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Date: 12/24/06
Flight: Jet Airways 9W 448
Seats: 10 ABC
SDT: 6:05p.m.
ADT: 6:03p.m.
SAT: 7:30p.m.
AAT: 7:25p.m.
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 w/ winglets
Reg: VT-JGF
Dep. Weather: Temperature in the upper 80’s, hazy. Light easterly winds.
Arr. Weather: Temperature in the upper 80’s, hazy. Wind NW at 10-15 mph and gusty. Partly cloudy.
Remarks: Sorry, I didn’t get any photos, the ones here have been taken by other photographers.
Back to the commercial capital…
After a pleasant stay in the Garden City (and exploring old government buildings, the Botanical Gardens and other points of interest, it was time to head back to Mumbai. We chartered a taxi to the airport (many large Indian metros still don’t have regular taxi service, joy), and after a slow run through traffic jams, we were finally there. Bangalore’s traffic has gotten pretty bad, as the city has a rather basic lack of traffic signals. We headed straight for the Jet Airways counter, and I asked for a window, aisle and middle again, got all three. Easy check-in, then we had to wait in the landside lounge (which is becoming woefully inadequate for the surge in pax traffic at BLR) until we could be allowed to go to the gate holding areas. Not much in the way of concessions, but better than other airports, including a small café, bookstore, a general store and a tea stand. Anyway, my boredom was soon broken by the security check call for our flight. So, off we went through the security gate, got scanned and headed off to the holding area. The waiting area on the airside of BLR’s terminal is all just one common space. There are doors which lead out onto the ramp. Just beyond those is an area which is under construction, possibly for the airside expansion of the terminal. Flat-panel and TV flight displays are located in 3-4 spots. Overall, quite airy, but the holding area isn’t that big and is feeling the pax surge like the landside area. Our gate was on the east side of the terminal. Out on the ramp: Air Sahara 734, Indian Airlines 320’s, Air Deccan 320 and company ATR 42’s. Since DEL was fogged in again as usual, the inbound Kingfisher flight was about 30 min late, but I was surprised at the frequent announcements that were made to keep the pax flying to BOM up to date. BLR certainly has become busy, at one point there was an endless stream of aircraft either departing or arriving on the 10,000 foot runway. After 320’s from IC, Go Air, Kingfisher and Air Deccan, I noticed a 9W 738 with winglets, arriving about 30 min before our departure.
Since that was the only 738 at the time, I figured it was our plane to BOM (atleast I hoped). The initial boarding call for our flight was announced soon thereafter, and I was convinced it was the 738 w/ winglets that was our plane to BOM.
I had been wanting to get a chance to fly in a winglet equipped 737, what luck! After being bused to the stand where it was parked, we headed into the aircraft (boarding was also being done through the rear door). Ahh, clean, immaculate interior, and a just as clean fuselage and wings and engines. As I neared row 10, I noticed that there were missing windows. But having noticed that there was a window for row 10, I was relieved. And what a great view, right in front of the leading edge looking over the left engine! I looked at the winglet, it really is large, looks deceivingly small in videos and photos. The rows near the leading edge are a bit noisier though, as compared to the trailing edge of 9W’s 737’s. Boarding finished rather quickly, after which we were welcomed on board. On pushback, the safety briefing was done in both English and Hindi. The characteristic CFM startup vibrated the cabin soon thereafter, and we were on our way to RWY 09. At the end of the runway, a company ATR 72-500 came in from Mangalore, and we held short for a bit. The takeoff roll felt quite heavy, indeed, this was a full flight. Just after the mains left the runway, the plane was on the sluggish side in ascending, but very smooth. Once we were at about 2000 feet, the 738 had no trouble in getting to the assigned altitude. Meal service soon followed the initial climb, and there was a choice of veg and non-veg. I opted for the veg, and it consisted of paneer cubes (cottage cheese cubed, cooked and spiced), a potato fritter of some sort, Chole (chickpeas in a spicy and sour gravy-this seems to be a rather common item in Indian flight menus, lol) and rice. There was also a dessert of some sort, forgot what it was though. And an aftermint. Not bad, the food was pretty good. I glanced through the in-flight magazine. All the usual stuff, including 9W’s flight schedules and stuff. Initial approach to BOM was basically a straight-in from the SW, we had a very quick descent as well, in no time, we were flying over the “hill”, which is located east of the airport. After that, came the northern suburbs of Mumbai, followed by the Eastern Express Highway. Final was a bit bumpy due to crosswind, but the guys up front did a pretty good job on the landing. Full reverse followed by a turn-off on the last rapid exit twy, and we headed back to the assigned stand. Parked at 1A: IC 320’s, an Alliance Air 732, the Indian 319 in c/s #2. Parked at 1B: Jet and S2 737’s, and a Spicejet 738. We disembarked at one of the 1A stands, and boarded one of the old 9W buses. 1B was still under construction, so pax on arriving 9W flights had to use 1A. After that, the bags came out fairly quickly and we headed out, got a taxi and went home.
As has been the case so far, another great flight with 9W. Spotlessly clean aircraft, good in-flight service, and quite punctual.
Foxtrot
Flight: Jet Airways 9W 448
Seats: 10 ABC
SDT: 6:05p.m.
ADT: 6:03p.m.
