bag was stuck in there, going in out of the x-ray machine along with the bag in question. A good 5 minutes went there, damn it
….and they found nothing in that bag, just saying.

Immigration was next and this was a pleasant surprise. No, not only did the immigration person find a new page to put the stamp in, but almost ALL of the immigration counters were open, so the lines were relatively short. This was awesome!

CLIPPER LOUNGE
Straight after immigration is the duty free, taking you straight through. A plethora of shops, people, information boards and a massive waiting area follow next. What I was walking through was absolutely awesome, I couldn’t believe I was in Mumbai only!

Duty free



A quick look at the impressive FIDS - 9W256 would depart from Gate 86C, which I automatically presumed was a bus gate, because there were other narrow body flights departing from here (9W to BKK, DXB, DOH, SIN etc SG to DXB, CA to PVG and all)

What I found interesting, a true testament to Indian aviation was this: Air India logos had the Silver Star of Star Alliance alongside, while Jet Airways logos had the golden triangle of Etihad Partners, while the odd Vistara logos were placed here and there. And all you need to do is look back to 2012 when Indian aviation was in a real mess: hell knows what Jet was up to, AI got rejected by *A, Kingfisher were well and truly gone….and early 2015, in a new terminal, this was looking awesome.

Oh wait, back to the lounge, hehe. The lounge is located on Level 3 I think it was. As the lift opened, a huge banner was put up: behind that lay what I believe was parts of the domestic T2. A friendly agent was manning the counter as he redirected people to the departure gates one floor lower (gates 85/86) with a smile, while welcoming people inside. With Dad’s card, I could gain access to the lounge.

He went off for a foot massage, while I started my rant on the WhatsApp group. I once again calmed myself down, knowing there are bad days in aviation, too. Another thing I was impressed with - wifi. Wifi was available at almost all points within T2, and with some pretty decent speed, AND it would connect without a fuss. Awesome!

I had an hour to kill while Dad was away, after which I’d go back up to the main departures level for some spotting. I killed this hour by writing parts of this TR and…eating. I had 2 small meals, yeah.
Selection was pretty decent, I was happy. I liked how there was a huge fridge with so many drinks! Both Coke and Pepsi, Sprite, Fanta, 1 liter tetra packs of juice (a variety!), bottles of water and beer.


Meal 1 - keema pav and Sprite


Meal 2 - Jeera rice and Dal, with kokum juice

CONSERVATIVE SPOTTING…..AGAIN
I headed upstairs as soon as Dad came. I had missed out the Singapore Airlines A380. Yes, again, seeing an A380 in India would be very big for me. I hoped to at least see the Emirates A380 that morning. I was feeling quite tired to be honest, I wanted to finish whatever spotting I could…and rest a bit. I glanced through the art exhibition on display at T2, and headed for the glass nearby: a Delta Air Lines A330-300 was being pulled in by a tug, while Vistara’s A320 VT-TTC was parked right in front of me! By now, I had seen 100% of Vistara’s fleet on the day (as I write this, VT-TTD/F has been delivered). She was there, parked quietly. In the moonlight. Waiting for the morning to arrive, when she’ll head back into the air.
Other wide bodies included an AI B77W heading for EWR, 2 9W B77Ws heading to BRU/EWR and HKG, and a BA B744 in the distance.



If you see closely, you'll see a Delta A330 there somewhere...yeah, that's how sleepy I was....


Only Boeings, thats all


Vistara's VT-TTC!


The mighty Boeing 777 - with the Star Alliance logo!


Jet's 777 to either LHR or HKG...

I walked a bit towards the AI B77W, and saw there was an extra security. Hmm, this must be the dedicated US gate then. And yes, loads looked fairly decent, no doubts. A long walk towards the BA plane lay ahead, as an escalator took the passengers downwards. As much as I love to spot and click night photographs, I just didn’t have the energy to go all the way. I headed back to the massive duty free area, and went through the electronics store. Despite my tiredness, I was loving T2!






I headed back to the lounge for one last final meal before finally heading downstairs towards the gates for boarding.

Meal 3 - chicken sandwich, cookies and Pepsi

BOARDING
It was about 0115 hours, almost 15 minutes before boarding time when we went down to the bus-boarding gates 85A/B/C/D and 86A/B/C/D. 86A was assigned for us. Another sea of people here as the narrow body planes were preparing for their departure. Jet Airways flights to Singapore and Bangkok were boarding while we arrived there. A few minutes later, the SpiceJet and Jet Airways flights to Dubai were boarding. Yup, SG was late. Very late. But the loads were good. Good loads doesn't always reflect good yields, something which is not the case with SG51/52 (PNQ-SHJ-PNQ), as they are the undisputed money makers for SpiceJet.





