Thursday, December 08, 2005
Airports in India - Part 2
This axiom hold true for every observer, whether you are an NRI, or somebody returning to their native village, or a city where you grew up....when you are away from a familiar place for an extended period of time, your eyes tend to look at the changes that have taken place. Your mind does a "diff" of what was before and what exists now, and the resulting delta tends to be interesting. And, it is this delta that you tend to look at, marvel about, and talk about. Talking about change does not mean that you are looking down on somebody or a society. Talking about change helps you understand and marvel how change occurs, and in what direction it occurs etc. etc.
Looking at the changing face of airports in India makes me nostalgic and reminds me of a different time and period growing up in India.
When I was a kid we used to refer to airports as aerodomes and planes as aeroplanes, and our dad would always point out the hangar where the planes would be parked...Fokker Friendships, DC10 etc. There was only one airline: Indian Airlines with its white and orange colors. Aiports in those days used to be sparsely populated, and you barely had any intense security checkings like the kind you have now. Today, you have to go through about 3-4 security checks before you are allowed to board the plane. In those days you boarded the plane by walking upto the plane and climbing the stairs where you would be greeted by a smiling air hostess with a namaste. When you deplaned, the air hostess would bid you farewell with a smile and a namaste, and you walked down the steps and walked across to the aerodome.
All that has changed with the changing economy with India firmly established in the emerging or developing economy category. People please note that the old world collapsed with the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is no longer kosher to refer to countries as first, second and third world. Those terms are meaningless since they referred to the cold war world order with the capitalist and communist camp with the iron curtain firmly in place in Eastern Europe. So do yourselves a favor and refer to India as an emerging economy. Yes, for those nay sayers Communism is still alive and kicking, but the cold war world order with two super-powers does not exisit any more. Those who refer to India as a third world country are doing the country a big disservice.
Getting back to airports. Today, the airports are crowded with loads of passengers waiting in the terminal with a fleet of aircrafts crowding the tarmac. It is somewhat of a high pressure situation to travel by plane in India. Sometimes, it takes longer to reach the airport, complete the formality and board the plane. Compounding the situation is the fact that proper announcements are never made for boarding aircrafts. You are reduced to asking your neighbour if the announcement for fligth so and so has been made.
Is it only me, or have others noticed how the buses that ferry you to the aircraft merrily honk away? The first time I heard a driver honk I jumped out of my skin since it was such an unexpected sound, but now I have gotten used to it. But, there are always other surprises in stores. Like the last time I was in Bangalore airport, we nearly got run over by a jet taxing to its spot. The bus driver was happily driving us to the plane, when he suddenly spotted an aircraft heading his way. He tried to reverse the bus, but there was barely any room for him to back up. So, we all watched open-mouthed (luckily no mosquities or flie got into our open mouths) as the plane turned and made its way to its spot. The wing span was barely a few meters from the plane!
Here is a tip for those who are planning to visit India. One of the best airlines to fly is Jet,and you can get good rates when you book online, especially if you use Indian Rupees. For some strange reason everybody in India thinks that people who live outside the country are rolling in money and can afford to pay a whole lot more. I hear that KingFisher is also a pretty good airlines. Deccan and Sahara I am told do not serve food on their flights, and they are perpetually late. Deccan probably takes the cake and I have had personal experience of having to wait for hours for a flight to land. And, their ground staff and flight information is sub-par. Indian Airlines has spruced up its act, and you can get some really good fares when you fly off-peak hours. Off-peak is generally from 10 am to 3-4 pm.
One of the reasons that air travel has taken off in such a big way is that the price difference between travelling by train and plane has become insignificant. This is especially the case if you are travelling a/c 2nd class or a/c chair car on some routes. It is perhaps far more economical to fly than take the train.
Looking at the changing face of airports in India makes me nostalgic and reminds me of a different time and period growing up in India.
When I was a kid we used to refer to airports as aerodomes and planes as aeroplanes, and our dad would always point out the hangar where the planes would be parked...Fokker Friendships, DC10 etc. There was only one airline: Indian Airlines with its white and orange colors. Aiports in those days used to be sparsely populated, and you barely had any intense security checkings like the kind you have now. Today, you have to go through about 3-4 security checks before you are allowed to board the plane. In those days you boarded the plane by walking upto the plane and climbing the stairs where you would be greeted by a smiling air hostess with a namaste. When you deplaned, the air hostess would bid you farewell with a smile and a namaste, and you walked down the steps and walked across to the aerodome.
All that has changed with the changing economy with India firmly established in the emerging or developing economy category. People please note that the old world collapsed with the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is no longer kosher to refer to countries as first, second and third world. Those terms are meaningless since they referred to the cold war world order with the capitalist and communist camp with the iron curtain firmly in place in Eastern Europe. So do yourselves a favor and refer to India as an emerging economy. Yes, for those nay sayers Communism is still alive and kicking, but the cold war world order with two super-powers does not exisit any more. Those who refer to India as a third world country are doing the country a big disservice.
Getting back to airports. Today, the airports are crowded with loads of passengers waiting in the terminal with a fleet of aircrafts crowding the tarmac. It is somewhat of a high pressure situation to travel by plane in India. Sometimes, it takes longer to reach the airport, complete the formality and board the plane. Compounding the situation is the fact that proper announcements are never made for boarding aircrafts. You are reduced to asking your neighbour if the announcement for fligth so and so has been made.
Is it only me, or have others noticed how the buses that ferry you to the aircraft merrily honk away? The first time I heard a driver honk I jumped out of my skin since it was such an unexpected sound, but now I have gotten used to it. But, there are always other surprises in stores. Like the last time I was in Bangalore airport, we nearly got run over by a jet taxing to its spot. The bus driver was happily driving us to the plane, when he suddenly spotted an aircraft heading his way. He tried to reverse the bus, but there was barely any room for him to back up. So, we all watched open-mouthed (luckily no mosquities or flie got into our open mouths) as the plane turned and made its way to its spot. The wing span was barely a few meters from the plane!
Here is a tip for those who are planning to visit India. One of the best airlines to fly is Jet,and you can get good rates when you book online, especially if you use Indian Rupees. For some strange reason everybody in India thinks that people who live outside the country are rolling in money and can afford to pay a whole lot more. I hear that KingFisher is also a pretty good airlines. Deccan and Sahara I am told do not serve food on their flights, and they are perpetually late. Deccan probably takes the cake and I have had personal experience of having to wait for hours for a flight to land. And, their ground staff and flight information is sub-par. Indian Airlines has spruced up its act, and you can get some really good fares when you fly off-peak hours. Off-peak is generally from 10 am to 3-4 pm.
One of the reasons that air travel has taken off in such a big way is that the price difference between travelling by train and plane has become insignificant. This is especially the case if you are travelling a/c 2nd class or a/c chair car on some routes. It is perhaps far more economical to fly than take the train.
