THE LONAVALA DAYS

 

 

FLIGHT DOWN MEMORY LANE

I recently came across a photo of an Air India flight back in 1958. In it relatives and friends  were  seen on the tarmac ,to see off those travelling. Back then only the very very privileged could take a flight literally, rest took a flight of imagination.

Even till the early seventies, the situation was not much different, though air travelers increased in numbers. I was lucky enough  to travel by an Indian Airline flight from Chennai to Bombay(where I lived) back in the early seventies, as a teenager., courtesy  of my uncle and as an ADC to my granny. The experience was awesome and one  could notice the feeling of being exclusive, among the fellow travelers. The airline food, then, if I recall, was good! Lots of magazines to read. Well-mannered and sophisticated cabin crew.
Later, from the early eighties, I happened to travel by air often, sometimes as many as six times a month , and that continued , till now, though its less frequent. I will not be wrong in saying that a good part of my  life has been spent inside an airplane or an airport. Someone should give me a licence to travel , at least,  in the cockpit!  I was witness to the evolution of air travel in India , so to speak.

Back in the eighties, fellow travelers were still an exclusive lot. Most knew the airports very well, the staff was known, many cabin crews familiar. An occasional flight purser. or a pilot , ended up as  a friend. You peeped into the office of an  Airport manager and said hello. He, in turn, accommodated you in the guest rooms at the airport ( which were elegant and clean) in case you happened to be stuck up at an airport overnight.
Flying was a nice experience till the mid-nineties. However, flights were invariably late. This meant more time at the airport lounge or the departure area. So one goes prepared with lots of reading material. One has close encounters with  many VIPs there, cricketers, actors ,politicians    etc. Spoke to them,  and took autographs. They seem like ordinary people. There were no security threats then!
The airline also put you up in 5 star hotels in case the flight does not take off till late evening.  I have stayed in such hotels often, in places like Goa, Cochin, Lucknow ,Jaipur etc.
Then there was the invariable battle to get tickets, at short notice of even one or two days!  There was always  this mad rush to the waiting list counter , where an airline official ( he or she  was like an angel delivering goodies till one gets or does not get a confirmed seat) would read out waiting list numbers. Well, one could always manage that if one was versatile enough!  I recall having travelled as a journalist , using accreditation credentials or something , to be able to travel when the airlines went on strike and only a few flights flew. But then that's another story!  The tickers were hard thin booklets, the booking process either involved one trudging to the airline office, waiting for an hour to finally land a ticket  or do the booking through a travel agent.
Domestic Business class travel  was  a class apart.. A quite few hours spent reading or catching up on work with the best of beverages, mostly soft, and food. I have had a few memorable encounters with some big time politicians and lawyers who happened to be sitting  next to me in the J class. Actually, they appeared to be  nice blokes.  I must mention here that Business class travel with Kingfisher was really  luxury defined.   Rest of what happened to the airline is history!!

Things changed when the industry was thrown open to private players. More airlines, more travelers, more airports.  The industry did not do well and few new ones like Modiluft, East west airlines, to name a few, folded up. The second phase of privatization much later saw more consolidation and stability. But by then air travel was  a necessity and I dare say, almost like boarding a bus or train with deteriorated service and frills.
I recall a few occasions of  bomb scares when inside a flight or an Airport and the inevitable chaos that follows. Airline and airport frisking and security checks robbed a good part of the charm of air travel.
Times change, needs and lifestyle too. However,
memories of those flights and flying days and experiences remain.