11 January 2002
AI 101
Boeing 747-437
Mumbai CSI Airport to London Heathrow
=========================================

Friday morning sees a powerful demonstration of just what kind of demand exists for the BOM-LHR market. Air India has 744s running at 555am, 710am and 935am, all three of which were oversold. Fortunately, my dad had run into the commander of the 710am flight the previous week and had extracted a promise to hold a jumpseat for me. Accordingly, we set off from home around 415am for the 20 minute drive to the airport.

We arrived to find the line for security screening of checked bags stretching out the door. Fortunately, my dad still has some contacts, so we were promptly escorted to the front of the line, past the hundreds of folks patiently waiting as every bag was X-rayed AND hand searched. Ironically, my bags were not subjected to the hand search but had the "security screened" stickers applied on them anyway. Don't you feel safe?

My bags were then carried over to the Business Class checkin desks for me, where we ran into Joe, the duty manager, formerly the manager in Chicago. He told us that the 555am flight was taking 15 denied boardings, who were going to be reaccomodated on the 710am flight. Also, the 935am flight (which originates in DEL) was transferring pax who arrived early onto the 710am flight because of a higher than expected load of thru-pax out of there. All in all, things didn't bode well for the nonrev hoping for a cabin seat on the first sector.

Nonetheless, the captain arrived soon enough and signed off on my jumpseat request, so I was checked in and handed my invitation to the Maharaja Lounge. I hung around saying goodbye to my parents for a while before going through immigration into the lounge. There I ran into an old friend from Georgia Tech who was also flying to New York, and we spent a while catching up and gossiping. He then had to make some phonecalls, so I wandered over to the computers and got online to Flyertalk Chat for a while.

Around 630am, they escorted us down to gate 18 where our passports were checked again and carry-ons were X-rayed. The metal detectors beeped loudly as I walked through, but the patdown was quick and efficient. The aircraft was almost completely boarded by now (as was the 555am flight which had been delayed an hour due to a poor visibility forecast for Heathrow), so I scrambled aboard and headed back to the crew rest area to stow my luggage and hang up my jacket. I was accosted along the way by a handful of crew who recognized me and welcomed me aboard. The aircraft today was VT-ESN named "Tanjore" after the temple city (all the 744s are named after temple cities) and the overhead monitors were flashing information and pictures of Tanjore as instrumental boarding music played quietly.

Ajit, our Inflight Supervisor today, was the husband of my 5th grade teacher, and he was very excited to see me after all these years. He installed me on the 4R inboard jumpseat and told me to hang tight until he checked the final loads. Right before the doors closed, Sharon, one of the FAs who had recognized me earlier, beckoned me upstairs and into seat 17B in Business Class. Excellent? Not really. No sooner had I sat down when I was informed that we had a last minute full-fare J passenger from the 935am flight who wanted to go out on this one instead, so I had to move back downstairs. Ah, the joys of non-revving.

Back downstairs, I returned to 4R next to Sharon and chatted with her as the safety video played and we pushed back. As we turned towards runway 27, my heart skipped a beat. For the first time in my life, I saw FOUR B747-437s together (they are usually dispersed to various corners of the world). I was aboard VT-ESN with VT-EVA taxiing out as the delayed 555am flight, VT-ESP taxiing out for JED/KWI and VT-ESO on short finals from DEL (to continue to LHR as the 935am flight). The sun was just peering over the horizon and I had to fight back a tear as these magnificent machines slowly made their way to the runway. I was interrupted from this magical moment by Ajit informing me that seats 54BC were open if I would like to take them. Would I ever! I made it to the seat right as we rolled on the active runway and the captain called for takeoff stations.

Our takeoff roll was long, as is to be expected from a fully laden 747 setting off on a longhaul flight and we were airborne around 740am with an announced flying time of just over 9.5 hrs (due to airspace restrictions over Pakistan and Afghanistan our route was to take us west-by-northwest till we hit Oman, then northwest over Tabriz in Iran and then the Black Sea, followed by a Northern European routing over Ukraine, Poland, Germany and Holland). As soon as we were airborne, I settled down for a nap as the first drink service began. About 15 minutes later, I was awoken by one of the pursers named Victor, who told me that there was an airconditioning leak in row 74, so would I mind if he reseated those passengers in these seats. Not a problem said I. I headed back to row 74 and tried to get some sleep there, but the steady *drip drip* from the overhead unit was unbearable, so I gave up and headed back to the 4R jumpseat where the crew were getting the breakfast service ready.

I helped them out with prepping and later clearing the service and by then it was time for the first feature movie. This one was "American Outlaws" with Ali Larter. Fortunately it was subtitled (albeit in Hindi), so I was able to sit on the jumpseat without headphones and watch it. Of course, in an Ali Larter movie, who needs sound anyway I found it very ironic that I was ogling Ms.Larter while overflying Iran. This was followed by a Hindi movie, which I decided to skip and immersed myself in Richard Branson's autobiography instead.

