The recent journey home had taken me onboard Jet Airway, an airline owned by the mighty country of India. To be frank, I had only chosen to fly with Jet for one reason; it was much cheaper than the next best alternative. I had many reasons to be reluctant about flying with Jet. There was the notorious curry smell stereotype attached to anything Indian and there simply was not enough people I know who I can get proper reviews from. As it turned out, it was much better than expected. The level of unfamiliar smell was much less than some flights I've taken with more popular Middle Eastern airline. The plane from London to India was comparable to any modern airlines and each individual seat was equipped with wide-screen IFE system. Good experience overall for the first 9 hour flight, there was nothing to complain about.
The pleasant experience took a turn upon arriving at the Mumbai airport. I was greeted with an accented shout the moment I stepped off the plane, "transfer to Bangkok or Hong Kong!". Along with a mixture of young Brits I presumed taking a mini Easter 'gap yah', a bunch of tattooed ageing white men, a group of hyper Indian Brits looking forward to "Banging Kok" and a few offended/amused Thais after hearing such jokes, we were taken to the international transfer area. Little had I expected to have several furious battles with my backpack scrambling to fetch out my passport and boarding pass in the next two hours.
I was surprised to be taken to the transfer counter which we do not usually have to visit when transferring at other airports. The lady asked for my boarding pass and noted down some of my details then directed us to the security check area. The security process was painfully tedious, uncomfortable and slow. In one corner was a soldierly-dressed man clinging on to his war rifle, the other corner stood a suited man inspecting the overall safety. When it was my turn to scan my belongings, much to my surprise, the guard firmly asked me to take the boarding pass with me when I go through the metal detector. I managed to walk past it without any beeping noise as usual but a female guard decided to to conduct a detailed inspection anyway. The lady showed particular interest in the goodie bag where I keep my passport, boarding pass, some cash and etc. Upon stamping my boarding pass, I was allowed to go through and collect my bags. I hurriedly packed these essentials securely back in my backpack only to be asked to take them out for another check when I was about to leave the security area which was literally five steps away from where I had my boarding pass stamped. I expressed my annoyance as I scrambled for it "Do you really need to check it three times?" and without saying a word she gave me a "that's how we roll" smirk.
The airport terminal bore close resemblance to the good ol' Don Meung airport, albeit being slightly smaller, cramper and damper. "At least it is not as crowded as the Doha or Abu Dhabi airport", I thought as I settled at a modern-looking cafe. It felt much closer to home after seeing that my tuna sandwich was served with two sachets of ketchup and the side salad way overdressed.
The battle between me and my boarding pass resumed after a momentary pause as I made my way from the boarding area to the plane. It was first checked by two kind gentlemen who confirmed my seat. Two steps further and I was met with a lady who, once again, looked for the security stamp on my boarding pass. Before reaching the plane, another gentleman made sure the name on my boarding pass was the same as my passport. Finally, the air-hostess took a standard peek at the ticket and directed me to my seat.
In total, I had my boarding pass inspected seven times in the period of two hours at Mumbai airport - a new personal record set. All other airports I have transferred at had three checks at most.
The plane from Mumbai to Bangkok had nothing to boast about. It was no different from a low-cost airline plane, but because the flight was less than 4 hours I did not mind much. The service was standard and carrier was even equipped with IFE. Considering I was paying almost £200 cheaper than the alternative, it was worth the money saved.
In sum, airline: very satisfied; airport: nightmare.
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