SAT: 7:30p.m.
AAT: 7:25p.m.
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 w/ winglets
Reg: VT-JGF
Dep. Weather: Temperature in the upper 80’s, hazy. Light easterly winds.
Arr. Weather: Temperature in the upper 80’s, hazy. Wind NW at 10-15 mph and gusty. Partly cloudy.
Remarks: Sorry, I didn’t get any photos, the ones here have been taken by other photographers.
Back to the commercial capital…
After a pleasant stay in the Garden City (and exploring old government buildings, the Botanical Gardens and other points of interest, it was time to head back to Mumbai. We chartered a taxi to the airport (many large Indian metros still don’t have regular taxi service, joy), and after a slow run through traffic jams, we were finally there. Bangalore’s traffic has gotten pretty bad, as the city has a rather basic lack of traffic signals. We headed straight for the Jet Airways counter, and I asked for a window, aisle and middle again, got all three. Easy check-in, then we had to wait in the landside lounge (which is becoming woefully inadequate for the surge in pax traffic at BLR) until we could be allowed to go to the gate holding areas. Not much in the way of concessions, but better than other airports, including a small café, bookstore, a general store and a tea stand. Anyway, my boredom was soon broken by the security check call for our flight. So, off we went through the security gate, got scanned and headed off to the holding area. The waiting area on the airside of BLR’s terminal is all just one common space. There are doors which lead out onto the ramp. Just beyond those is an area which is under construction, possibly for the airside expansion of the terminal. Flat-panel and TV flight displays are located in 3-4 spots. Overall, quite airy, but the holding area isn’t that big and is feeling the pax surge like the landside area. Our gate was on the east side of the terminal. Out on the ramp: Air Sahara 734, Indian Airlines 320’s, Air Deccan 320 and company ATR 42’s. Since DEL was fogged in again as usual, the inbound Kingfisher flight was about 30 min late, but I was surprised at the frequent announcements that were made to keep the pax flying to BOM up to date. BLR certainly has become busy, at one point there was an endless stream of aircraft either departing or arriving on the 10,000 foot runway. After 320’s from IC, Go Air, Kingfisher and Air Deccan, I noticed a 9W 738 with winglets, arriving about 30 min before our departure.
[photoid=5662975]
[photoid=512377]
Since that was the only 738 at the time, I figured it was our plane to BOM (atleast I hoped). The initial boarding call for our flight was announced soon thereafter, and I was convinced it was the 738 w/ winglets that was our plane to BOM.
I had been wanting to get a chance to fly in a winglet equipped 737, what luck! After being bused to the stand where it was parked, we headed into the aircraft (boarding was also being done through the rear door). Ahh, clean, immaculate interior, and a just as clean fuselage and wings and engines. As I neared row 10, I noticed that there were missing windows. But having noticed that there was a window for row 10, I was relieved. And what a great view, right in front of the leading edge looking over the left engine! I looked at the winglet, it really is large, looks deceivingly small in videos and photos. The rows near the leading edge are a bit noisier though, as compared to the trailing edge of 9W’s 737’s. Boarding finished rather quickly, after which we were welcomed on board. On pushback, the safety briefing was done in both English and Hindi. The characteristic CFM startup vibrated the cabin soon thereafter, and we were on our way to RWY 09. At the end of the runway, a company ATR 72-500 came in from Mangalore, and we held short for a bit. The takeoff roll felt quite heavy, indeed, this was a full flight. Just after the mains left the runway, the plane was on the sluggish side in ascending, but very smooth. Once we were at about 2000 feet, the 738 had no trouble in getting to the assigned altitude. Meal service soon followed the initial climb, and there was a choice of veg and non-veg. I opted for the veg, and it consisted of paneer cubes (cottage cheese cubed, cooked and spiced), a potato fritter of some sort, Chole (chickpeas in a spicy and sour gravy-this seems to be a rather common item in Indian flight menus, lol) and rice. There was also a dessert of some sort, forgot what it was though. And an aftermint. Not bad, the food was pretty good. I glanced through the in-flight magazine. All the usual stuff, including 9W’s flight schedules and stuff. Initial approach to BOM was basically a straight-in from the SW, we had a very quick descent as well, in no time, we were flying over the “hill”, which is located east of the airport. After that, came the northern suburbs of Mumbai, followed by the Eastern Express Highway. Final was a bit bumpy due to crosswind, but the guys up front did a pretty good job on the landing. Full reverse followed by a turn-off on the last rapid exit twy, and we headed back to the assigned stand. Parked at 1A: IC 320’s, an Alliance Air 732, the Indian 319 in c/s #2. Parked at 1B: Jet and S2 737’s, and a Spicejet 738. We disembarked at one of the 1A stands, and boarded one of the old 9W buses. 1B was still under construction, so pax on arriving 9W flights had to use 1A. After that, the bags came out fairly quickly and we headed out, got a taxi and went home.As has been the case so far, another great flight with 9W. Spotlessly clean aircraft, good in-flight service, and quite punctual.
Foxtrot
Stop Searching. Start Traveling. southwest.com 
Thanks for the comments, I appreciate it! Btw, I should go ahead and correct it while I can, we headed in from the SE to BOM, typo in the review.
There's a "cargo" rack behind that thing !
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