Kingfisher once again …
Flight Delays, Bad Food, bad in-flight entertainment system … the experience only gets worse.
Once again I had to travel Kingfisher. I was already expecting the not-so-good food and the same movies playing on the in-flight entertainment system. What I had not expected was the flight delay. I had received some emails from Kingfisher regarding their punctuality records etc recently and a delay was the last thing on my mind.
Dubai – Mumbai is a less than 3 hour flight and my flight was delayed by 3 hours !!
The 8.30 flight for which one needs to leave home at least by 6 … finally took off at 11.30 and that too with the screen at the boarding gate showing 23.30 'Estimated' and not 'scheduled'
The crowd at the boarding gate was getting furious by the minute since there was no once from Kingfisher at the gate to answer the queries of the passengers. The airlines did not make any provision for food/water or basic courtesy of sending someone to inform the passengers personally. People with kids / old people all waiting in suspense staring at the 'estimated 23.30' signage on the screen. It is really pathetic.
I personally feel it is the responsibility of the airline to make arrangements for food and refreshments if their flight is getting delayed and you are crossing over lunch or dinner time. Even otherwise, basic snacks and refreshments are much needed. The passengers would feel taken care of rather than taken-for-granted.
The behavior of the airline staff towards the angry / upset passengers was not good either. When someone mentioned that this would be his first and last Kingfisher flight; she said to other passengers that those who shout are anyway going to buy the cheapest flight ticket next time they fly and end up coming back to Kingfisher and shout similar things again ... and continue this every time they fly.
An as usual, the non-existent choice of in-flight entertainment enabled me to read J I started reading my first Patricia Cornwell novel and read quite a lot since besides the flight time, I had the additional time available due to the delay in flight take off.
The 45 minute wait in the immigration queue at Dubai Airport helped further J
Addendum: Today I read some news articles about several KF flights being cancelled in the past two days. This gives me a fresh perspective. Rather than being upset about the delay, I am thankful that it was a delay and not a cancellation!! Paradigm Shift !!
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