subject: The Goat On The Runway [print this page] I've had strange experiences on Indian Airlines (the government carrier as opposed to the high class Air India). Their fleet, at the time I flew with them, were most a bunch of old and beat up Boeing 737s. Still, you had a feeling of confidence with the pilots- these were Sheik warriors after all, and you got the feeling that when there was something wrong with the parts, the mechanics knew what they were doing with their hammers. These were half war bombers, half passenger planes in other words. And overall, statistics for accidents with Indian Airlines are just as low as anywhere else.
I remember the time in Bangkok in which waited in the terminal for eight hours to board. No one would tell us why- just that everything was OK. Finally the flight was canceled and we were whisked off in style to one of Bangkok's finest hotels where we a sumptuous meal with all the amenities. The next day the plane was ready to go and I asked one of the ground staff what the problem had been. There was a crack in one of the cockpit windows, so they had to fly in a new one. The first one was the wrong part and the correct one came this morning. That was all I could think of to say.
The flight to Calcutta was like a huge celebration. There was bottle after bottle of expensive scotch all around. We even kept our own bottle and so I arrived in India for the first time tipsy.
Another time in Trivandrum we were held up for almost two hours inside the plane on the runway. The air conditioning was not working right and the passengers were getting very irritated. Finally after take off the pilot apologized for the long delay explaining that a herd of goats had somehow gotten through the fence and were walking across the runway. Knowing India, it was probably the job the single herder to get them out!
