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Thursday, January 6, 2011

Airplanes

What is it with airplanes and airports and flying in general?
I never understand why people are in such a stupid rush at the boarding gate. As soon as the boarding gate opens,people scurry to be the first ones to get on to the plane. So soon enough you find this long line of people standing with luggage,waiting to get onto the aircraft 'asap'.Why asap? Why can't you just sit down till the line is shorter and then join the line.What is with this rush?
And the whole experience of flying I believe is peppered with sleaze so that it takes your mind off the harrowing experience of being in a machine at 35000+ ft in the sky. You are welcomed into the aircraft with a sleazy 'Hii/Welcome Sir' from a very attractive air hostess. Have you ever wondered why air hostesses are never ugly. Because they are meant to alleviate your fear of flying by using the miraculous power of distraction. You look at these pretty women go through the safety demo without absorbing a single word that has been said, cause your are looking and not listening. Some flights have prerecorded videos of actresses performing the routine which makes it even harder to concentrate.
I don't quite understand the small talk that the captain of the flight wants to make with the 200+ passengers at 35000 feet in the sky. You want to take a peaceful nap when the bell goes off and this person says in a tone that suggests that he/she has just woken up , 'Good morning ladies and gentlemen,this is your captain XYZ speaking. We are bound for Delhi ...(Oh! Really, I had nooo idea where the flight was headed). We would be taking a straightforward route over Hyderabad, Bhopal, blah blah...(How on earth does it matter which route we are taking,and why the hell can't they ever fly in a straight line?Isn't that the shortest path? And at 35000ft even with a window seat there isn't a chance in hell that I can distinguish one city from the next).... We are sorry for the delay in takeoff and we will ensure that we do everything to make it in time....(Like what?! Take shortcuts? You're already flying at top speed, so what are you proposing Captain XYZ? Do you intend offloading our luggage mid air to lighten the aircraft so that you can fly faster? ).... We are flying at 800Kmph ground speed....(So what?Is that a good speed?Is 800Kmph fast enough for this flight? How the hell do I know? And I don't care what speed the freaking aircraft is flying at,as long as I reach my destination).The weather is quite good except for slight turbulence,which is why I advise you to keep your seatbelts fastened....(The weather is never bad. I have never heard a captain shriek 'Aaaargh! There's thunder and lightning everywhere. I don't know if this flight can take this. HAANG ON TO YOUR PANTS cause this is gonna be a rough one.').
So finally you land with a thud at your destination, and with these fancy new airports,you taxi on for miles and miles.When the flight finally comes to a halt, all these passengers, stand up like programmed robots, and start removing their luggages from the overhead lockers. Now,what is extremely stupid about this, is the fact that the flight doors aren't open yet.So I find atleast 150 passengers standing with luggage, waiting for a good 10 minutes before they can exit the aircraft. What is with the hurry people?Its not like you wouldn't be allowed to get off the aircraft.
All in all, I hate airports, they are expensive, filled with people who are hell bent on running all their lives, sleazy and ultimately filled with this fake air of importance.

1 comment:

  1. You sound like you've been screwed over by life, mukki, Although I have this rant before.

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