May 28, 2003 12:59 PM
31011 Views
(Updated May 31, 2003 11:53 PM)
Want to go to Manali from Delhi and spend the least time on travel ? No choice – you have to fly Jagson Airlines. This private operator operates flights from Delhi to Bhuntar Airport (near Kulu, in Himachal Pradesh) and back. They may also be flying to other locations in the vicinity of Delhi, but I found very little evidence of that. This review is about our experience with this airline on a recent trip to Manali. We used their services to return to Delhi from Manali.
Morning flight or evening ? Can I take an evening flight to Delhi from Bhuntar Airport ? Nope, you can’t – Jagson flights are all in the morning. Or rather, scheduled to fly in the morning. Some of these morning scheduled flights eventually take off only in the evening. Well, that’s because the early morning flight from the source airport took off only in the afternoon. You get the picture ? Our 9.50 a.m. flight took off at 1.30 p.m. Something in the way our car driver (who dropped us at the airport) casually mentioned that he would hang around until the flight actually left, left me with the impression that the Bhuntar Taxi Drivers Association has a lot of affluent members.
Business Class or Economy ? On a 20 seater Dornier aircraft ? You kidding ? All are equal – even the Pilot and Co-Pilot sit in the Economy section. You can actually reach out and tap either of them on the shoulder. Not advisable, though – when the Pilot shifts in his seat, the whole plane shudders.
Window or Aisle ? All of the seats are window seats (except the couch at the back – methinks that one is reserved for the food packets until they are distributed). Everybody gets an excellent view of the mountains below – when their eyes are not tightly screwed shut, that is.
Check-in baggage or Cabin baggage ? You might as well check-in all your baggage – there are no overhead lockers in a Dornier aircraft – so all cabin baggage is lap-carried.
Safety instructions in English or Hindi ?
What Safety Instructions ?
Veg or Non-Veg ?
Do Non-Veg biscuits exist ? Well, it would not have mattered in any case – because most of our co-travellers had this feeling they had left their stomachs behind the first time the plane hit an air-pocket. If you are the type who likes roller-coaster rides, you will enjoy this flight. At the first air-pocket, my soft drink, kind of decided to forsake the claustrophobic environs of my disposable cup and land in my lap. I, obviously, did not ask for a refill.
Newspaper or Magazine ?
Carry your own.
On landing at New Delhi airport (the aircraft needed only a quarter of the runaway to land – given a situation where the runaways were all occupied, I am sure the plane could have landed on the roof of the terminal building), I was tempted to ask their Help Desk cum Check-in counter whether they had a Frequent Flyer scheme, but my wife thought that was very mean.
On the positive side, they did treat our luggage well – all luggage was dumped into the same airport coach that dumped the passengers at the terminal. The solitary air-hostess did effect a pleasant welcome and goodbye. And the flight saved us 14 hours of travel time …
As I said earlier, Jagson – the No Choice Airline.
But you do have the choice of commenting or earning my wrath …
