Terminal Tales Take Two

Planes

It has to get easier, right?

Surely. After so many trips. Countless hours spent in the air, and what seems like never-ending time in the many airports of the world.

Yet, it rarely does. Some moments bait you into believing you’ve cracked the code. I was ecstatic after passing out on my first flight (something that rarely happens) and confident that the rest of my travel would set me up nicely for the second day of school (having missed the first in chasing the cheapest ticket). Boy, was I wrong. My brain, in an attempt to generate content (I think) decided that my 2nd of 3 flights was indeed awake-time. Instead of willing my eyes shut, I ended up writing this blog. You’re welcome?

Every one of these trips is filled with moments; the journey itself becomes story-like, one that I feel compelled to share! For those unfamiliar with this series, I am continuing my work from a year and a half ago where I compile my sleep-deprived observations of airports I have flown through, and airlines I’ve flown on. As always, my actions (that all call self-sabotage) in taking long, convoluted routes stems solely from the story-teller in me, and not the broke college student on a tight budget. And this time, I actually mean that! It’s been an interesting couple of journeys so far, so lets dive right in!

Doha (DOH, Qatar)

IAD-DOH-BOM (Dec 2023 – Jan 2024, Round trip, Layover 2+3 hours)

An absolute nightmare. Both the travel and the airport.

December 2023

In flying back to India for winter break, my travel through Doha was interrupted significantly with a 10-hour delay in leaving Dulles (IAD, Washington, DC) due to a mechanical fault in the plane, leaving it grounded at its origin. This delay added to the extended period (5 days) that I had been in Baltimore after my last final, leaving me even more anxious to get home. I was ready to get to the airport (a 3hour combination of buses, trains and metros) when I got the call from a suspicious international number. Upon going through my itinerary with an agent, we realized that the system auto-rebooked me on the next available flight to Mumbai, a whole 29hours after I would land in Doha. There was nothing the poor Qatari agent could do, and urged me to sort this out at the airport. Exasperatedly, I laid back down in bed, bracing myself for the long night ahead of me.

In the hopes of getting on an earlier flight to Bombay and unwillingness to let my travel be disrupted, combined with the fact that I was quickly approaching the time for the last train to DC on Saturdays and going crazy sitting at home, I jumped into action and hightailed it to IAD, determined to let the situation not interfere with my enjoyment of public transport.

At the airport, it seemed as if I was one of the last passengers on this delayed flight to arrive. By the grace of the universe (and a very helpful Punjabi Qatar Airways agent), I was able to snag myself the last seat on Qatar’s codeshare partner Indigo’s flight to Mumbai. There was a Pune-ri family of four who reached 5 minutes prior to me that got stuck with the >1day layover in Doha because this was the absolute last seat. The caveats? This flight would leave me with very little layover time, which would involve a frantic run across the terminal; but worse, since this was a codeshare flight, I would only learn if my seat was confirmed once I spoke to Indigo at Doha!

IAD simply isn’t designed to handle late night flights. All its shops close at 10pm, leaving over 200 travelers famished and desperate for snacks. The only thing open was a Hudson News run by a desi uncle, who slouched over the register exclaiming that he really needed to go home. The $20 meal voucher provided by Qatar was thus used entirely on small snacks.

Once we got to Doha, it was a dash to figure out what I had to do. Qatar transfer personnel directed me to an Indigo counter post-security, which, much to my dismay, didn’t actually exist! I stood in line for 45 minutes at a Qatar service counter at the instructions of airport personnel, only to reach the front and be told there is nothing they could do and I have to wait until boarding opens for the flight. At this point, I feel my body shutting down. My last sprint takes me to the gate for the Bombay flight where I proceed to camp out for 20 minutes before Indigo gate agents arrived. Upon explaining the situation to them, throwing in a couple of compliments and calling them my heroes, they managed to get me on. Clutching a boarding pass that I had fought so hard to receive, I crumpled onto the floor of the overflowing gate. I found a really overpriced, dismal cold sandwich to snack on, having no hopes for food on Indigo. I was the last to board, my legs having given up.

The duality of man: (Left) Happiness to be on a train (Right) Qatari inflicted pain

January 2024

• On the way back, I actually had a second to look around Doha’s promising, apparently world’s best Hamad International Airport, only to be thoroughly disappointed. Doha falls into the classic trap of making this airport into an expensive shopping mall, and would rather sell you a car every 20ft than give you a hot, reasonably priced meal. I admit I may not be the audience they are catering too, but it seems reasonable to want more from them!

