Homeward Bound

Traffic was back to normal in Kathmandu as we made our way (slowly) back to the airport. Our flight to Delhi was on IndiGo, a budget airline. We had some trepidation about that, since our experience on the supposedly “premium” airline (Air India) had been so awful, but it really wasn’t too bad. The plane was new and clean, and although nothing but a cup of water comes standard, the attendants were present and eager to sell us a drink or snack. One oddity was that the flight departed 45 minutes AHEAD of schedule! Apparently “Indian Time” works both ways, and if you are ready to go before the appointed hour, that works as well as if you happen to be ready after the appointed hour.

            We were met at the airport by the same tall, slender young man who met us on our initial arrival there, three weeks ago. His English is fine, but he seldom speaks, and when he does, he mumbles, so he’s very difficult to understand. People in the group had all sorts of questions about the layover, their flights home, etc. This man of few words gave very little information and didn’t answer questions well, creating a bit of frustration.

            We were taken to a hotel near the airport where we had rooms, but we wouldn’t be in them for long. Dinner was provided (some confusion about that, too, due to the quiet man’s lack of information), and it was quite good. The room was too hot (I understand that Indians believe 60 degrees to be a frigid cold winter day, but it would be nice if thermostats actually responded), but we got a couple hours sleep before the alarm roused us for a quick shower before departing the hotel at 10:30 p.m. for a 2 a.m. flight. We got through immigration and security (at least three separate checks, plus one more just before boarding) in plenty of time, but the flight was delayed, though the weather was crystal clear. They said the plane had arrived late and needed to be cleaned, but once on board there was little evidence of any cleaning -- much less any that could have taken two hours. We finally pushed back from the gate at 3:30 a.m. We only had 2 hours between flights in Chicago, so taking off an hour and a half late did not bode well.

            The flight home is even longer than the flight to India, due to upper level head winds. The plane was identical, if not the same aircraft, and we had the exact same seats. The exact same woman who had been our inattendant on the way over was equally inattentive on this flight. Beverage service, once again, consisted of a bottle of water at our seat when we arrived on board (that’s what must have taken the cleaning crew so long, passing out all those bottles, one to each seat). We were “served” a breakfast about an hour and a half into the flight – if you consider having tray tossed in front of you service. There was another little water bottle on it with the breakfast. There was also a coffee cup, and a package of sugar, or creamer, and a stir stick – but no one ever came with any coffee or tea to be stirred.

            A larger meal was served mid-flight. Again, another small bottle of water and a coffee cup. They did come by with a pot of tea this time. I asked if there would be coffee, and was told that the coffee machine was broken. Given the condition of everything else, something broken was not a surprise, but I got the distinct impression that the real reason was that bringing coffee would mean an additional trip up the aisle with a different pot. Too much to ask. Another small meal was served near the end of the flight. Again, water and a coffee cup, along with creamer and sugar, but with nothing to cream or sugar.

            Thank you, Air India. You win our prize for the world’s worst airline. We got more service on United’s one hour flight from Chicago to Minneapolis than in the combined 30 hours we spent in the air going to India and returning.

            The only good thing was that, without being bothered by pesky flight attendants, we did manage to sleep quite a bit on the long flight (one only needs water to take a sleeping pill). So we were feeling pretty good, and not terribly jet-lagged when we got to Minneapolis. We took quick showers and changed clothes at our daughter’s house in the Twin Cities, and hopped in the car for the 2.5 hour drive home. Aside from the flights, it was a wonderful trip.