Summer is right here. And when summer cruises through, travel plans decide to invade. So of course, it is destinations galore. Except, every time one has to clock long miles by air, the thought of long flights makes every other thought turn turtle. Or maybe it is the jet-lag which follows, that plays spoilsport and disrupts the excitement and immediate schedule of one's travel plans.
I'm someone who seizes every opportunity to cuddle and play with babies. Babies are soft and warm; and the cute species that they are, they also make for the best stress busters. As honest and factual as the previous statement happens to be, it is also an open-ended one. No guesses then, that baby passengers are a big no-no. My dislike for baby travelers can be attributed to a flight I was on, sometime back, when an infant had resolved to cause a mental riot on the aircraft; maybe so that he could draw everyone's attention to how his bassinet had no comfort, while the babies seated in the first class were having a gala time in their comfy and spacious bassinets. Also, I'm not sure if it's just me, but late night flights seem to be the most adventurous ones, when it comes to tracking one's actions and emotions. Every time I have boarded a late night/midnight flight, the importance of my bed in my life has increased substantially. The compact and if-you-recline-the-passenger-behind-gives-you-dirty-looks seats just add to the misery of every economy class traveler. As a kid, I always admired air travel. I don't know if I was lured by the goodies that a kid receives on flights or by the air of sophistication and the sense of everybody showing high levels of discipline or at least pretending to do so until the aircraft landed, when it began to look more like a Mumbai local. Window seats are great when one wants to remain oblivious to the on-flight happenings, until that extra glass of water makes you rush to the loo, inconveniencing everyone on your way out. Unlike the scenario on every train journey, on a flight, one is unknowingly expected to head straight to where the lavatory is, without making any animated gestures towards anybody on the way. Like anybody who has traveled by trains in large groups would know, there are always a few people from the group who love to jump compartments. These are the people who, when they want to use the toilet, leave their seats minutes in advance, just so that there is ample time to greet everyone on the way and have a cup or two of tea, if insisted upon.
My vote always goes to the helpless flight attendants who are at the receiving end of many a passenger's frustration and high-handedness and still have to smile like they are pleased to have them on board. It is both annoying and hilarious, in equal measure, to see some passengers ignore the flight crew, when they prepare to spring out of their respective seats before every landing. I seriously wish to know if these people really think that the flight is going to take-off without letting them exit. How I wish I could know the answer, someday! The other alternative to understanding the reason behind this oh-so-silly action is to get feedback forms filled by passengers, just to know if that is their way of retaliating for a terrible flying experience. Whatever the case, these are the same people who believe in halting the road traffic when they get into a minor accident with another vehicle.
I'm looking forward to a journey when every passenger will have a separate cabin, which will almost be akin to a private journey. The cabin should be inaccessible to any view or sound of babies throwing a fit, and fat aunties encroaching on the other person's seat through the arm rest, while using the reclining mechanism. Meanwhile, I hear that the real reason why Kingfisher Airlines got grounded was the free flowing booze, that left the passengers incapacitated. Guess, extreme sophistication brings its own perils.
I'm someone who seizes every opportunity to cuddle and play with babies. Babies are soft and warm; and the cute species that they are, they also make for the best stress busters. As honest and factual as the previous statement happens to be, it is also an open-ended one. No guesses then, that baby passengers are a big no-no. My dislike for baby travelers can be attributed to a flight I was on, sometime back, when an infant had resolved to cause a mental riot on the aircraft; maybe so that he could draw everyone's attention to how his bassinet had no comfort, while the babies seated in the first class were having a gala time in their comfy and spacious bassinets. Also, I'm not sure if it's just me, but late night flights seem to be the most adventurous ones, when it comes to tracking one's actions and emotions. Every time I have boarded a late night/midnight flight, the importance of my bed in my life has increased substantially. The compact and if-you-recline-the-passenger-behind-gives-you-dirty-looks seats just add to the misery of every economy class traveler. As a kid, I always admired air travel. I don't know if I was lured by the goodies that a kid receives on flights or by the air of sophistication and the sense of everybody showing high levels of discipline or at least pretending to do so until the aircraft landed, when it began to look more like a Mumbai local. Window seats are great when one wants to remain oblivious to the on-flight happenings, until that extra glass of water makes you rush to the loo, inconveniencing everyone on your way out. Unlike the scenario on every train journey, on a flight, one is unknowingly expected to head straight to where the lavatory is, without making any animated gestures towards anybody on the way. Like anybody who has traveled by trains in large groups would know, there are always a few people from the group who love to jump compartments. These are the people who, when they want to use the toilet, leave their seats minutes in advance, just so that there is ample time to greet everyone on the way and have a cup or two of tea, if insisted upon.
My vote always goes to the helpless flight attendants who are at the receiving end of many a passenger's frustration and high-handedness and still have to smile like they are pleased to have them on board. It is both annoying and hilarious, in equal measure, to see some passengers ignore the flight crew, when they prepare to spring out of their respective seats before every landing. I seriously wish to know if these people really think that the flight is going to take-off without letting them exit. How I wish I could know the answer, someday! The other alternative to understanding the reason behind this oh-so-silly action is to get feedback forms filled by passengers, just to know if that is their way of retaliating for a terrible flying experience. Whatever the case, these are the same people who believe in halting the road traffic when they get into a minor accident with another vehicle.
I'm looking forward to a journey when every passenger will have a separate cabin, which will almost be akin to a private journey. The cabin should be inaccessible to any view or sound of babies throwing a fit, and fat aunties encroaching on the other person's seat through the arm rest, while using the reclining mechanism. Meanwhile, I hear that the real reason why Kingfisher Airlines got grounded was the free flowing booze, that left the passengers incapacitated. Guess, extreme sophistication brings its own perils.
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