0130 came and went, as the boarding for the Dubai 9W flight started. I was sure of a delay for us. I walked around exploring the Terminal a bit more. Almost everyone was asleep!

0201 hours, boarding started from 86A (not 86C), and the few buses brought were filled up to the brim. With signs of the Sinhala dialect getting closer and closer, my heart fell a million storeys as I saw a certain A320 registered 4R-ABK. The SriLankan Airlines flight from CMB had just arrived, well before time. Oh dear God why! The Jet Airways 777 to Hong Kong was just taxiing past us.


WHY! WHY!! WHY!!!



The bus drove us past the Delta A330, the beautiful Vistara A320 and then behind other planes such as the.... UL A320, a Cathay A330, Lufthansa B747, before finally making a turn towards the narrow body stands. The Air China A319 in some special livery was being pushed back, while we got so close... Ever so close to VT-JBE.

WHICH PLANE?
Yep, VT-JBE. The very plane that took me on this very flight in 2012. But thankfully, I saw passengers getting off rather than getting on, and many empty buses. That's when I knew, JBE wouldn't be taking me to Colombo. Again.
Another plane was there. A quick glance at the noosewheel door. FP. A new registration, another Sky Interior flight. VT-JFP, a 1.2 year old bird would be taking me to Colombo. And for once, the Sky Interior excitement died down a bit. Maybe I was tired after the long day. Or simply, maybe the fact that I've been on a decent number of BSI planes has got me content. Either way, mixed feelings because I checked on FR24 in the lounge: VT-JFH operated 9W384. What might've been 4 out of 4 BSI flights. What might've been 22 new registrations in a row!


YES! A380 spotted!

Boarding took some time. All passengers were let out on to the tarmac, all had to board from the front door. Like VT-JGD getting stair number 124, JFP here got stair number 131, so 9W131 was written rather largely. This caused a bit of confusion, as some Sri Lankan people came and asked me if indeed I was on 9W256 to Colombo, to which I replied in the affirmative, and told them that number is just to indicate ground vehicle particulars, the latter which they did not understand. I wouldn't blame them.

Only one stair! Don't we all love tarmac boarding?


131 causing trouble!

As I waited on the tarmac, I saw the Air China A319 start up and depart.



JBE from DXB




I walked up the stairs and we had to be held up a bit longer as passengers took their time to settle down. Boarding was slow. But a word on the crew - 2 AM in the morning and they had a smile like it was only a mid day flight! This truly was awesome. Not one yawn, as far as I could see. I took my seat 21A. 2 gentlemen were seated right next to me, well on the sleepy side.

A strange purple effect!



Nice and new J class seat!



2 crew members addressed the people sitting at the emergency exit windows. I overheard one of them, requesting the passenger in question to stay awake during both take off and landing. After all, this was a red eye flight. Nothing much happened really afterwards, as I found one particularly annoying mosquito doing the rounds in the plane... Hmm, the first time I've had to spend time with one of them in any plane in BOM, turns out the allegations were true!

DEPARTURE
We were 17 minutes late. So pushback commenced at 0247 hours. It felt good to be holding the camera, recording the start up sounds. It felt good to be back in a window seat! Quickly both CFM56 engines were brought into life as we made a moderate speed taxi towards runway 27. Went past the Emirates A380, and another IC A319.. Perhaps the same one I saw while taxiing on my flight to DEL?

We made a very powerful take off into the night skies, just before rotation I saw every single cabin light of VT-ALH on, and in full swing. We made the bank towards the South, and set course for Sri Lanka.




IN FLIGHT
The blue mood lighting was on from take off right until the end of the meal service. I was still amazed as to how the crew kept a smile through out this all!
At 0323 hours, I ask for a non vegetarian meal. Small tray again, plastic cutlery again. Despite this being 2015, one thing didn't change - the meal contents. All the same, in July 2012, July 2013 and January 2015. A bun and chicken keema. And fruits. I ate all of it rather quickly, with a glass of apple juice (I had to ask for it, wasn't being offered..). At 0333 hours, I was done with the meal.



Cabin during meal service


After meal service - good for some passenger eye-shut!

ARRIVAL
Announcements for arrival at 0434 hours, we descended rapidly towards Colombo - we were pretty quick even on short finals! However, at 0451 hours, a very smooth touchdown was executed by the pilots, and we began the long taxi towards the gate. On the way, one of the two CFM56 engines were turned off - a first for me on the Boeing 737 at least!



Emergency exit seat - the closest I'll ever get to it!