About 6hrs into the flight, the crew began prepping for the lunch service. I gave them a hand setting up the carts and grabbed a tray for myself in the galley as they set out. The second English movie, "Serendipity", was screened during this service, but I was otherwise occupied with the service so I didn't have a chance to watch. Once the service was done, we still had just under 3 hrs to go, so we dragged out some empty drawers from the carts and set ourselves up with *seats* in the galley while the passengers napped. A Duty-Free sales service was also conducted for LHR passengers, but FAA security (sic) regulations would not permit sales to passengers transiting to JFK. They can, however, purchase items if they were CONNECTING on another flight into the United States, but not if they are continuing on the same flight. Now that makes sense, no?

Finally we began our descent into Heathrow and I headed to the forward lav to freshen up (rather than brave the long lines at the back). While I was away, word came down that we were gonna be in a holding pattern for another 30 minutes. I strapped down at 4R and tried to nap, but it was harder now that the cabin lights were back on and the passengers all awake and chatting. Conditions at Heathrow were atrocious and we came in CAT-IIB to runway 27R and taxied to Terminal 3 where we parked between a United 777 and the delayed VT-EVA who had landed 10 minutes before us and would be continuing to Chicago.

11 January, 2002
London, England
================

FAA security (sic) regulations now require that all passengers on same-aircraft transit to the United States through Heathrow be deplaned, re-screened and sequestered from other passengers during the transit period. Security personnel came on board and checked boarding passes to allow the London passengers to disembark first, then sealed off the jetway and disembarked the transit passengers into the departure lounge that would serve as our prison. The lounge was split down the middle between passengers who were joining at Heathrow and transit passengers and we were not permitted to have any physical contact with the passengers on the other side of the barrier. Of course, these same passengers will be sharing our metal tube for the next 7 hours during which we can have plenty of contact, but I guess this makes some idiots feel safe. ScottC was passing through LHR at the same time and had wanted to meet up, but I had known about this procedure in advance and sadly informed him that it would not be possible. Fortunately, the crew for the next segment arrived soon and saw my frustration at this arrangement, so they dragged me on board with them ahead of passenger boarding, thus sparing me yet another security check.

The Inflight Supervisor on this segment was a very dear family friend of mine, so we chatted in the crew rest before passenger boarding commenced. A few of the Heathrow staff also came on board to say hi and to ask how my dad was doing. They informed me that we would be a few seats light upstairs, so I should go ahead and settle into 17J, which I gratefully did. The Business Class purser came up to me to take my coat and introduced himself as having been posted in Australia with us back when I was 6 yrs old. Evidently I was quite the hellraiser and he had fond memories of me dragging his two daughters into stuff we shouldn't have been doing! Ah, those were the days!

As the passengers began to board, I headed to the lav to change into something more comfortable since I intended to nap on the transatlantic crossing. When I got back to my seat, there was an attractive young lady in 17K next to me. She looked very familiar, but I didn't think much about it. I pulled out my Branson book again and began reading. Suddenly, she turns towards me and asks "Excuse me, but you look very familiar". I was like, "You know, I was thinking the same thing not a minute ago". She introduced herself and the name suddenly rang a bell. She had been sitting next to me on a BOM-LHR-JFK flight three years ago! What an absolute coincidence!

11 January 2002
AI 101
Boeing 747-437
London Heathrow to New York John F. Kennedy
===========================================

Boarding took the better part of an hour, which I spent chatting with the girl next to me and sipping on the Veuve Clicquot champagne that they refilled our glasses with every few minutes. Amenity kits were also distributed, featuring a slimmed down version of the old kits except without the sewing kit, disposable razor, nail clippers and scissors. We finally pushed back about 20 minutes behind schedule with an announced flight time of exactly 7hrs to JFK. The ORD flight had pushed about 20 minutes ahead of us, but was holding short for a slot. Fortunately, our taxi time was minimal and we were airborne within minutes, with the poor Chicago flight still waiting on ground! I felt bad for them, but I've been stuck on the ORD flight often enough to gloat.

