Leh Ladakh- A Short Flight Offload Travelogue written in "SANCHARI" group.
A Short Travelogue....
Sometimes you have to cancel your most sought after excursion, due to some unusual, unexpected, or unavoidable circumstances that are beyond your control. It’s quite normal to happen that way. But, can you just imagine a situation where you have to postpone or cancel your trip for a reason that has nothing to do with you? One such example is when you are offloaded from a flight after a beautiful stewardess gently approaches you and, to your dismay, apologises and says that you can’t board the plane since the flight has been overbooked. And that’s when you realise you have just been bumped off with a confirmed ticket very much available with you. Don’t worry guys, you should feel proud to be among those very few passengers in aviation history who can write a travelogue in the shortest amount of time.
This has happened to me a few years ago.
I arrived at least two hours early at the airport and stood in the security queue. I was relaxed. Once through the security checks and the boarding pass were handed over to me by the police officer, I looked at it over and over again. Aaahh....! Yes, finally I’am going to a place where my mind was longing to go ever since I’ve heard about this place. A place I do repeatedly see in my dreams. A place untouched by the hustle and bustle of torrid city life. An unimaginable terrain with spectacular lakes and magnificent patches of green land.
Nestled in between Himalayas and Karakoram mountain ranges, the Leh-Ladakh and its snow capped mountains have always allured me. I felt that lurching sensation in my heart just by thinking about those pictures of Leh Ladakh that I have had seen in some magazine. The aircraft awaited us on the tarmac. As the shuttle bus took me to the aircraft, I looked back at the terminal building of the Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport to appreciate the enormity of that huge structure. In a few minutes, the bus stopped next to a magnificent aircraft with “Air India” proudly displayed along the side. Near the aircraft door stood a beautiful young flight stewardess who greeted me aboard with her folded hands and sparkling eyes. I smiled back and trudged toward the aisle. I was the last person to board the flight. Once inside the flight, I found there was total cacophony. Many people were standing in the aisle, blocking the others trying to occupy their seats. I was in the queue for almost ten minutes with no one behind me. The whole scenario sounded a bit frenzied and I guessed there was some problem with the seat assignments due to the plane already being full of passengers. I saw the flight attendants were apparently having a hard time dealing with the passengers. Time crawls by. I took a deep breath to compose myself.
“Excuse me sir”, I found a tense flight attended standing in front of me. He said, “You are not flying on this flight sir, we apologise for the serious inconvenience caused to you” and he saw me to the door.
Yes, they bumped me off the flight because the flight was overbooked by one seat and I happened to be the last one to board the flight. One car was waiting down the aircraft ladder to take me back to the terminal building.
Though they have arranged an upgraded seat for me on their next available flight, that thrusting, momentous feeling of happiness that had been elegantly whirling in my mind for past several days was obliterated in the blink of an eye.
If the first thrill and excitement of a journey is broken, then I think, the intensity of pleasure associated with that journey will eventually fades to a large extend.
Now, let me share with you just a few tips you need to know if you get involuntarily bumped from a flight which is quite possible though very rare.
Many airlines acknowledge that they sometimes overbook the flight, which is perfectly legal, to ensure seat optimisation, anticipating last minute cancellations by confirmed passengers particularly during peak seasons. It is normally done to ensure that they don’t lose revenue for “no show” of passengers as nowadays the customers have the choice of cancel or re-book their travel until a couple of hours before the departure. Here, even though you cannot drag the airlines to court but you are absolutely entitled for compensation. In cases of denied boarding, airlines are bounded by DGCA regulations to provide compensation ranges from refund of the air ticket cost or an alternative, comparable transportation arrangement. They also offer monetary compensation for the inconvenience caused. The passenger gets Rs.2000/- for flights with block time of up to one hour, Rs 3000/- for flights with block time exceeding one hour and up to two hours, and Rs. 4000/- for those more than two hours. Block time is the total time from when an aircraft moves for taking off until it comes to rest at the destination point. Some airlines even offer up gradation of seat in their next available flight on the same day or the next by providing accommodation in a very good hotel as the case may be. All this are applicable to passengers denied boarding on flights of foreign airlines flying to or from India with a much higher amount as per the DGCA rules. Readers are requested to get the updated version of these rules from the airline’s website for more information.
Just thought of sharing an experience in my favorite “Sanchari” group for the benefit of my beloved friends here.........Thank you for your patience.
Wish you all a pleasant and relaxing weekend.
