WEB CHECK-IN
I have a running gripe with my secretary’s web check-in
habits. My requirements are simple. No middle seat. I want aisle on long
flights and window on short ones. Front row (better leg room) except when
travelling by ATR, when back row is preferred (rear entry). She seldom gets me
a middle seat, but rarely gets anything else right. Yesterday, on my flight to Coimbtore, when I got
1A, I was cautiously elated suspecting that it might be an ATR. The check-in
girl confirmed my apprehension but gamely shifted me to 15D. All was well.
When I got
the boarding pass for the return journey, the seat no was 4D and the counter
confirmed that it was not an ATR. But my satisfaction was short-lived. When I boarded
the flight, I saw that my colleagues Shah and Prasad were occupying seat nos 1B
and 1C. What the heck. If their secretaries could get them the front row, why
not mine? My deflated ego got a sudden boost when boarding was completed and
the seat next to mine was not filled up. I luxuriously crossed my legs and
opened my ipad. Before I could immerse myself in Stephen King’s bizarre world, I
heard a loud racket going on at the seat across the aisle. A young lady was
frantically trying to control her two sons aged roughly 1 and 2 yrs. Both started
bawling as soon as we took off. I wanted to help but was handicapped by the language
barrier; the tykes spoke only the local lingo. Just then, a Good Samaritan lady
(if that is the right metaphor), came to the rescue of the harried mother and
started expertly cooing to the screeching monsters. I silently thanked her,
shoved in my earplugs and opened my ipad again. However, I soon realised that
her only contribution was adding her own mite to the prevailing cacophony. Luckily
the flight was before time and the landing and disembarking was pretty
efficient. To my utter delight and against all odds, perhaps thanks to the law
of averages, my suitcase was the first to roll off the belt and I triumphantly
marched off waiving to the waiting duo of Shah and Prasad. Alas! I had to cool
my heels outside for about 10 minutes as the driver had not taken into account
the early arrival of the plane. Moral of the story, everything evens out in
life.
