September 19, 2006

Airport Fiascos

Oh boy, I know most of you forgot that this blog existed..

But well I am, alive and kicking :-D

Before I forget, next time when u guys have to fly..check and see if Jet Blue Airlines flies in that route that u plan to do...

Even if it is just one leg of the journey, go for it.

Not only are they competitively priced to any other airlines, but the comforts are
awesome..

The one who owns Jet Blue was the one that found Southwest and then sold it over..

The benefits..
(1) Too good to believe Leg room compared to any other airline in the economy class
(2) More choice of food and drinks...gosh those ****ed up pretzels that they give now in most airlines..
(3) Comfy Leather seats that for real have padded cushions in them
(4) Almost never full :-D...so therz a better probability that the seat next to u may not be taken.
(5) CHEAP PRICES and above all, the clincher..

(6) In seat TVS with upto 36 channels
Gosh I could watch all the football action when I was travelling..

Nice eh....

But here are the cons

(1) Not so good looking Air hostesses..
(2) Not that many convenient times..
(3) Doesnt fly to many destinations...

But I hope they are improving on those 3 points.

But for the first 6 reasons quoted above. DO FLY THEM WHEN U GET A CHANCE NEXT. And yet by the same token, avoid US Air/ America west at any cost. Can u believe that u know an airline that refuses to honor its own Travel vouchers Well that is US Airways. NEVER EVER FLY them. And the are very very rude with the way they handle ur luggage. Totally uncouth Airlines.

Itz been a hectic three weeks travelling.

And so when there are flights, here are rental cars.
The pick
(1) Enterprise...*****ker, *****les
Yup., dont rent from them

(2) Thrifty..
Good choice..Can you believe the guy at the counter told me not to take the liablity
because that particular state is a No fault state.
(No-fault" laws mean that you ar responsible for coverage for your car, in case
u hit someone or viceversa and also that your auto insurance must pay for bodily injury damages no matter who's at fault in an accident)

Also another trick that helped me get good deals with Auto rentals.
Always go for the Economy option when booking. By this logic, if the rental company doesnt have one, they provide u with a free upgrade, mostly 2-3 times above the Economy( This is true in fast moving and busy airports)

Even if that doesnt happen, u can still upgrade for the usual $2- $3 upgrade per car class. So u stand to lose nothing:-D

Now now keep it a secret., will ya.

(3) National and Avis..
I dont know why these guys have high rates, when nobody goes for them..
I see their counters almost always empty and they still dont reduce their prices..
Gosh will somebody tell em...what to do...

And yeh, while at the airport u have to mention about the security...

When u have been selected for special screening..and this almost always happens
when u are running late for your flight and u are awefully close to missing the flight. This is what u shd do..

I got selected (Yaaaaaaaaaaay) twice for special screeing in a span of a 2 weeks.
and one was with a clean pair of socks other with a dirty smelly one. And guess what, the second time., it took them half the regular time to send me thro'.

So people., Wake up and smell the socks..Yikes..I mean smell the cofee., and follow the trips and.., I mean Tips and tricks.,,:-D

and last the funniest incident with the Airport Security screeners..

My last name being 16 letters long, the last name box allowed only 15 letters to be typed.

My 'smart ass' security checker saw that, dutily compared it with my name in my Drivers License and said, "Sir. This is not u. I cant let you thro..'

Granted I looked a bit puffy when I had taken that pic a few years back...and maybe a lil bit more smarter. cause the lady who took that pic at the DMV then was 'Beautilacious..' ( Ah now...how many of u remember that old contest with Dollops/ cadbury schwepps Icecream back home in India, when they had this contest of combining 2 words to create a new one)... and I might have grinned more showing my wonderful 32 set of teeth in the process to that camera..that she clicked..

but ther was no way, that dumb ass could not have a positive identification with me and that pic of mine. Eventually, in all that melee, what with me being just 10 mins away from missing my flight. I figured out he was trying to 'help me' as in his own words, the ones down the line past the metal detector are not as smart and may not let me thro, as my name doesnt have the same as many letters in my boarding pass
as in my DL..yes yes..it was 1 or 2 letters short..in 16.

He eventually saw, the 'Are u kidding me' look in my face..and let me thro. :-D

Oh yeah, and by the way...........Bye Bye Boston............Hello Chicago......:-D
I was hoping Id get to ski in the much vaunted New England Slopes..maybe I might yet make a trip sometime in Nov..hmm........

14 comments:

rads said...

ah, u are back. Jet sounds good, and I really don't care for the not-so-good-looking hostesses. ;-)

You should shorten your name. Your kids will thank you. *serious*

Thanu said...

Heard that it has started snowing in Tahoe.. come we we will go skiing

aruna said...

I also found Jetblue had comfy seats, and leg space. & yes, the airhostess are mostly 80+

Ginkgo said...

Ah rads...Dont u...:-)
My first name cannot be shortened any more..Its jus 4 letters. U'd have to tell my dad that..
And yes..btw...ur sis is bad..Next time ask her why she doesnt return fone calls.:-)

Thanu,
Snowing...already????
How about colorado..or utah:-)

My namesake..
lolz..thts an exagerration. 80...naaaah
hmm..probably the ones in my flight use those Anti Wrinkle creams I guess..:-)

Archana Bahuguna said...

Well well ... only if you knew how to take the shortest distance from one place to another on earth, you wouldnt go half a circle in the air! ;-) just kidding ... bad time with flights eh? Have good luck next time. Cheers!

Archana said...

Oh u have become a ulagam sutram vazhiban! Amaam if a plane can take you safely from point A to point B, what does it matter if air hostess is pretty or not :-P - in any case you can always hunt for a pretty face in those 36 channels!

I shd try flying on JetBlue sometime ...

Ginkgo said...

arch 1:
haha...tit for tat eh...:P
maybe I shud get tips from the underwater expert:P

Arch 2:
yup yup. I guess they fly to NYC. So try Jet blue then.

vi said...

read rads comment again...exactly my thoughts...:)
Jetsetter are we?
So you moved back to chicago...seems like you missed someone ;)

vi

Shilpa said...

Good tips !
Funny experience with ur name.

Hey u shd chk out ' kingfisher airlines' when u r in India...they r simply superb.

aruna said...

No Kidding! The airhostess I had was sure 80+, both ways.

Priyamvada_K said...

Gingko,
Thanks for the tips. Will follow them...er...except for the dirty socks one :-).

Btw, 16-letter last name, eh? I'm impressed. Mine's 13 letters long, and people have run out of space writing it.

Priya.

D LordLabak said...

BTW, I didn't forget this blog.:-)

Ginkgo said...

Vi,
Good..:-)
I missed someone, eh:-)

shilpa..
So u back to US yet??
kingfisher...I'll try

my name sake..
yeh I knw...they shd improve on that..


lolz priya..
y not the dirty socks thingie;-)

Deepa,
Gud to know u havent..:-)
so u getting back to normal?

Archana said...

I tagged you :-)!