It was the August of 2004 when my brand new husband (and yes, he’s been the only one!) and I were going to Goa for our honeymoon. And since both of us get a kick out of trying out new products, we thought hey why not Air Deccan.
What a cool experience! And so so so cheap!
We booked our tickets online, so the actual ticket was a printout I took from the cybercafe down the road. Imagine saying that to someone 10 years ago....ke 2004 mein har jagah computer cafes honge, aur Internet naam ki cheez ke dwara aap saste air ticket ke printout leke airport jayenge. Sabse badi baat toh ye hai ki airport authorities aapke haath mein woh printout dekh kar aapko plane par baithne bhi dengi!!......People would think you’re a raving mad lunatic! (Makes you wonder what’s in store for us by the time it’s 2015, doesn’t it?)
So anyway, we booked the tickets and went to the airport, where after the baggage check-in, we asked if we could get window+aisle seats. The airport staff sweetly told us that it was on a first-come-first-serve basis, so we just had to RUN FOR IT!
Okay....so after hanging around the boarding area for a while (we didn’t dare sit ’cos we didn’t want to risk sitting separately, what with honeymoon stage and all), they finally started boarding. I took a first look at the plane, and it reminded me of the dummy plane we’d sit in at the local park (in Juhu, Mumbai) as kids.
45 seater - can you imagine?!??!
The AC buses that ply on Mumbai roads have a seating capacity of 45. I was really tickled! People were waiting for take-off, but I kept imagining the plane was never gonna take flight, and would take a detour from the runway to the highway and drive to Goa, like a bus with wings! :P
But nope, it did turn out to be a real Airbus (pun intended, highly intended!) and flew to Goa, covering the distance in 1 hr 15 mins.
No airhostesses and stewards to listen to your whims, and the absence of in-flight meals and refreshments are the features (not disadvantages) of a no-frills airline, but I don’t think it matters if your option is to travel by bus or train. Think of it this way ~ in the train/bus, you’d have a filthy ragged guy selling you chips and coke and chocolates. Here atleast, it’s a smiling airhostess :)
Happy flying! Air Deccan is really worth it!