4 Charlie

29th May 2005, I got a call from home. Something urgent had come up. I had to cancel my vacation in Bombay and rush to Jodhpur from the next flight. The next flight was on 30th May in the morning at 10:25 AM (Jet airways). Reservations were made. I had an evening to my disposal and pending socializing that was to be covered in the next 3 days of my vacation. Anyways, I informed my friends about the change in plans and rushed Hostel 6 to meet a couple of friends before I left. It was already past midnight when I reached H6 and spent some good time talking to a close friend there. We got caught in a discussion and I was finally pushed out of that place at 8:00 AM. I took a quick shower and moved for the airport at 8:30 AM. On a usual day, the trip from Powai to the Santacruz airport does not take more than 45 minutes in traffic. This meant I would be at the airport 15 minutes before check in time. But then there was a jam on the very first damn signal. We decided to go from Arey Mill Colony which was a bit long but should have had less traffic. Bingo, we had hit the jackpot and found no traffic. Just like all Hindi movies, there was a twist, as soon as we got on the colony road, there was suddenly traffic all around. Not cars or two wheelers but BEST buses and 407 loaders. The auto rickshaw guy somehow managed the way out of the colony to hit the highway. All through out, the clock just did not stop ticking. With every five minutes passed, my tension kept on building. I thought lets call up the airport and tell them to wait. I opened the zip of my bag to pull out the tickets and I realized that I forgot them on the table in my hostel. I kicked my self virtually for being stupid and called up a friend to pass on the PNR number and ticket number. With no ticket to look for the Bombay jet office number, I called up the Jet people in Delhi, got their Bombay jet office number. Gave a call to Bombay office to find out that it was the reservations counter and not the airport. Called the airport and could not connect. Again called up the Bombay office and got another number for the airport. The new number was on a stupid IVR and not responding. We had already hit the highway and the clock was showing me 10:10 AM when I got down from the three wheeler. The meter was showing a whooping 175 bucks. Just gave the guy 200 bucks for all the racing and arey mill entry slip. Another reason maybe was that I did not have the time to collect the change. (Some of you may say like always, Nawab Saala). Ran to the Jet counter, with a stroller and a back pack. Kavya (if my memory does not fail me) checked up. The flight had already closed. The supervisor gave her a negative. I persuaded her so she directed me to her supervisor Ashwini on Counter 19. I reached there and she told me it's not possible as it was 10:20 AM. Her boss was standing there and I distinctly remember him moving his head in negation all the time. But guess my breathless state and persuasion worked. She made two phone calls and checked if it was possible. Bingo! It was! A boarding pass was issued with the seats number 4C (4 Charlie). The check in procedure was a DHOOM. I was escorted by a lady Jet staff till I reached the bus which would take me to the plane. All through the body scan, baggage scan, boarding pass check and bus boarding I could here the Jet guys talk on the walkie talkies ...

LAST PASSENGER TO JOHDPUR, 4 CHARLIE
LAST PASSENGER TO JOHDPUR, 4 CHARLIE
LAST PASSENGER TO JOHDPUR, 4 CHARLIE

I was on the bus, breathing heavy, and sweat flowing from my temples. The sweat had reached my spectacle glasses and just added to my tensions coz I could not see properly. . In that 120 odd second bus trip, I did not even keep my stroller down or sit on the completely empty bus. I was tense, partly because of urgency to reach Jodhpur and partly because of the panic that had happened. The bus slowed down and as soon as I saw the plane to Jodhpur, I removed the safety rope and started to get down. Another Jet staff smiled and said, "Don't worry Sir; the flight will not leave without you!" The only words I could manage at that time were "You guys Rock!"

The plane was delayed by 10 minutes, but 4 Charlie was on the flight. The cabin crew had a welcome smile and made sure I was comfortable.

Kudos to Jet Airways and their professionalism!

Just in Case - The Radio Codes

A >> ALPHA
B >> BRAVO
C >> CHARLIE
D >> DELTA
E >> ECHO
F >> FOXTROT
G >> GOLF
H >> HOTEL
I >> INDIA
J >> JULIET
K >> KILO
L >> LIMA
M >> MIKE
N >> NOVEMBER
O >> OSCAR
P >> PAPA
Q >> QUEBEC
R >> ROMEO
S >> SIERRA
T >> TANGO
U >> UNIFORM
V >> VICTOR
W >> WHISKY
X >> X-RAY
Y >> YANKEE
Z >> ZULU