Flight mode

It’s been a year since I was on a domestic flight, and then it was only a short one. Actually it’s been quite a while since I have been on a long domestic flight. But this week I flew to Nepalganj. And the longer flights give one the chance to look round at what fellow passengers are up to.

 

 There usually are several colorful ladies, going to or coming from weddings. There are the selfie takers, the majority of which are said colorful ladies and their travel companions. One girl playing Candy Crush the whole way. The usual hajur amma looking mystified at the whole process, and the cool businessmen making phone calls till the very last minute. Then getting their newspaper out to look very busy and professional.

 Then there are the air stewardesses. Well-groomed young women who barked instructions in English at everyone. Why then do they look surprised when few follow those instructions? Your guess is as good as mine! Both going and coming back this week, I got into trouble for trying to put my bag in the overhead compartment—“sit down and let passengers on first”. Well, if they got the passengers on the plane five minutes sooner, or got us organized into rows (Buddha Air allocates seats on the bigger planes) then we could store our hand luggage without “holding up departure”. Sitting next to me was one man clutching his reasonably large case. No doubt he had been told off before about putting it overhead and has given up ever trying to do that again.

Back in the present day, very noticeable is the ringing of phones immediately on landing

 Another group I had forgotten about is the sweetie hoarders. Those small planes still give out boiled sweets, meant to aid ear pressure when sucked on takeoff and landing. I take one for this purpose. But I have noticed local passengers think these are freebies, to be grabbed by the handful and stuffed into pockets and bags. Probably the original meaning of the sweet giving has also been lost on the stewardesses too. Because, as we know, these ladies are not shy about telling passengers what to do.

 Perhaps they could ask, politely, that people only take one or two? Gone are the days when we got soft drinks on the flight. Now only water is handed out. Even longer gone is the airline Necon Air which I used to fly regularly to Kathmandu from Nepalganj. They gave a small lunchbox of a sandwich and pastry, as well as a fizzy drink, and, on every flight, a lucky draw. Your chance to win a free flight ticket! Not surprisingly Necon Air went bust a long time ago. Those fizzy drinks and goodies come at a cost!

 With reference to the lucky draw—I did actually win that once. Oddly, it was on my last ever flight to Kathmandu from Nepalganj as a resident of the Tarai Region. Perhaps the Universe was talking to me. What it was saying is anyone’s guess as only the next day, the Universe sent someone to steal my handbag (only time ever in Nepal), containing nothing of value. Except that damn free ticket!

 Back in the present day, very noticeable is the ringing of phones immediately on landing. Not turned off or onto flight mode then? I know that message is given in both English and Nepali so why do people not follow instructions? Domestic passengers do seem, give them some credit, to be able to remain seated longer than Nepali passengers flying internationally. On landing I mean. I was quite impressed by that. But then, there is the usual mad scramble to disembark. Same as the scramble to embark because the airport bus or plane might just leave without us! Probably not. Not on the watch of the efficient stewardesses!