An enriching experience with Jet Airways

I looked out of the window. It’s still dark outside. Got to get ready. I could not sleep the whole night in excitement. Thought I would manage a quick nap during flight.

The phone rang.. its 4 am and the cab has reached the main gate. In few minutes I found myself whizzing towards the airport.

A surprise was waiting for me. When I reached the check-in counter, I found that my seat has been upgraded to Première class. I moved into the Jet Airways Première lounge, grabbed a cup of tea and a toast while waiting for the boarding call.

It’s not too long back that I had received a call from Jet Airways about my selection to "My Most Enriching Experience with Jet Airways" contest (as part of their social media engagement) and won a chance to “Explore the World Of Aircraft Maintenance!” including a visit to the cockpit of a Boeing 737 aircraft, witnessing actual take offs and landings and understanding the science that makes such heavy carriers fly in air!

After a while, an attendant at the lounge informed me that my flight is ready for boarding and I proceeded towards the aircraft. It was indeed a great experience flying with Jet Airways, as always. The flight attendants gave all the passengers individual attention and not to forget the delectable cuisine served on board.

As I reached Mumbai, officials from Jet Airways were waiting to welcome us. I met with other winners who had flown down to Mumbai for the event. We were all escorted to the Jet Airways Hangar located about 6kms from the domestic terminal. Soon after registration, we were taken inside the hanger. The first glimpse of the facility made butterflies run inside me. I saw a Jet Airways Boeing 737-800 undergoing maintenance. 

We all assembled at the seminar hall for a brief infotainment session. Jet Airways engineering experts guided us with rich insights and information on the history of aviation followed by aircraft maintenance and operations through audio visual presentations. We also witnessed how an aircraft engine works as well as different types of landing and take offs by aircrafts. I never knew that some aircrafts can even move backwards!

After the session we were taken to the hanger to have an exclusive view of the fascinating world of aircraft maintenance with a tour of the engine, structure, wheel & brake and seat shop.We were also given a chance to explore the aircraft interiors, engines, cargo hold and landing gear as well as a glimpse of the Black Box. Large commercial aircraft are required to carry two separate black boxes or flight recorders – a Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and a Flight Data Recorder (FDR). The black boxes are typically located towards the tail of an aircraft. Flight recorders are also fitted with a battery-powered sonar transducer to aid in underwater recovery (look for the shiny cylinder attached to the front of the recorder).

And finally, each of us was given an opportunity to visit the cockpit of a stationary Boeing 737 aircraft and learn first-hand by its technology, instruments and various features. Our session was coming to an end while we walked towards the Cafeteria for lunch.

The lunch had more exciting things than just the food. Apart from the appetizing foodstuffs, we had something more to tickle our brains. There were on-spot quiz and anagrams to solve. The lucky winners made their way to envying gifts. However, no one left the place unhappy. There were lots of goodies and mementos for each one of us to carry back home.

We were escorted back to the airport and we flew back to our respective home cities with another premiere class treatment. While I closed my eyes to get a small nap, I got a flashback of the eventful day that I just spent.. a day filled with an enriching experience to the fascinating world of aircrafts.. Something that I will cherish long after this tour ends.

~ Bhaskar Dutta

From a diary of a Biker

The other day, I came across the Motorcycle diary of Avinash Thadani. Avinash is an avid Indian biker rider who recently drove 15, 000 km across South America, consumed 650 litres of petrol and travelled through six countries...

He wanted a real adventure in life. He got his bike, a beautiful KTM 640 Adventure, out of the bonded warehouse in Bogota, Colombia and headed out. Simple plan, head south - Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil - and experience the best of South America.

He says he did not knew the local language or where he was heading to but planned to figure it out on the road.

The very next day, while he was crossing the Andes, he had the worst fall of his trip. the big Bike was on top of him for half an hour, blood oozing through his legs, lowering his confidence limit. That's when he made a deal with his bike.... He says, I promised I would take her home with me as long as she got me through this adventure.

The police warned Avinash. Told him how dangerous it is to go deep into the Colombian forests. But like a typical boarding school brat who hates being dictated, he didn't listen. No.. its wasnt the animals...Two days through dirt tracks, he finally saw them. The FARC (Revolutionary Army of Colombia) were toting AK-47 s and did not look happy.

He prayed and rode away as fast as he could. The rest of Colombia was amazing; a lonely desert, dancing cities (Cali Colombia is the salsa capital of the world) cities and beautiful churches built along solid rock canyons.

Next was Ecuador. He rode along the Pacific Ocean, on a lonely, twisty road called the "Routa Del Sol". It literally means "The Route of the Sun" but for Avinash, it was the route of his soul. The blue of the Pacific Ocean, the wind in my face scented with the freshness of salt and adventure.

For him, Peru was nothing short of pure magic. He ended up spending a month there. He rode through a mountain pass at 5, 000 metres. It rained, hailed and snowed upon him. He still loved every bit of it.

He saw lots of llamas, who had probably never seen a tourist before, and then two days of no human contact at all. He kept telling himself "this was not a holiday for me to check out the sights;but an adventure for the sights to check me out, and to see if I was worthy to cross them!".

Cuzco and then Machu Picchu. It's been 100 years since the first Westerner discovered it but he, unlike millions of other tourists, did not hit the Inca trail. Instead, he just soaked up the atmosphere.

Then at Bolivia Avinash met the Salt Flats. The ride was the toughest of the trip since the road was quite terrible. It looked like just flat and white. No roads, no signs, nothing, just flat salt as far as the eye could see.

It took him five hours from there to get into Argentina. Once in, Avinash headed for the Dakar rally. Seeing the bikes and cars flying through the desert made him resolve to take part one day.

Next stop: Buenos Aires. Bit tired and depressed by this point, he did not feel like battling the winds of Patagonia but still loved the sight of penguins, elephant seals and sea lions.

At the end of the road in Tierra Del Fuego - the tip of the continent - he saw a bench. He sat down and started thinking about his next adventure - when he would go around the world on my motorcycle....