As I settle in on an evening when Jet Airways operates its last flight (for now) from Amritsar to Mumbai, one glance on my phone to keep a track of the flight on Flightradar24 has me glued. Not to the movement of the aircraft but to my wallpaper. It's the VT-JXC, a 737 MAX 8 of Jet Airways, window view, seeing into the dawn as we took off from Mumbai on an early morning departure to Delhi. I stare away and my eyes catch my 1/400 scaled Jet Airways VT-JET, a B777 model standing handsomely on the mantle. Guess what, it still smiles on me. It brings back nineteen years of my life, years where Jet Airways has been more than just an airline carrying me and millions like me from point A to point B.
My journey with Jet Airways started out of sheer curiosity. Born and raised in a small town of Punjab, airplanes were not so within reach for an average middle-class household. So when the opportunity came to move to Bangalore in early 2000, I only had one demand for my father, who would travel for work a lot. I would collect his boarding passes, his leaf tickets and it was always the ticket of Jet, the wet tissue pack, the mint that fascinated me. More than ModiLuft, Alliance Air and the likes then. Back to the demand. It was simple, we had to fly Jet Airways from Delhi to Mumbai.
Like any father, who did not want his 10-year-old son to sob into eternity, he agreed and we were to fly Jet Airways. I have vivid memories, even though this was almost 19 years ago. Window seat, 24A, next to my father sitting in the middle seat, who said, 'this is a Boeing 737. See that engine? GE makes them, my company'. Proudly. He was joining GE and I was impressed. For the first time, I liked GE. I resented them till that very point because I did not want to leave my small town and move to Bangalore and the uncertainty a new city brings.
In came the wet towels, the warm hospitality of the cabin crew and a butter smooth flight. For a young 10-year-old, a turbulence-free flight meant, good airline, so the mind was made up, Jet it was and always will be. The beautiful blue interior, lovely yellow lights, a clean plane and window, and that smell. The smell that I still can sense. Fascination and love are irrational.
Since that landing on a beautiful evening at the old Bangalore airport, Jet has been my go to. Countless memories, happy, sad, frightened, excited, tired, energized you name it and I have a Jet Airways flight and boarding pass in my collection to co-relate. What started as fascination, curiousness became a comfort zone, a habit. To the point, when I would see a familiar crew on the plane, or a familiar Captain or First Offer, I would sense a relief. I knew these people even though we would not talk. They got me home safely last time, I will be in safe hands, I thought. It was irrational, but it became my comfort zone in the sky. 36,000 feet above, away from everything, Jet became a comfortable home
It's not like I did not flirt with other airlines, oh yes and how. There were times when sectors were not serviced, or fares were just way too high for the last minute flight or just simply I wanted to try something else, but when it came to domestic travels, it was always back to Jet. And this happened, out of habit, not that I was against any other airline. My last flight on Jet was, like my first, on a 737. Bom-Del sector in the month of February. Little did I know, this would be it. A 737-800NG, VT-JBS. I did my usual ritual, board from the back and take my 10 seconds touching the outer skin of the fuselage, smile wryly at the welcoming cabin crew and settle into seat 27A. My seat. Always. Flying me to Delhi was Captain Kushagra Kumar, that morning. Yes, I even remember the name. And it was yet again, a near perfect experience even though the airlines was flying through turbulent times with a rather uncertain future.
I was to travel to Singapore and onwards to Kuala Lumpur early in April, but due to curtailed operations, Jet cancelled on me. I still am awaiting my refund. Even now, I am sure it will come because a voice representing Jet assured me it will. Such is faith. And it takes years and years to build this. While we may all discuss the economics and the role the management played and how Jet wrote its own doomsday, let's take a step back. Beyond the rational heads, the sane reasoning, the finances, the economics (which by the way, are of paramount importance), what we have lost was a fantastic product. A product that with it, leaves memories of unadulterated care and a firm promise of delivering you safely to your destination. It may be goodbye for now, but everyone, and I mean the larger aviation community hopes Jet fights back, even if the history tells otherwise.
The airlines' world was better with Jet and I wait to see that smiling underbelly again. Soon.
And flying!
Share
Tweet
