One-off early bird benefit

Ashok Aggarwal

MY family makes fun of me for not only being an early bird, but also setting off too early for a journey that even kills their excitement. But one incident probably changed their viewpoint. After spending a fun-filled vacation at a resort in Ooty, our return flight to Delhi was from Bangalore. We stayed in Bangalore for a night and enjoyed sight-seeing. Finally, the day to say goodbye to southern India came and we started packing up early morning, though our flight was at 4.30 pm. Everybody told us that it would take half hour to reach the airport, yet worrying about traffic jam or some unforeseen cause, I rushed them to the airport quite early. As usual, my wife was annoyed as we checked out of the hotel at noon and hired a cab to get to the airport. Since it was Sunday, there was no rush on the road and we reached our destination at 12.35 pm. Though we got an SMS that our flight was delayed by an hour, I could not confirm it. After reaching the airport, we were shocked to find that our flight had been cancelled and was merged with the next flight scheduled for 9.45 pm. 

The man at the enquiry centre was surprised to see us so early for an evening flight. Since there was no cloakroom, it seemed difficult to pass nine hours and we seated ourselves. It was international yoga day and some NGOs were performing asanas at the airport. We watched them for some time and then boredom overtook us. My son was restless and again I approached the enquiry counter, hoping for a solution. He told the manager, “My father has to attend an emergency meeting in Delhi tonight.” The manager spoke to someone on the phone and said there was a way out.

We were told that the morning flight, scheduled for 9.30 am, would leave at 2.45 pm. If there were some vacant seats, we would be accommodated, but that would happen half hour before the flight. We eagerly awaited a positive response. At 2 pm, my son went to the counter, but was told to wait. At 2.20 pm, we went again. The lady at the boarding counter gave us a big smile and said three seats were available in the flight which was to leave in 20 minutes. We took our boarding passes and hurried instructions were given to the staff that three more bags were to be added to the luggage. One person was specially deputed for our security check. We heard the last call from the announcement desk for the flight. We were the last to enter the Airbus and everyone in the plane looked at us as if we were late.

Only we knew that we were actually too early. We settled down and heaved a sigh of relief. The plane took off in a few minutes and we reached Delhi at 5 pm. It was for the first time in my life that being too early benefited us. I wish to thank the manager of the flight for his timely help.