• The lack of non-gate seating was astounding, and virtually no maps or sign boards to guide you. For flights to the US, they have either been reprimanded or are just fearful of uncle Sam, and constitute a whole new layer of screening at their gates. Newly purchased water bottles were thrown away, and a simple boarding process made extremely complicated with 4 checkpoints.

Qatar Airways

• Pretty good! Operating the shiny new A350s (with lovely passenger-accessible external cameras!), good food, and large entertainment system!   

• Great student perks – discounts, free WiFi, extra luggage – the works! Flying with them again soon! Hope to conquer DOH’s shortcoming with paratha & aachar (pickles).

BWI-DTW-AMS-BOM (Dec 2024) and BOM-AMS-ATL-BWI (Jan 2025)

This journey made me question life…and why I kept subjecting myself to this

Baltimore (BWI, Maryland USA)

• Arrived at 430am for a 6am flight after an interesting Lyft ride. Had a full conversation with the driver over text before she got there, and heard some very interesting theories about Elon Musk and space travel on the radio station that she picked.
• BWI was packed for a December early morning! Gave me Dadar station vibes, with the amount of luggage and congregated individuals. Genuinely thought I could miss my flight standing in line. Poor Jamaican Delta agent was trying to explain the concept of lines to passengers – felt bad for her!

Detroit (DTW, Michigan USA) – Layover 10 hours

• This was a toughie. Who in their right mind chooses to have a 10-hour layover in an airport, let alone Detroit? DTW is a glimpse into the past – I am guessing this was THE airport back in the day, but it’s unfortunate that American airports haven’t evolved. It has a similar drab vibe as IAD (minus the colorful country flags) and ORD (minus the random bursts of United’s signature blue). Here are some miniscule moments:
  • There’s an entire hotel in the airport? I walked through a Westin to reach a TSA checkpoint? It has conference rooms, banquet halls and suites? So, you could come all the way to another city, and simply not leave the airport?
  • Every sign is written in English and surprisingly Chinese! Could be a lot of business travelers, or may serve as a connecting hub.
  • There’s a PF Chang’s in the airport that can serve a surprisingly affordable hot meal. It was a full circle moment for me – as soon as a I saw it, I was transported back to our 2019 visit to Detroit for a robotics competition where a friend and I struggled to understand tipping culture in America after being presented with suggested gratuity amounts at the foot of our bill. While I am not sure we tipped back then, the ignorant 15-year old’s that we were, I did in fact make up for it this time around.
  • The inevitable delay meant I just cozied up next to an outlet and continued to binge (read, in case my mother asks).
• Given I would have gone crazy sitting amongst DTW’s white walls, I decided to venture out to see the Motor City. Here’s a quick breakdown of how I spent my morning!
  • I took the local bus to downtown (~1hr) after a spirited conversation with a local who helped me plan my day. I started off in the most American way possible: by having cheesy fries for breakfast (I had to settle for fries as my vegetarian self couldn’t have the place’s famous Coney Island Hot Dogs).
  • I walked around an empty downtown in the freezing cold (-10C) in virtually no warm clothing. All progress on mending my dry skin was lost as I took a stroll down grand art deco buildings in disrepair.
  • The riverfront was indeed beautiful – good ol’ Canada was just across!
  • Upon a friend’s suggestion, I took the free, single line Detroit People Mover (DPM) as a way to get an elevated view of downtown! More transit!
  • I used the Qline (light rail/tram) to the Detroit Institute of Art. Top views: the massive Diego Rivera courtyard, a mural commissioned by the city in the 1930s to capture Detroit’s industrious spirt; inspired black artists who redid famous paintings but substituted in people of color!

• Took the comfortable, cheap, fast and reliable Detroit Airport Express (DAX) coach service straight back. Truly working towards my goal of becoming an authority on public transit in every city I have the privilege of visiting!

