Spice up your life and fly high with Jet…
They say dreams are made of illusion and we live in a world full of illusion. I guess we Indian customers are also living the world of illusion because sometimes you dream of something and you get something else. Air travel in India has become at the mercy of these airlines which have shoot up like mushrooms. Since last 6months, I have virtually living myself with my travel baggage and it’s been hopping to the 4 metros for some or the other work.
In my earlier review on Air Deccan , had given you a little bit of overview on fantasies of Cheap frill airlines and I am going to take you on a real journey again but this time on Spice Jet.
I am sure everyone has heard the song “Lady in red” and we all are crazy for that song. Tell me have you ever wondered why red is a color so attractive and yet very dangerous. We love lady in red, we love the red rose, we get spiced up by red chilli, we are curious about the red planet and of course the color of blood. So red exists every where and we are so found the red invasion. Similarly there are 2 airlines flying red, the superlative Kingfisher and the Spicer – “Spicejet”.
Spice Jet
a. Siddhant Sharma an NRI dreamt of starting low fare airlines in technological alliance with KLM, he never would have imagined that it would become so popular. But after meeting the guy during one of my visit to Delhi that he is a visionary but again he is not interested in super fast commitment of being very big but he believes in being a spicy tortoise.
b. Spicejet doesn’t boast a long fleet but currently they have only 6 Leased aircraft and are adding 4 fleet more by end of December 2006. I was shocked to know how these guys are handling so much traffic and fly to almost 10 to 12 destinations without having problems with delays like Air Deccan. All their fleets are Boeing 737-800 so you can rest assured a safe and comfortable journey.
c. I love the color red and the interiors are not to boast about like Kingfisher but pretty decent and eye catchy. The leg room is typical of any other provider like Jet, IA, or Kingfisher.
The lady in red and Men in Black
I guess spice believes in Women power as the lady Cabin Crew are dressed in a sexy Red skirt and a white top with spice logo on the top. I think so like Vijay Mallya , even these ladies are handpicked as each and every lady is dressed so neatly and of course after Kingfisher the best looking ladies on air. For some good reason each and every lady looks so similar with the hair style, the brown lens good feature (Let me not get deep into that J ). It was so sad to see, the men cabin crew dressed in Black pant and a white shirt with a black tie, so much like a Waiter. They could have given them something elegant but unfortunately very bad and the girls I am sure wouldn’t be happy because they guys are not great looking.
Front Office
The front office of Spice has been a talking point like kingfisher as the reservation counter has been giving excellent customer service. They are definitely very friendly and cordial and have been very helpful never have I faced any rude or arrogant response unlike Air Deccan. Once you have got your boarding pass, the inside staff of Spice at the Airport have been very helpful during these major security check which is happening at the Delhi and Mumbai Airport.
Customer Service & Call Center
The booking and reservations have been very easy and smooth with the customer service at their telephonic booking has been amazing, the wait time is not very much and once you are online with the Customer Service Representative it has been an easy job.
Online Booking
Once again their online booking has bee flawless and the website loads pretty fast and have never had problem booking online. The page loads and easy to navigate, if you observe most of the online booking website of various airlines are similar once you cross the first page.
It’s PRICE after all
Typically all the low fare airlines have a policy you book atleast week in advance and you would get the best fare, but I fail to understand same thing applies to Jet, Kingfisher and Indian Airlines so what is the big deal. If you are giving me across the counter just couple of hours before the journey a low fare it makes sense then I would call you a low fare carrier. But I guess we consumer have got used to getting ripped off in the name of low fare so we don’t voice our opinion. I am sure lot of Air Deccan customers would be happy but simultaneously praying to god that their flight gets cancelled , as they would be able to fly Jet Airways in case of any cancellation and with the amount of Cancellation Air Deccan has I am sure its Air Deccan Customers smiling and Jet Airways just giving free food to Air Deccan Customers.
Personal Rating
1.) KingFisher
2.) Jet Airways
3.) Spice Jet (Low Fare Carrier)
4.) Indian Airlines
5.) Go Air. (Low Fare Carrier)
I am waiting to fly Paramount which I have heard is really good so lets wait and watch but as of now I would keep my ranking at this stage. Do you all think we should have a section for the Top 5 Airlines ranking and the Worst 5 Airlines ranking. Do leave your few cents of thought on the comment section.
Asyis 2006©