London to Bangalore

I had previously expected to write this post about the entire route starting at O'Hare, but as that flight was a fairly standard transatlantic flight with the usual demographics – tourists, students, business travelers – there was not too much out of the ordinary.

However, the second flight from Heathrow to Bangalore consisted was essentially a desi davat on an airplane. From the moment the gate number A10 was announced, the migration of saree-clad grandmothers and desi families was clearly apparent. The demographics of this flight were fairly homogenous: almost 95% Indian with a few white and business travelers and families.

A land of Indians has given birth to such chaos and calamity. Shouldn't a jet full of Indians as well? Here are two exchanges that took place even before the plane left the runway:

Woman A: Where is your son sitting?

Woman B: Over there. He just graduated high school.

Woman A: Where is he going to college?

Woman B: He got into Rice and Stanford. He might go to Stanford.

Woman A: Ohhh!! Congratulations!

Flight Attendant: (upon seeing a child in his grandfather's seat) Sir, how old is that child?

Old Desi Man: He is two years old.

Flight Attendant: Well, if he's two years old, he should be in a seat by himself.

Old Desi Man: Ohh, no...he's not two...he hasn't completed two years.

Flight Attendant: (with a puzzled and annoyed expression) So he hasn't completed two years yet...?

(Anyone with any knowledge of desis should understand why these two conversations are significant...or perhaps...insignificant)

In addition to, or rather, to complement the cheapness and the “davat-scene” taking place during the 9.5 hour flight, “aunties” were constantly standing in the aisles chatting with one another and families trying to get the most out of the galley by stuffing snacks into their bags.

I might as well post another complaint I have regarding people's behavior on airplanes. Why don't all passengers first get to their seat and then take turns placing their carry-ons into the overheard compartments? The current procedure that most take of finding their seat and immediately placing bags in the compartments creates a tremendous delay in boarding. This inefficiency is only amplified by the fact that people bring carry-ons larger than regulation size and also store their bags in compartments not assigned to them.

To conclude on a much more positive note, my experiences in both Heathrow and Bangalore airports were fabulous. The people were all respectful and efficient; they were friendly and hospitable. Heathrow is a huge airport, but its bright and consistently placed purple “Flight Connection” signs makes navigation easy, the sort of easy that borders on even being fun.

My experience at the new Bangalore Airport was also very simple and would have been extremely quick had the luggage arrived earlier on the belt. Also, for 4:30am, the airport security staff were warm and personable in welcoming us to their city and country.