Immediately after takeoff, the crew came around with menus and then the first drink service. I reclined my seat and kicked back with a Bacardi-Coke and some delicious warm Cashew Nuts as the obligatory sitcoms played on the overhead screen. The menu was :

---

HORS D'OUERVES

Smoked Salmon with Capers
-or-
Heart of Palm with Artichokes

Garden Fresh Tossed Salad

Cream of Tomato Soup with Basil

ENTREES

Supreme of Pheasant with Morel Sauce
served with
Pan Roasted Potatoes with Garlic
Sauteed Vegetables

-or-

Chicken Nilgiri Korma
served with
Rice Pulao
Spiced Vegetables
Paratha

-or-

Shak Shahi Korma
served with
Rice Pulao
Dal
Paratha

ACCOMPANIMENTS

Yoghurt
Papad
Pickle

DESSERT

Doodhi Halwa with Rabadi
-or-
Maple and Walnut Flan with Chantilly Cream
-or-
Ice Cream

Fruit

Cheese

Chocolates

Tea
Coffee
Decaf

---

There was no seperate wine list, but the wines were Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne, an Australian Sauvignon Blanc 1999 (I wrote down the details but lost the piece of paper!) and Chateau De Montpatey Pinot Noir Bourgogne 1998.

My first choice was the Pheasant and the FA initially told me that I was able to snare the last one, but then came around and apologized 'cos one of the revenue passengers changed his mind and switched his choice, so I got stuck with the Chicken instead. Nonetheless, it was excellent, as I have come to expect of Air India's food over the years. I tucked in as the first movie "Hardball" with Keanu Reaves played. Once lunch/dinner (lunch for LHR pax, dinner for BOM pax) was done, I decided to grab some shuteye. I slept fitfully for the next 4.5 hours and when I awoke we were already over Maine with just under an hour left in the flight.

I headed to the lav to freshen up and change, returning to my seat just as the customs forms were being distributed. I had missed the snack service while I was sleeping, so I asked if they had any snacks in the galley. Sure enough, they plied me with a plate of sandwiches. My choices were Chicken Tikka, Shrimp Salad, Cheese and Lettuce or Egg and Tomato and I picked the first two. Once again, tasty and fresh. While in the galley, the purser discreetly handed me a bag with two bottles of the Pinot Noir that he had kept aside for me (to supplement the two bottles that I had been gifted on the first segment as well!). In the meanwhile, the seatbelt sign had illuminated so I grabbed my jacket from the closet and settled down as we made a picture-perfect approach onto JFK's runway 31R. We touched down at exactly 4pm and taxied to gate 22 next to the TAROM A310 that had just arrived from Bucharest and Timisoara.

I was one of the first passengers off from door 2L (after stopping to thank the crew for a great flight) and was the first to immigration, where the last TAROM passengers had already cleared. The INS agent saw my well-used passport and asked what business I was engaged in. I replied that I was an aviation consultant. He laughed and said "I'm sorry buddy, better you than me" and stamped me into the country. My bags were the first onto the conveyor, ahead of even the crew bags (the PRIORITY tags helped no doubt) and I breezed through customs, emerging into the great wide open just after 430pm, a scant 30 minutes after touchdown. The TAROM pilots were clearing customs at the same time as me, and I had to stifle a laugh at their gawdawful ugly uniforms.

11 January, 2002
New York, NY
================

My first order of business was to touch base with markbach who was coming up from Wilmington for the weekend, and we made contact. Turns out that Amtrak was delayed and his ETA to Penn Station was about the same as mine. We agreed to meet up in the main atrium at 615pm and I headed off to catch the free shuttle to the subway station.

Many visitors to New York don't realize that Howard Beach subway station (serving the A-train) is located right inside the Long Term parking lot at JFK and provides the cheapest way to get into Manhattan (also the quickest and least painful way on a Friday afternoon at 5pm). There is a free shuttle from each terminal that runs every 15 minutes, and I was lucky that one arrived within 2 minutes of my arrival at the shuttle stop. At the subway station, I called flyerwife, another beneficiary of the infamous $25 rate at the W Times Square, and she confirmed that she was safely ensconsced in her room with no problems.

The ride into town took just under an hour, and I emerged into Penn Station right after 6pm. I was very touched to see how much the "wall of wishes" at the station had grown since I first saw it on September 12. Back then it consisted of a handful of photographs and a few flowers. Now it stretched from the Duane Reade store by the 7th Avenue escalators all the way down to the main atrium. I quickly made contact with markbach and we headed off to the cab stand where we waited almost 20 minutes in line until our turn arrived. Our cab driver was Pakistani and I spent an amusing ride eavesdropping on his Urdu cellphone conversation where he dissed India repeatedly. Thats gotta be a first. A passenger eavesdropping on the driver's conversation!

We arrived at the W a few minutes later and were immediately greeted by the "cast members" who escorted us up to the check-in desks on the 7th level. The bar was very crowded, but checkin was smooth enough. As a Starwood Gold Preferred, I got an upgrade from a "wonderful" room to a "spectacular" room, while markbach got a "corner spectacular". I didn't care. My day was already 26 hrs old and I just wanted a bed to sleep in. My room was on the 45th floor and had a wonderful view of the Marriott Marquis across the street. markbach's corner room on the 52nd floor also had a spectacular view of Times Square.

