Alitalia, the Italian Airline!
We were to move on work. Movement included crossing the Atlantic. Our friend got us a flight ticket in an Alitalia flight. We had climbed on the air earlier but had not crossed the Atlantic. We had not faced the custom stuff as we had only flown inside the country.
The international flight was after midnight or so. We presented as per stipulation in the late evening and waited our turn to get our luggage magnetic checked and threatened about the few extra kilograms carried by us. Since the threat was extended to us by a cute looking aggressive lady, we meekly obliged by offering to reduce our luggage and walked out to the people who had come to see off us and other passengers. Near them, we pulled open our suit cases and took out the wall calenders, desk calendars and a number of diaries and distributed them to the bystanders there who became very happy to get them. One or two neatly packed sweaters came out of the suitcases when wed pulled away other articles. We wore them. We were three people, me, my wife and daughter. Once this exercise was done our luggage became light and we majestically walked up to the cute lady who passed our luggage and called us to the next desk for issue of the boarding cards. This was an exercise of two hours, ie. standing a long queue, arguing with the hostess, getting the luggage through, passing our cabin baggage which we have to pull along with us and push into the top cavities above our seats etc. The hostess now very politely enquired of us if we can put off the journey by one day, for which the airline could arrange us hotel and give us some dollar money as the flight was over booked. Since we were first time travelers, and our journey had already been delayed twice, we did not want to change course at this late hour and opted to go as scheduled. We drifted to the security, where we were frisked and all our small stuff and shoes other stuff were taken in small trays and sent through a magnetic viewer and received after check. The we walked into the waiting bay where we reclined in the very good sofa chairs looking at the over priced shops where any thing looked cute and nice and the whole area had an aroma.
However, the people travelling did not know among themselves and everybody seemed to be very well to do, and not in a mood to talk to any one. Some looked at important looking magazines very gravely as if they have lost in the share market, some walked into the great looking ornamental shops, some bought eatables and other items at exorbitant prices and relished them. The costly rarity items included tea and coffee also. Somehow, people had the money and they were buying all of them.
We kept watching the sign televisions for the flights being announced and the advertisements accompanying them. After a long wait our flight was announced. Our flight had come to the building bay and was connected to the building through a covered and carpeted gangway. So we could walk into four flight. Once inside the flight an Italian Gentleman dressed like a ships captain came up and showed us to our seat, a few rows of seats ahead of the at the extreme tail side. This was near to the hind toilets, which made me very comfortable. The gentleman who guided us had a great smile and he made us comfortable by helping us put our cabin baggage into one of the top cavities which he opened for us. We were about to settle down, a well dressed lady came up pulling her baggage and was about to pull down our cabin baggage to put her baggage there which shocked us. The Italian now stepped up to her and told her, Madam, this is this Madam's luggage, that cannot be taken from there. The young lady fried the Italian Gentleman with her steel looks but the Italian was unflinched! She moved away to find another luggage holder. The Italian left but before leaving told us, "You don't have to move your luggage. It is your space. If anyone makes any problem, just call me." We were relieved. At least four or five important looking travelers tried to pull our luggage which we countered with the general statement. That is this Madam's luggage. On this they moved away.
Once this exercise was over, we settled down in our seats and applied the seat belts and started to operate the head set to listen to the small TV screens on which safety instructions were announced. The voice will speak to us and a sweet looking lady will be miming the safety instructions as they are announced. Once this about to be over, our plane started going backwards for some time, turned around, and started moving forward with the whir and turn of all the wheels giving us a heady feeling and all of us saying our prayers for a safe passage! The slow movement suddenly picked up speed, the whir and buzz came to a crescendo and quickly the tarmac and the side lights went down. We were air borne. We could see Delhi air port and parts of Palam gaon and Dwaraka Housing Complex by night! Slowly all of them became smaller and early morning suns red light was breaking on one side.
It was about to become a new morning up above in the sky!
OK. We were air born! We flew up into the clouds and above it. Below the airport and New Delhi City slowly went out of sight. The blue sky all around. Now there is nothing further to see in the sky until we climb down in Milan where was our next change of plane. We turned our gaze to the inside of the plane and the passengers who were making themselves comfortable. The initial seat belt signs were off. The air hostesses and stewards were out making passengers comfortable by offering tea, coffee, wine or hot drinks! The steward allotted to us never looked at us. Our earlier benefactor Italian Gentleman was not to be seen anywhere. Had he been around, I wouldn't have any problem. He was very favourably inclined towards us!