Thank you, JFP!

Took me a while to get off the plane, but I made up lost time as I filled in the immigration form while in line only - and believe it or not, immigration was QUICK QUICK QUICK! I did see that one specific person with an annoying smile, who I saw previously, and played the racist card as he'd only give preference to the white people, taking his time for the Sri Lankan people (unnecessary chatting and long breaks), while an unacceptable behavior for us Indians. Really sad. Oh well.

Baggage came out pretty soon on Belt 4, we were on our way home and I crashed on the bed - after the customary windmill-tail wagging welcome by Dobby at home!

CONCLUSION
First off, I'll write about the airports. CMB and DEL T3 haven't changed a bit ever since my first visits to both in 2011. But Mumbai's T2 has made some significant leaps and bounds! The new T2 is a blend of many airports around the world. Beautiful, extravagant, glitzy. When I first saw this taking shape in 2011, I honestly didn't feel it would be ready to go in early 2014! Awesome, truly awesome. But now, my minor rant: the arrival was a mess. No proper signs, not enough staff helping passengers. But that's all really.

Now, on to Jet Airways. Jet's been struggling here for long, and that's consistency. Even during their 2012 nadir, Jet had some flashes of their past. On this trip, I found more signs of their brilliance than 2008!
But here's the thing: something or the other had to wrong on all flights.
Except 9W255, and after that amazing flight, I knew it would be difficult for Jet themselves to replicate that level of service, because that benchmark was too high for themselves! Not condescending them, but after all, if was Jet themselves who set the bar high.
9W307, awesome crew, on time, slightly dirty aircraft and a slightly disappointing meal.
9W354 went wrong in every aspect, but the crew and to a very low extent the meal sort of made up for it. Again, I'm NOT blaming the check in agent. Its not his fault, at all.
9W256 showed one sort of consistency us passengers wouldn't like: the exact same meal over the years! I've had only 3 types of meals on my 7 flights on 9W256. But the crew, who would return on 9W255, I was amazed. The fact they kept a smile on during those hours of the morning! Take a bow, Jet crew, take a bow.

So with food seemingly heading up in quality, the 2007/8 crew being back, IT (computers, not the airline) still being a mess, I guess I've highlighted almost everything I've wanted to, and therefore, reach the end of this trip report.
I hope you enjoyed reading it!

My next trip would be far away, in July. For now, the confirmed (in green) flights are:

Between now and July, there's a lot to do, and with little time, things are going to get very interesting. But it should be paid off...with the flights I've mentioned here.

Till then, fly safe!

Regards
Jish

VIDEO TRIP REPORTS
9W354 DEL-BOM 18th Jan 2015
9W307 BOM-DEL 16th Jan 2015
9W255 CMB-BOM 16th Jan 2015

2015
Quick trip to DEL on 9W (3/4): 9W354 DEL-BOM
Quick trip to DEL on 9W (2/4): 9W307 BOM-DEL
Quick trip to DEL on 9W (1/4): 9W255 CMB-BOM

2014
4 short flights: Part 4 - SpiceJet's Q400 hop back home.
4 short flights: Part 3 - The AirAsia India flight to MAA
4 short flights: Part 2 - Conflicted thoughts on 9W-K to BLR
4 short flights: Part 1 - UL quad-jet joy to Chennai!
Short(er) TR: A final flash of brilliance from SQ!
Back to Singapore on the upper deck: SQ consistency!
Finally the B747: return to Hong Kong on the EVA combi!
(Short): The Taiwan High Speed Rail Experience (railways, non-aviation)
Venturing new land in Taiwan: Taipei in 101 pictures! (non-aviation)
Venturing new land in Taiwan: to Taipei on the MD90!
Discovering more in Hong Kong, drama in Hong Kong! (non-aviation)
Discovering more in Hong Kong, venturing new land in Taiwan!
Voyage scolaire: Paris pour une semaine avec SriLankan!
Mumbai with my mates: madness multiplying massacre?!

2013
2 A's and an A - beloved Bangalore, cheery in Chennai!
Jaw-rattling to joyful Jaffna!
Dreamy Diversion to Delhi: Mumbai, here I come!
Finishing off Singapore: Comprehensively Contrasting Cathay!