I quickly explored my room, finding it very comfortable. markbach has an excellent photo diary of the hotel, so I'll let you look for yourselves. Suffice it to say that the room featured pretty much everything that you could dream of, and a lot of stuff that you couldn't even dream of when drunk. For example, the room service menu had an option for a dessert called "Sex Between The Sheets", consisting of 2 pints of ice-cream, chocolate sauce, nuts, whipped cream, a plastic sheet and a disposable camera. Wow.

We had made plans to meet up for dinner, so we met up with flyerwife and headed out about 30 mins later. Our top choice was Ruby Foo's, but there was a 60 minute wait for a table (I didn't think I would be able to stay awake that long!), so we headed to TEXAS TEXAS instead. We tucked into Margaritas and Tex-Mex cuisine and then headed back to the hotel where we went our seperate ways with promises to meet up for breakfast the next morning.

12 January, 2002
New York, NY
================

I had tentative plans to meet up with UAX@SFO who had planned on nonrevving out to New York for the day, but unfortunately his flight had been oversold and he couldn't make it. Anyway, I awoke around 8am and headed out to breakfast with markbach and flyerwife again. We then wandered around Midtown for a while, stopping at Rockefeller Center for a bit and also at the Teuscher chocolate store where we bought some chocolates to mail to RDURes1. We also stopped at a news stand to enable me to purchase the latest edition of "Airways" magazine. Back to the hotel for lunch where markbach's friend joined us at the Blue Fin restaurant, which was exceptional, although markbach has a few negative opinions about the portion size of his crab cakes!

After lunch, I headed back to my room to finish packing while the others headed out to see the sights. I had a 530pm flight out of Newark, so I caught a cab to Penn Station, with the intention of trying the new AirTrain to EWR. It was very convenient, and I was checked in at the Delta Medallion counter no more than 30 minutes after I was standing in midtown Manhattan. Headed off to the Crown Room for a few minutes and then down to gate 46B where N900DE was waiting.

12 January 2002
DL 1529
Boeing MD-88
Newark International to Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky
====================================================

The MD-88 was deserted for the 80 minute flight to CVG, with about 35 total passengers aboard. I settled down into my exit row and promptly fell asleep before we even pushed back. I awakened to find that we were taxiing into gate B-28 about 40 minutes early. I have no idea what service, if any, was offered on the flight. I quickly disembarked and headed straight to the Crown Room.

12 January, 2002
Covington, KY
================

The B-14 Crown Room at CVG is very large and spacious, but was totally deserted on this Saturday evening. I lazily flashed my membership card and the girl at the desk waved me through. I used this opportunity to check email at the Sony VAIO demonstration unit and then relaxed with a Bacardi-Coke while I chatted on the phone. I asked the girl at the desk about the possibility of getting my seat switched to an exit row for the next segment, but she said that they were blocked off for gate assignment only. Whatever....

12 January 2002
DL 1963
Boeing 767-332(ER)
Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky to Atlanta Hartsfield
==================================================

Around 840pm, I headed down to B-3 for the 9pm flight only to find the jetway doors closed and the waiting area deserted. Panicked that the flight had closed out without me, I rushed to the desk only to be told that the flight was wide open today and that they decided to board late as a result. I got chatting with the agents about the upcoming new security standards when one of them suddenly remembered that he had to make *random* checks of passengers, so he asked if I would be *willing* to subject to a search. I readily agreed and he pulled on some gloves and began flipping through my bag.

Coincidentally enough, I happened to have some AFA literature in my bag regarding the Delta Flight Attendant unionization drive and he spotted those and laughed. He told me a few stories about his grandfather who used to be a big union stalwart with TWU at American Airlines back in the 70s. An agent at the neighboring gate overheard us talking and came over, asking if she could have some of the stickers for her FA friends. I readily obliged and gave her a handful.

Security check complete, I asked about the load on our flight and was told that we had a total of NINE revenue passengers booked on the 763 with SEVENTEEN non-revs cleared to the BizElite cabin. Of course, there were no upgrades available for a Gold Medallion passenger on an L fare. Simply Good Business. There was pre-boarding called for nonrevs (oops, I mean BizElite cabin) and the rest of us mere Medallions boarded once they were aboard and comfortable.

Our announced flight time to Atlanta was 57 minutes and we pushed back immediately. There was no beverage service in coach "due to the short duration of the flight". Jeez people. How long does it take to serve NINE passengers? One of the girls on the jumpseat near me had spotted the AFA sticker on my Medallion tag in the overhead bin and we began discussing union issues. She brought some of the other FAs around to talk to me as well, and I was pleased to see that all six of them had already sent their ballots in with a YES vote.