I thought there was something amiss. He was sweet waxing to the foreign travellers. I had not travelled outside earlier. But had enough travel experience inside. It was time, I nudged him. Otherwise me, my daughter and wife will all go hungry. The guy perhaps were thinking that we are fasting! I pushed the button. Sure, the Steward came to us asking if he could help us. I told him he is the only person who can help us! He wanted to know what we would like to have, tea, coffee or fruit juice. There was no point in going along with him. He is definitely thinking that as long as we are fresh travellers he wanted us to reach Milan on hot tea or mere coffee. I wanted to be very simple. I said: Give some breakfast to all of us, some coffee for me wife and daughter and could he think of any other kind of liquids which could lift me a little. Wrinkles appeared on his forehead as to what it could be other than hot coffee or tea or fruit juice packets which he was holding on his hands. I had to tell him, "Think hard..You can find something better" Suddenly he exclaimed, "aah..you may like to have a whisky perhaps". I added: "and my wife and daughter can have red wine, no?" He said : "Yes". That settled it. There after we did not have any difficulty all through for any kind of food which were available in the flight of the Great Alitalia. It is not that the authorities had not provided the stuff, but the in house stewards or air hostesses reluctance to serve them.
We watched the TV screen of and on to see where we had reached. At other times we watched movies. Time to time, I got up and walked in the aisle to avoid swelling in the ankles from continuous sitting. Most of the travellers slept. Some of them were sleeping as if they had not slept for a long time in their lives. Anyway, it was no body's concern as long as the passengers were comfortable. The flight moved impeccably. We slowly climbed down after 8-9 hours or so at Milan and we were carried to a terminal building by bus on landing. The place was nice and panoramic, but once in the Terminal building, there was only a few chairs only to seat so many passengers who were in transit and had to get fresh onwards flights. The airport had to strand us also to complete their own checking requirements on us! We kept on standing for a long while, then since we could not find a chair we tried our desi style. and sat on the bare floor and made ourselves comfortable.
We were to move on work. Movement included crossing the Atlantic. Our friend got us a flight ticket in an Alitalia flight. We had climbed on the air earlier but had not crossed the Atlantic. We had not faced the custom stuff as we had only flown inside the country.
The international flight was after midnight or so. We presented as per stipulation in the late evening and waited our turn to get our luggage magnetic checked and threatened about the few extra kilograms carried by us. Since the threat was extended to us by a cute looking aggressive lady, we meekly obliged by offering to reduce our luggage and walked out to the people who had come to see off us and other passengers. Near them, we pulled open our suit cases and took out the wall calenders, desk calendars and a number of diaries and distributed them to the bystanders there who became very happy to get them. One or two neatly packed sweaters came out of the suitcases when wed pulled away other articles. We wore them. We were three people, me, my wife and daughter. Once this exercise was done our luggage became light and we majestically walked up to the cute lady who passed our luggage and called us to the next desk for issue of the boarding cards. This was an exercise of two hours, ie. standing a long queue, arguing with the hostess, getting the luggage through, passing our cabin baggage which we have to pull along with us and push into the top cavities above our seats etc. The hostess now very politely enquired of us if we can put off the journey by one day, for which the airline could arrange us hotel and give us some dollar money as the flight was over booked. Since we were first time travelers, and our journey had already been delayed twice, we did not want to change course at this late hour and opted to go as scheduled. We drifted to the security, where we were frisked and all our small stuff and shoes other stuff were taken in small trays and sent through a magnetic viewer and received after check. The we walked into the waiting bay where we reclined in the very good sofa chairs looking at the over priced shops where any thing looked cute and nice and the whole area had an aroma.
However, the people travelling did not know among themselves and everybody seemed to be very well to do, and not in a mood to talk to any one. Some looked at important looking magazines very gravely as if they have lost in the share market, some walked into the great looking ornamental shops, some bought eatables and other items at exorbitant prices and relished them. The costly rarity items included tea and coffee also. Somehow, people had the money and they were buying all of them.
