With a 1520 flight from Imphal to Kolkata and then onward to Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne, the 1200 check-out was near perfect. I delayed breakfast till around 0900; the hefty buffet at the hotel would mean that I can skip lunch.
I lazed till checkout and killed 30 minutes in the lobby before taking a rickshaw to Imphal airport. I felt dusty straight away cruising through the streets. I didn’t put on my freshly laundered polar-fleece for that reason and it was rather nippy.
At the airport, there was a desk for foreigners to have their details taken. As I had stayed just over 24h I didn’t bother with the registration process at the police station. So I told them I had arrived only yesterday. My details were taken on a form before I could go check-in.
I had tried doing an online checkin but it returned a message saying my booking was “on watch queue”. The kiosk didn’t allow me either so it was to the counter. IndiGo Airlines staff needed to sight my credit card before they could check me in. Strangely, my other flight with them two weeks ago didn’t have such a requirement.
Also rather strange is that in India, airlines x-ray checked luggage themselves rather than have it done by the authority, while hand luggage is scanned by the authority.
Airside, my two hours went quickly with a small snack and people-watching. We were bussed to the A320neo waiting on the nearby tarmac for an ontime departure. Seated near the engines today, I was more forward than usual. The flight was eerily quiet on the new Pratt & Whitney engines.
IndiGo airlines sets a very happy and friendly tone in its marketing messages:
- Their advisory for pregnant travellers goes along the line of “share the good news with us”, tell us a few details so we can ensure that you are safe to travel and “congratulations”.
- The sick-bag has a messages “Get well soon”.
- The purser on the flight wears a badge “Leading Lady”!
The haze was very thick as we descended into Kolkata and landed around 1645. As my flight was a multi-sector continuing to Bengaluru, disembarking passengers had to show their boarding passes.
I was out in the arrival area promptly and looked for somewhere to kill five hours until next check-in would open around 2200. There were some good seating areas and small cafes but I thought it might be better on the departures level check-in area. But it turned out to be about the same.
I found a check-in kiosk which spat out my boarding passes but I still needed to have my documents checked for Australia. I didn’t want to risk going airside without having this done.
I killed the five hours with walking, sitting, some eating and trying to get the blasted internet to work. The free and paid options were both not working properly; it was highly frustrating and time- consuming too … and the latter is a good thing when trying to kill five hours. I had a sleepy wave from around 1800-1900.
When check-in opened, I was first to the document-check counter. Rather than stamp my boarding passes as verified, they reprinted new ones on card (rather than thermal paper).
I was pleased to be able to head to the lounge for a change of scenery. The lounge seemed quite small but I didn’t realise it was the extension of the main lounge upstairs. Nevertheless, the food was awesome. They had three chicken dishes which were all yummy. I had more meat in that hour than in my whole two weeks in India!