AMS (Amsterdam, Netherlands – (Dec (1), Jan (2)) – Layover 5+3 hours)

• I love Schipol. I discovered a shop that sells wooden tulips and flower bouquets; the Rijksmuseum shop continues to amaze!
• Given my Detroit shenanigans (1), I complete PASSED OUT for 1.5hrs on one of the reclined chairs in AMS. Amazing sleep.
• May be hallucinating, but in my journey to Bombay (1), I swear I smelled the distinctive sugandh of supari paan as I crossed business class.
• Had to go through transfer security on my way out of Bombay (2) – took almost an hour!! Definitely didn’t happen on my way home (1) – maybe flights originating from the US are exempt?

BOM (Mumbai, India – (Dec (1), Jan (2)))

• I have a strategy for landing in Bombay. Make sure to use the restroom on the plane just before the pilot starts to commence descent so you don’t get bogged down on your way to immigration! You need to beat your crowd and every other plane that’s landing in Mumbai’s super-congested airspace. Use every local-train catching skill to navigate between slow movers. This is a race, and if you’re not first, you’re last!
• Observation – immigration in December takes way less time than immigration in the summer. Maybe lesser flights? Or more officers? Or I am just flying way to close to the holidays (but they aren’t really celebrated in my city?)
• I beat my mom (who was picking me up) to the exit of the airport, giving me the opportunity to pull the most Raghav-move possible and take the newly opened Mumbai metro to a halfway point that she could pick me up from. After all, what better way to end the journey of a lifetime? Sadly, my plans were foiled by the fact that our metro doesn’t run past 11pm.
  • Side note – I did end up taking the metro from the airport later in the month, albeit it was literally just one station (Terminal 1 to Santacruz). It was the most efficient and cost-effective way to beat the airport traffic and tariffs. Once they open up the entire line, I will be unstoppable!!
• Exiting Bombay (2) was a nightmare hellscape. For the first time, Terminal 2 let me down.
  • Check-in took an hour because their baggage belt was stuck; it was also a full flight, so I had to spend 5 minutes explaining to the agent why it was imperative she didn’t check-in my carryon.
  • I had to deal with so many people trying to cut the line at immigration, which left me with no choice but to unleash my inner Indian uncle and shame them to the back of the line. I made many friends, but even more enemies. I have no regrets.

ATL (Atlanta, Georgia USA  – Layover 2 hours)

• Most. Depressing. Layover. Ever.
• My plan, scheduled to take off at 8pm, only ended up taking off at 1030pm. When you’re knee deep in the 34^th hour of travel every second spent in an airport, which a local friend describes as ‘decent’ and ‘you can’t do much better than Hartsfield-Jackson’, is painful.
  • ATL is good for its food options, but it’s infrastructure is just as sad as DTW or ORD.
  • Smooooooooth immigration, took only 15 minutes!
  • Great connecting facilities (albeit a little overburdened).
• Just felt like Delta was being slow and lethargic. Cannot believe I actually, for a second, missed Indigo and their signature rapid turnover process. The plane was empty and on the tarmac for over 2 hours before they let us board, only to keep us captive without movement for another hour. Every minute in my seat I felt anger and exhaustion claim me.
• This all changed when the pilot decided that they had had enough of delayed flights, and once we were in the air, started shaving minutes off the ETA. It felt like they were playing Free Bird in the cockpit as the plane started ZOOMING at >700mph. For context, a normal airliner maxes out at 600mph. Yes we probably had great tail winds, but I choose to believe the soul of Lynyrd Skynyrd propelled us to a half decent arrival time, albeit shaking a few bones as the plane rattled with the wind.
• I was greeted at BWI by one of my favorite people ever, who drove halfway across the city in the middle of the night despite the delay. They were the only reason I made it home half-sane that night. Shoutout Skipper.

Delta Airlines

• You may be celebrating your centennial anniversary, but please upgrade your planes!! The A330 we flew from AMS to ATL had plane-wide entertainment screen issues, and then froze up for me halfway through (probably to the delight of my mother).
  • A child just would not stop MOVING – how does he have this much energy to be up for so long? I like a happy child as much as the next person, but this is slightly excessive – please calm down! But, I have to accept every noisy, out-of-control baby for they are splitting images of me as a child.
• LETHARGY

I cannot believe I wrote this much in take 2 of this blog. I astound even myself with my incessant need for story-telling. I hope this was a fun read – not as informative as last time and more so a little slice of my self-inflicted pain. For once, I pray I have a normal journey. But if not, at least I’ll get a story out of it!