We kept watching the sign televisions for the flights being announced and the advertisements accompanying them. After a long wait our flight was announced. Our flight had come to the building bay and was connected to the building through a covered and carpeted gangway. So we could walk into four flight. Once inside the flight an Italian Gentleman dressed like a ships captain came up and showed us to our seat, a few rows of seats ahead of the at the extreme tail side. This was near to the hind toilets, which made me very comfortable. The gentleman who guided us had a great smile and he made us comfortable by helping us put our cabin baggage into one of the top cavities which he opened for us. We were about to settle down, a well dressed lady came up pulling her baggage and was about to pull down our cabin baggage to put her baggage there which shocked us. The Italian now stepped up to her and told her, Madam, this is this Madam's luggage, that cannot be taken from there. The young lady fried the Italian Gentleman with her steel looks but the Italian was unflinched! She moved away to find another luggage holder. The Italian left but before leaving told us, "You don't have to move your luggage. It is your space. If anyone makes any problem, just call me." We were relieved. At least four or five important looking travelers tried to pull our luggage which we countered with the general statement. That is this Madam's luggage. On this they moved away.
Once this exercise was over, we settled down in our seats and applied the seat belts and started to operate the head set to listen to the small TV screens on which safety instructions were announced. The voice will speak to us and a sweet looking lady will be miming the safety instructions as they are announced. Once this about to be over, our plane started going backwards for some time, turned around, and started moving forward with the whir and turn of all the wheels giving us a heady feeling and all of us saying our prayers for a safe passage! The slow movement suddenly picked up speed, the whir and buzz came to a crescendo and quickly the tarmac and the side lights went down. We were air borne. We could see Delhi air port and parts of Palam gaon and Dwaraka Housing Complex by night! Slowly all of them became smaller and early morning suns red light was breaking on one side.
It was about to become a new morning up above in the sky!
OK. We were air born! We flew up into the clouds and above it. Below the airport and New Delhi City slowly went out of sight. The blue sky all around. Now there is nothing further to see in the sky until we climb down in Milan where was our next change of plane. We turned our gaze to the inside of the plane and the passengers who were making themselves comfortable. The initial seat belt signs were off. The air hostesses and stewards were out making passengers comfortable by offering tea, coffee, wine or hot drinks! The steward allotted to us never looked at us. Our earlier benefactor Italian Gentleman was not to be seen anywhere. Had he been around, I wouldn't have any problem. He was very favourably inclined towards us!
I thought there was something amiss. He was sweet waxing to the foreign travellers. I had not travelled outside earlier. But had enough travel experience inside. It was time, I nudged him. Otherwise me, my daughter and wife will all go hungry. The guy perhaps were thinking that we are fasting! I pushed the button. Sure, the Steward came to us asking if he could help us. I told him he is the only person who can help us! He wanted to know what we would like to have, tea, coffee or fruit juice. There was no point in going along with him. He is definitely thinking that as long as we are fresh travellers he wanted us to reach Milan on hot tea or mere coffee. I wanted to be very simple. I said: Give some breakfast to all of us, some coffee for me wife and daughter and could he think of any other kind of liquids which could lift me a little. Wrinkles appeared on his forehead as to what it could be other than hot coffee or tea or fruit juice packets which he was holding on his hands. I had to tell him, "Think hard..You can find something better" Suddenly he exclaimed, "aah..you may like to have a whisky perhaps". I added: "and my wife and daughter can have red wine, no?" He said : "Yes". That settled it. There after we did not have any difficulty all through for any kind of food which were available in the flight of the Great Alitalia. It is not that the authorities had not provided the stuff, but the in house stewards or air hostesses reluctance to serve them.
We watched the TV screen of and on to see where we had reached. At other times we watched movies. Time to time, I got up and walked in the aisle to avoid swelling in the ankles from continuous sitting. Most of the travellers slept. Some of them were sleeping as if they had not slept for a long time in their lives. Anyway, it was no body's concern as long as the passengers were comfortable. The flight moved impeccably. We slowly climbed down after 8-9 hours or so at Milan and we were carried to a terminal building by bus on landing. The place was nice and panoramic, but once in the Terminal building, there was only a few chairs only to seat so many passengers who were in transit and had to get fresh onwards flights. The airport had to strand us also to complete their own checking requirements on us! We kept on standing for a long while, then since we could not find a chair we tried our desi style. and sat on the bare floor and made ourselves comfortable.
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