2012
Kolkata during the Durga Puja
Quick quick! Formula One in Singapore!
I'm coming home! (Flight 4 of 4).
I'm coming home! (Flight 3 of 4).
I'm coming home! (Flight 2 of 4)
I'm coming home! (Intro and flight 1 of 4)
Emirates to South Africa! (4/4)
Emirates to South Africa! (3/4)
12 days in South Africa. And a flight with Kulula.
Emirates to South Africa! (2/4)
Emirates to South Africa! (1/4)

2011
An International Transit with 9W: BOM-MAA-CMB
They know how to be brilliant! 9W BOM-CMB-BOM
Konnecting to Bhubaneshwar
16 Hours in Colombo
Mumbai-Colombo-Mumbai on Jet Airways
Nagpur (not its oranges) on Jetlite
North Bengal (And CCU) 54 pictures & few videos (9W/IT)

2010
Kolkata during the Durga Puja (2010)
International on Jet Airways: Hong Kong! (2010)
Brainstorming! CCU-BOM (via BBI & HYD) on S2 & 6E

SPOTTING PHOTOGRAPHS
New Delhi
Hong Kong 2
Hong Kong 1
Negombo 2
Negombo 1
_________________
http://www.youtube.com/c/JishnuBasu777

[GF1011]

Well written. Thank you very much!

[jbalonso777]

[dan]

Great TR jbalonso777!!
BOM T-2 looks brilliant. Hope to fly that LH 744 one day(maybe even the A380 if they are brought in by then). By the way, I will be in CCU on the 13th too(9W619 from BOM and onward to AJL).
Regards
Dan

[jbalonso777]

[dan]

Yes jbalonso777, an ATR 72 it is!!! And hopefully a VT-JF* aircraft from BOM that morning. I still have to register a sky interior 737 flight.
Regards,
Dan

[sumantra]

The much-awaited concluding Part 4/4!
I was wondering what had kept you away form the forum for such a long time, though I can guess it, given what you have told me on the forum, as well as on emails. You do have a very busy time ahead, and a huge lot to look for in July (and so do we, TR-lovers! )
Once again, a lovely soft introduction, with a not-staring-at-you-in-the-face links, for those who may have missed th e magic in the previous parts.
I am all with you, an air-side terminal transfer would have been simply awesome! Sahar T2 looks as awesome as ever. I have very sweet memories of my one arrival and departure form the airport, circa 9/11 yes!) and 9/12, 2014.
`the immigration person find a new page to put the stamp in': ha ha!
Why is every one out to consume pages in our passports?
My 9/12 trip saw me in the temporary lounge (for the first time!), and even that seemed magical for this seasoned Economy class traveller.
`windmill tail-wagging': great description!
Thanks once again for a lovely TR!
Cheers, Sumantra.

[sri_bom]

Again a brilliant report which concludes your four part series.

I agree the Bombay airport is quite mesmerizing specially the new express flyover that brings you in style. Although once you enter the gate area I found it still is smaller compared to other international airports. It would be interesting to see if GVK wins the bid for the New Bombay airport the design theme they come up with.

The meal sounds pretty decent at the lounge, along with the long list of drinks. I generally avoid soft drinks if it is a midnight flight as it keeps me awake 

Jet Airways missed opportunities to be part of the bigger alliance as they kept flip flopping their strategy. I am not sure how the Ethiad partners is going to help as they will most likely end up funneling traffic to Abu Dhabi rather than getting any transit passengers. Time will tell how this pans out for Jet.

The Delta 330 was a nice catch does this plane continue on to the USA after a stop somewhere in Europe?

Sri_Bom

[jbalonso777]

[jbalonso777]

Hey all

I've uploaded the videos on to YouTube for this flight

Pushback, start up and the many wide bodies at Mumbai: http://youtu.be/Hc4QXq_GVMI
Take off (you'll notice VT-ALH with lights on): http://youtu.be/OiXnjcpOxDc
Landing and arrival into Colombo, single engine taxi: http://youtu.be/Zk5Q8mwzUZA

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

[stealthpilot]

Nice end to the trip
- Great pics of BOM airside, I love the DL 330s (and many others)
- The seating area looks great.
- Single engine taxi, quite a few airlines are doing that now (when they can of course). I'm not sure which side they shut down, our resident 737 pilot can tell us that.
_________________
eP007

[sumantra]

Nice videos, Jishnu: I always feel a pinch of sadness leaving Mumbai, and watching the sights and sounds associated with that!
The single engine taxi: didn't AI do it with their B707s in the 1960s/70s, at least?
Cheers, Sumantra.

[jbalonso777]

[jbalonso777]

[jbalonso777]

Hey all!

Video TR for this part has been uploaded.

http://youtu.be/yE_Wkg-C5uA

And now, till June at least, this marks the end of my significant activity on the forum (its been dreadfully low over the recent past anyways. )

I hope you enjoy it, please do share your comments!

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

[sumantra]

[jbalonso777]

Oh man, I had some unfinished replying business!

[sumantra]