Pic Courtesy - Google.
A Short Travelogue....
Sometimes you have to cancel your most sought after excursion, due to some unusual, unexpected, or unavoidable circumstances that are beyond your control. It’s quite normal to happen that way. But, can you just imagine a situation where you have to postpone or cancel your trip for a reason that has nothing to do with you? One such example is when you are offloaded from a flight after a beautiful stewardess gently approaches you and, to your dismay, apologises and says that you can’t board the plane since the flight has been overbooked. And that’s when you realise you have just been bumped off with a confirmed ticket very much available with you. Don’t worry guys, you should feel proud to be among those very few passengers in aviation history who can write a travelogue in the shortest amount of time.
This has happened to me a few years ago.
I arrived at least two hours early at the airport and stood in the security queue. I was relaxed. Once through the security checks and the boarding pass were handed over to me by the police officer, I looked at it over and over again. Aaahh....! Yes, finally I’am going to a place where my mind was longing to go ever since I’ve heard about this place. A place I do repeatedly see in my dreams. A place untouched by the hustle and bustle of torrid city life. An unimaginable terrain with spectacular lakes and magnificent patches of green land.
Nestled in between Himalayas and Karakoram mountain ranges, the Leh-Ladakh and its snow capped mountains have always allured me. I felt that lurching sensation in my heart just by thinking about those pictures of Leh Ladakh that I have had seen in some magazine. The aircraft awaited us on the tarmac. As the shuttle bus took me to the aircraft, I looked back at the terminal building of the Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport to appreciate the enormity of that huge structure. In a few minutes, the bus stopped next to a magnificent aircraft with “Air India” proudly displayed along the side. Near the aircraft door stood a beautiful young flight stewardess who greeted me aboard with her folded hands and sparkling eyes. I smiled back and trudged toward the aisle. I was the last person to board the flight. Once inside the flight, I found there was total cacophony. Many people were standing in the aisle, blocking the others trying to occupy their seats. I was in the queue for almost ten minutes with no one behind me. The whole scenario sounded a bit frenzied and I guessed there was some problem with the seat assignments due to the plane already being full of passengers. I saw the flight attendants were apparently having a hard time dealing with the passengers. Time crawls by. I took a deep breath to compose myself.
“Excuse me sir”, I found a tense flight attended standing in front of me. He said, “You are not flying on this flight sir, we apologise for the serious inconvenience caused to you” and he saw me to the door.
Yes, they bumped me off the flight because the flight was overbooked by one seat and I happened to be the last one to board the flight. One car was waiting down the aircraft ladder to take me back to the terminal building.
Though they have arranged an upgraded seat for me on their next available flight, that thrusting, momentous feeling of happiness that had been elegantly whirling in my mind for past several days was obliterated in the blink of an eye.
If the first thrill and excitement of a journey is broken, then I think, the intensity of pleasure associated with that journey will eventually fades to a large extend.
Now, let me share with you just a few tips you need to know if you get involuntarily bumped from a flight which is quite possible though very rare.
Many airlines acknowledge that they sometimes overbook the flight, which is perfectly legal, to ensure seat optimisation, anticipating last minute cancellations by confirmed passengers particularly during peak seasons. It is normally done to ensure that they don’t lose revenue for “no show” of passengers as nowadays the customers have the choice of cancel or re-book their travel until a couple of hours before the departure. Here, even though you cannot drag the airlines to court but you are absolutely entitled for compensation. In cases of denied boarding, airlines are bounded by DGCA regulations to provide compensation ranges from refund of the air ticket cost or an alternative, comparable transportation arrangement. They also offer monetary compensation for the inconvenience caused. The passenger gets Rs.2000/- for flights with block time of up to one hour, Rs 3000/- for flights with block time exceeding one hour and up to two hours, and Rs. 4000/- for those more than two hours. Block time is the total time from when an aircraft moves for taking off until it comes to rest at the destination point. Some airlines even offer up gradation of seat in their next available flight on the same day or the next by providing accommodation in a very good hotel as the case may be. All this are applicable to passengers denied boarding on flights of foreign airlines flying to or from India with a much higher amount as per the DGCA rules. Readers are requested to get the updated version of these rules from the airline’s website for more information.
Just thought of sharing an experience in my favorite “Sanchari” group for the benefit of my beloved friends here.........Thank you for your patience.
Wish you all a pleasant and relaxing weekend.
Pic Courtesy - Google.
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