When we were in Parkway Plaza at Penn we came up with a list of milestones that we could aspire to reach and measure our lives as successful or otherwise. We put this up on our refrigerator and well its probably out there still:)
next 6 months - find an assistantship (funding was everything then)
age 22 - finish off the master's
age 23 - get a job..one that pays
age 25 - yell at your boss, quit the job and start your own company
age 27 - loose all your money on your company
age 27.5 - put your tail between your legs and go back to your previous boss and beg for your old job back
age 28 - get married...preferably to a woman
age 30 - eurotrip
age 31 - get married to another woman in some other part of the world
age 32 - experience bankruptcy
age 35 - get a phd
age 40 - get divorced from both the wives and marry a chick half your age
age 45 - move to a country where you can be called a millionaire with the few bucks that you have left
age 50 - good luck staying alive
Technorati Tags: milestone
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Anyone willing to pay for Constructive Criticism?
All of us know the importance of good and constructive criticism in any aspect of our life, most importantly our work. Now we usually also know for a fact that criticism and the heated discussions that follow are probably the best moments of learning for most receptive individuals. However after all this it is really rare to find individuals who can digest criticism face on without pride getting in the way.
I have this uncanny and probably unwanted ability of speaking my mind out straight up without any hesitation. However on most occasions the receiving side usually doesnt want to hear anything that deviates from their current line of thought.
Come on the best way to learn, teach and improve on your ideas is by direct confrontation with people that oppose your idea. And if you can go ahead and manage to convince these same people that your ideas are much more better than theirs and these are the reasons why then you are bound to be more confident about your approach. And of course if you do not manage to convince these non believers then the fact is that either your idea is not based on a solid foundation or it is simply junk. Yes, you sometimes need to accept the fact that your idea may be not worth its weight at the scrapyard either.
Now while there are very few people who manage to accept criticisms there seem to be fewer who are willing to stick out their necks and blast out their criticisms to their peers and superiors with true confidence. Frankly I dont seem to have any trouble saying "Hey this sounds like crap!"
Corporates are willing to pay people to blog for them, to spy for them and/or do anything that would improve their organisation. What I am wondering is whether they are ready to pay individuals like myself to come out in their house and spell out exactly what I feel is crap in there and what are the things that bug me the most. Now remember this is what most of your employees think about them too but they are just too scared to say it out loud. Any takers? Though I haven't heard of any CEO's reading my blog just in case there are any interested in this prospect get in touch with me at allen.mathias@gmail.com
Technorati Tags: Consultant ConstructiveCriticisms Consultant
I have this uncanny and probably unwanted ability of speaking my mind out straight up without any hesitation. However on most occasions the receiving side usually doesnt want to hear anything that deviates from their current line of thought.
Come on the best way to learn, teach and improve on your ideas is by direct confrontation with people that oppose your idea. And if you can go ahead and manage to convince these same people that your ideas are much more better than theirs and these are the reasons why then you are bound to be more confident about your approach. And of course if you do not manage to convince these non believers then the fact is that either your idea is not based on a solid foundation or it is simply junk. Yes, you sometimes need to accept the fact that your idea may be not worth its weight at the scrapyard either.
Now while there are very few people who manage to accept criticisms there seem to be fewer who are willing to stick out their necks and blast out their criticisms to their peers and superiors with true confidence. Frankly I dont seem to have any trouble saying "Hey this sounds like crap!"
Corporates are willing to pay people to blog for them, to spy for them and/or do anything that would improve their organisation. What I am wondering is whether they are ready to pay individuals like myself to come out in their house and spell out exactly what I feel is crap in there and what are the things that bug me the most. Now remember this is what most of your employees think about them too but they are just too scared to say it out loud. Any takers? Though I haven't heard of any CEO's reading my blog just in case there are any interested in this prospect get in touch with me at allen.mathias@gmail.com
Technorati Tags: Consultant ConstructiveCriticisms Consultant
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Google is improving - proof
Theorem:
Google is constantly innovating on search and is actually innovating
Proof:
2 years ago my webpage at Penn featured as the "I'm feeling lucky match" for the search "allen mathias"
1 year ago Google featured something relevant to me as the 4th entry in its search results while MSN's beta search engine had me as the top search result.
1 minute ago Google features my blogger profile as the top search result for my name.
Therefore PROVED Google is innovating as we type:)
Hurray!
Technorati Tags: Google ImFeelingLucky Blogs
Google is constantly innovating on search and is actually innovating
Proof:
2 years ago my webpage at Penn featured as the "I'm feeling lucky match" for the search "allen mathias"
1 year ago Google featured something relevant to me as the 4th entry in its search results while MSN's beta search engine had me as the top search result.
1 minute ago Google features my blogger profile as the top search result for my name.
