-------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Wishing all Goanetters | | a Prosperous | | and | | Happy New Year - 2006 | | Goanet - http://www.goanet.org | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pilot terror and terminal conditions The Times of India Saturday, January 07, 2006 11:54:59 pm
Civil aviation has become a contradiction in terms. How rude to tell a planeload of people that they are going to Delhi, and then leave them shivering and hungry for 12 hours inside the aircraft - in Lucknow. Okay, no one expected Chef Imtiaz's celebrated kakori or even Tunde ke kabab, but at least they could have been served a Tar-Mac. Cabin announcements always smarmily "regret any inconvenience caused by the delay" of an hour, or even part thereof. But no one seemed to have apologised for this loss of half-a-day, sleep, calories, connecting flights, business, patience, and probably bladder control. All that the stranded passengers got was lofty altitude, I mean, attitude. And the crew walked off as if they'd just been poached by a rival airline. The rah-rah Group's morning anthem is unlikely to be "Sahara hoon, aasman ka tara hoon" since its planes have been more on earth than in sky. Last October, its Boei-ng overshot Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji runway, and blocked air traffic for a week. Clearly, Subroto Roy's revived state of he-alth hasn't been contagious for his airline. It continues to suffer from a variety of ILS. Diversions are so common on all airlines that frequent fliers routinely prepare for remote contingencies. Those headed for Delhi carry names and numbers of contacts in Lucknow; and those supposedly flying to Mumbai do ditto with, say, Ahmedabad. Standard operating procedure is: check address book, and then ask for check fare. Shameless as they've become over subjecting us to every atrocity - from inordinate delays to microwaved upma in the terminal throes of radiation - airlines may now actually charge us an extension fare for having taken us further than our ticket permitted. Just let them try it. I'll go for their throats - at full throttle. There are such jams in the so-called Open Skies that Air Traffic Control too is an oxymoron. Indeed 'oxy' or any other variant of moronic behavior seems to be in an advanced stage at all levels of this so-called service. How else to explain the dense IQ which hampers visibility to foresee fog in winter-time Delhi? By the way, our elected representatives there do not have the foggiest right through the year. Indeed, most governments fly on autopilot. This is not the same as being navigated by remote control. Indeed both sectors are so interchangeable that some people actually think that UPA is the United Pilots' Alliance, or that NDA stands for National Delays Association. The mix-up is not surprising. Governments too have to deal with quotas and seat-sharing arrangements before they get permission to fly into new territories. A rise in electoral pressure automatically leads to masks falling off. However, in the political cabin, no one is likely to help weaker sections first; there's too much of a panicked rush to save your own face. Remember to cover your nose and mouth, and seethe normally. Allies masquerading as life-jackets seldom cushion you when you land in deep water. The connection just got closer. With so many scandals hitting the airy pockets of our netas, all parties must put themselves in an upright position - or securely fasten their seat-belts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Goa - 2005 Santosh Trophy Champions | | | | Support Soccer Activities at the grassroots in our villages | | Vacationing in Goa this year-end - Carry and distribute Soccer Balls | --------------------------------------------------------------------------
