September US Trip - Aaji No. 2 and Geoff Marsh

While the little drama with the Tamil Aaji, the British Airways staff, and me was unfolding in the Dallas lounge, I continued my people-watching in my spare time. From my seat, I could see two pilots of an aircraft parked at the gate, sharing a light-hearted conversation.

In the first photo, you can see the ground markings that guide different aircraft where to park based on their size.

In the second photo, you can see the pushback tug, or aircraft tractor, that tows the plane from the gate to the main taxiway. Its crew is in constant communication with the pilots. Once the aircraft is positioned on the main taxiway, they give the pilots a rather theatrical all-clear signal. Aware that many passengers might be watching them through the cabin windows, they carry themselves with a distinct swagger.

For anxious travellers like me, the flight path is shown in multiple ways. This photo was meant to reassure me that we were indeed heading to London! It was my job to keep track of the local times in Dallas, London, and Vasai. I’ve used this photo at the beginning as well to make the blog preview more attractive.

I usually return via the north-eastern coast of the US, and then London is just six hours away. But this time, since Dallas is in the south-central US, it was an almost nine-hour journey to London. We took off at around 8 p.m. With the nine-hour flight and the time difference between the US and London, it was already 11 a.m. by the time we landed in London.

I had a new experience in London this time. Without any security screening, passengers from our flight were allowed straight into the general terminal area. This was quite surprising, as I was always used to a security check at Heathrow. A quick search for ‘Pilot One Stop Security (OSS) Exemption’ online explains more about this.

Heathrow is a massive airport. Flights to India usually depart from Terminal 5, while flights from the US usually land at Terminal 3. There are probably two or three lounges in Terminal 5. Tired (!) from the nine-hour flight and still a bit shaken by the unexpected lack of a security check, I didn’t bother looking for my usual, familiar lounge and instead entered the first one I was eligible for. I soon realized that was a mistake. The lounge was packed. After two rounds, I finally found a seat by the window. My London to Mumbai flight was at 10:15 a.m. local time, and the next British Airways flight after that was only around 5:30 p.m. I had to kill five to six hours at the airport.

In school, we were often asked to write an essay in Marathi or Hindi on ‘Half an Hour at a Railway Station’. I probably never wrote that essay even once. Perhaps this is my punishment now — having to spend six to eight hours at various airports. Looking back, what could have been the examiner’s intention in giving such a topic? I think they wanted to see how deeply children observe the vendors, the people around them, their rush and bustle at a public place, and how effectively they could put it into words. Since I rarely travelled by the train to Bordi, I didn’t have many interesting experiences to share on that topic back then. If kids today were asked to write on the same topic, they would probably just make a reel and post it. Anyway!

With a window seat secured, I spent the next hour watching aircraft from various airlines take off from the runway every thirty to forty-five seconds. Some small, some huge! Some taking off early, some later. From an Icelandic airline to our own Air India, I watched them all. One disadvantage of travelling alone is that you can’t leave your bags by your seat and wander far. So I walked only as far as the coffee machine where I could still see my bags, and helped myself to coffees of two different flavours — please assume the plural!

Bored after that, I freshened up and moved to another section of the lounge. After a bit of searching, I found a seat. I could see a lot of food items at some distance. Many passengers came near my seat, looked around curiously, and went back. I went on alert mode. Shortly, an airport staff member came over with an elderly English lady. There was a wireless mobile charger on the table next to my seat. The lady wanted to charge her phone. The seat opposite me was empty, and she settled there.

“May I charge my mobile phone here?” she asked me. Since there was no Tamil/Telugu to English/Marathi language barrier here, I happily said yes. “Would you like this seat?” I asked her eagerly. She smiled and declined, but I felt she was pleased that I had asked.

She seemed hungry. Although many people were sitting around, she asked me, “Is it alright if I leave my bags here and get something to eat?” I readily agreed. “Shall I get something for you?” she asked. I said, “You go first, then I’ll go.” It was a pleasant repayment — in a good way — for the same question I had asked the Tamil/Telugu Aajis in Dallas.

After returning with a full plate, she told me on her own, “Now you go.” I went and got my plateful, and then we had a nice chat. It was clear she wanted to talk a lot. But since there was some distance between our seats, we had to speak loudly, and not wanting to disturb the other passengers, I cut it short.

Be it Vasai, Mumbai, Columbus, Plano, or anywhere else! Everyone is hungry for good conversation. This point was reinforced again today after reading a post by a Japanese man, Shoji Morimoto. It’s not that there are no people who talk or write today. But self-centred talking and writing is one thing, and engaging with another person with them at the centre is quite another! If we all understood this difference, it would make a huge difference.

After half an hour, I bid farewell to the Aaji with a heavy heart. There is no chance of meeting again. Even if by some extreme coincidence we were to come face-to-face, we wouldn’t recognize each other.

The journey towards Mumbai began. Just some clouds in the sky! No chance of striking up a conversation with them!

A story from two weeks earlier, on my way from London to America:

My itinerary was Mumbai - London - Philadelphia - Columbus. The flight left the gate on time from London. It taxied for a while and even reached the main runway for take-off. The announcement “Cabin crew, please be seated for take-off” was probably about to be made. And suddenly our aircraft was pulled off the main runway. It was not taken back to the gate, but parked aside in a remote parking stand on the tarmac/apron. They probably had to offload a bag. I’m not 100% sure, because that check is usually done before leaving the gate. Anyway, to compensate for the fuel burnt during this time, I got to witness something new. A conventional mobile fuel tanker truck was connected to our aircraft. Since this was happening right next to my window, I took a photo of it.

Around 1985-1992, the Australian opening pair of David Boon and Geoff Marsh used to dominate the Indian bowlers. This is that Geoff Marsh!

When the man from the fuel tanker climbed up the ladder, for a moment he reminded me of Geoff Marsh. But given the ‘friendly’ relations between England and Australia, it was unlikely that England would give such an opportunity to a former Australian player. And as for talking to him, since the aircraft window can’t be opened, that idea had to be dropped!

This entire episode took two hours, and I started worrying whether I would miss my Philadelphia to Columbus flight. I was supposed to reach there at 12:30 p.m., and within three and a half hours I had to clear immigration, collect my bags, check them in again, clear security, and board the next flight. As soon as we were airborne, the pilot announced that we would reach Philadelphia in seven and a half hours.

There were two air hostesses on board. How could I miss a chance to talk to them? I pestered both of them two or three times asking if I would miss my connecting flight. They tried to reassure me with answers ranging from “We’ll let you get off first” to “If there’s a delay, they fly the plane a little faster.” Hearing that they ‘fly the plane a little faster’ made me a bit nervous. I consoled myself that even if I missed the next flight, it would be okay, and went back to enjoying the meal and the movie.

After landing in Philadelphia, it was announced that my connecting flight was delayed by half an hour and then by an hour. And I breathed a sigh of relief!