Marching into 2018 with Delight and Gratitude

A lot has been said  about airlines this  past year with decibels and trolls taking  centre stage.

As we  close the year I wish to recall to incidents one which delighted me and the other warmed my heart with  gratitude.

I was on a late evening  flight  from Trivandrum to Pune to  accommodate  business meetings at Trivandrum. It was scheduled to leave at 2150 hrs and I had a comfortable aisle seat somewhere in the middle of the aircraft.  I was concerned about  missing my connecting flight with the  same airline when the  staff assured me that the same  aircraft would take  me to  Pune.

At Bangalore, I was one amongst the few through travellers and in a short while the aircraft was almost filled up. Much to my satisfaction, we had an on-time departure for Pune. Once we were  airborne and the food service was in full swing, the  passenger seated on the  aisle next to me suddenly belched loudly. I sensed what was about to come and took out the air sickness bag but alas! I wasn’t quick enough. He showered his seat and floor with the food he had eaten earlier,  One of the flight attendants ushered him away to the closet to assist him

In  a  few minutes the senior-most flight attendant arrived, surveyed the  scene, and enquired after me as well.  She quickly went back and returned with gear to handle such situations.  She  put some granules which she explained to me that would  absorb all the  wetness quickly. The area was covered with  tissue thereafter. She also  sprayed some  perfume around the  area to prevent smells from interfering with our  journey.  Since I was closest to this scene of action,  she offered me a seat middle seat in one of the front rows and escorted me there. What touched me was the ease  this  Senior took charge and  went about her task seemingly nonchalantly.  She could have offered some ‘on the job training‘  to one of her junior crewmates, but chose to lead by serving.  I am delighted by the  leading  lady  and on-board staff of  6E 445 of Indigo  on the flight of  10/12/2017.

But that isn’t all. Here’s another pleasant experience, even more recent than what I just described.

We went to  Bhubaneswar  earlier this  week. I have to take some medicines to counter some of the lifestyle issues I face.  I took a pill on the flight. I failed to  immediately put back my  medicine pouch into the  bag. We checked the seat pockets before  deplaning and found everything in order. On reaching our place of stay I discovered the loss of my pouch. While I located a chemist and  purchased what was needed,  I felt bad for my loss. A few days later, before leaving Bhubaneswar, I went to the  airline reservation counter and asked about my  medicine pouch.  The staff was alert and asked me to describe my possession which I did. In  a minute he found it in the cupboard of the office and gave it to me.  I showed him my boarding  pass and  he mentioned that they  found it  3 rows ahead and actually contacted the passengers seated over there.  They do have a process to help forgetful  passengers unite with their  things. This is a ‘thank you’ to the crew of Go Air G8 244 of 27^th December and  Ground Staff of  Go Air at Bhubaneswar Airport.

I think these silent workers are building the brand equity of these airlines.

It is lovely to enter 2018 with  a feeling of Delight and gratitude.

Emmanuel David  December 31^st 2017