HYDERABAD: As a stand up comedian, I get to travel to a lot of cities to do shows. It’s something I love a lot because it allows me to fly (not metaphorically, literally, in aeroplanes). But in almost a decade of travelling by air, it was not until last week when I flew with an airline that is widely considered a punchline by people and a borderline adventure sport by some.
If you’re still confused which airline I’m talking about, the second part of its name has our country’s name in it and the first part rhymes with ‘fare’, ‘care’, ‘rare’, or ‘wear and tear’. It was the only flight that would get me home on time and I decided against my instinct (and internet hysteria) to take it.
While walking for 20 minutes inside the T3 terminal of Delhi (yes, a 20-minute walk INSIDE the airport), I could just think of all the punchlines I had heard about the airline. In fact, in one of my first stand up videos, I too had mercilessly roasted them. I was hoping none of the crew had watched it. To my relief (and sadness), I wasn’t popular enough for them to have watched it.
The first thing I noticed when I got into this flight was that there was something very homely about it. While all other private airlines have this swank about it, this felt like I was walking into my cousin’s home. Maybe it had something to do with the yellow lights. I can’t be sure, but I was instantly comfortable.
Thirty minutes into the flight, the food service started. Now usually, this is the time I fall asleep because I don’t believe in eating flight food because there’s usually authentic delicacies waiting on either side of that cold plane sandwich. Just as I settled into my middle seat for a nap, I was woken up by the airhostess, who asked me if I wanted to eat veg or non veg food. Surprised, I told her I hadn’t pre-booked a meal, to which she said, you don’t need to, everyone on the flight gets free food. This truly was my cousin’s house!
Unlike the other flights where it’s a choice between cold sandwiches and lukewarm wraps, this one served piping hot paav bhaji and chicken shawarma to literally everyone on the flight. Two minutes into food service, the entire flight was smelling like Gokul Chaat, and don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining.
In that truly wholesome moment, I promised myself I will never make fun of this airline again. And three hours later, I was on stage doing exactly that.