Therefore PROVED Google is innovating as we type:)
Hurray!
Technorati Tags: Google ImFeelingLucky Blogs
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Manipulations of the Media
The recent uproar of Muslims throughout the world against Pope Benedict's remarks had me thinking that the new Pope is quite orthodox and even more confrontational than what I assumed him to be from previous literature. I, like many of the people around the world, fell in for what the media flashed out all over the place.
As it turns out the quotes of Pope Benedict though absolutely spoken by him were in fact within a context of reference to a passage from some medieval text. He simply quoted the text and was having a dialogue based on the same. There was no malice or ill intention from the Pope at all.
The media has been well known to "make news" out of basically anything, however demeaning and unprofessional it may be. Most of the headlines in the papers have similar sources. They simply take the few words from an entire article that would turn out to be eye-catching or a double meaning and print it out in bold as the topic of the article.
For decades now the church has been a non confrontational leader in the new world. At many a occasion the church has even apologised for mistakes of the past. There is no reason to believe that the church holds such views at all. Unfortunately the reaction to such concocted media statements from the Muslim community has been far from encouraging. If it were the reactions from a few uneducated people I would'nt have been surprised however we have national leaders who are reacting with such childlike tantrums that I fear that dialogue is not something in their minds at all. At least world leaders and the educated masses should have confirmed the sources of such an article and found out the entire text of the speech given by Pope Benedict before reacting in any way. Especially considering that other people of the community do not overreact.
It is truly shameful that Middle East leaders have not come out to calm the extremists. And ofcourse regardless of what their intentions are I am sure that Pope Benedict will come out with a an apology of any sort or form that the Muslim community demands so that the world is a more peaceful place for all of us.
For those who care to read the speech. This is the link here
Technorati Tags: Vatican Pope Benedict speech Muslims
As it turns out the quotes of Pope Benedict though absolutely spoken by him were in fact within a context of reference to a passage from some medieval text. He simply quoted the text and was having a dialogue based on the same. There was no malice or ill intention from the Pope at all.
The media has been well known to "make news" out of basically anything, however demeaning and unprofessional it may be. Most of the headlines in the papers have similar sources. They simply take the few words from an entire article that would turn out to be eye-catching or a double meaning and print it out in bold as the topic of the article.
For decades now the church has been a non confrontational leader in the new world. At many a occasion the church has even apologised for mistakes of the past. There is no reason to believe that the church holds such views at all. Unfortunately the reaction to such concocted media statements from the Muslim community has been far from encouraging. If it were the reactions from a few uneducated people I would'nt have been surprised however we have national leaders who are reacting with such childlike tantrums that I fear that dialogue is not something in their minds at all. At least world leaders and the educated masses should have confirmed the sources of such an article and found out the entire text of the speech given by Pope Benedict before reacting in any way. Especially considering that other people of the community do not overreact.
It is truly shameful that Middle East leaders have not come out to calm the extremists. And ofcourse regardless of what their intentions are I am sure that Pope Benedict will come out with a an apology of any sort or form that the Muslim community demands so that the world is a more peaceful place for all of us.
For those who care to read the speech. This is the link here
Technorati Tags: Vatican Pope Benedict speech Muslims
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Lagge Raho Vidyaji
I dunno what it is with me and smiles. But for me a beautiful smile is well worth making a fool of myself. And man does Vidya Balan take the cake for actresses with a genuinely breathtaking smile.. Well Sushmita Sen is also right up there with her but since I just saw the new flick Lage Raho Munnabhai, Vidya has the queen of all smiles.
Technorati Tags:VidyaBalan,smile,Lage Raho Munnabhai
Technorati Tags:VidyaBalan,smile,Lage Raho Munnabhai
TOI's only interesting piece
For me Times of India is probably the worst newspaper there every is. Not a shred of journalism in the tons of pages that it burdens itself with. Even the basic spell checker seems to be missing in the software used to write their columns. Most of the news is either stale or copied from the internet with little or no intention of giving credit where due nor is an attempt made to provide a different perspective. And yeah I buy it because of the adverts thats all. But the quote for the day this thursday was worth the paper and ink used to print it.
It irritates me to be told how things have always been done
... I defy the tryanny of precedent
- Clara Barton
Made my day especially with the BS that was being fired towards me for the most of the week. Cheers.
It irritates me to be told how things have always been done
... I defy the tryanny of precedent
- Clara Barton
Made my day especially with the BS that was being fired towards me for the most of the week. Cheers.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Emperor for a day
I am sure most of us have fantasised about various fairy tales. Surely wondered about the fairy who grants your 3 wishes and man do I have my 3 wishes all down and ready just in case she drops by. But recently the question arose about what would you do if you were given charge of the country for an indefinite amount of time. Now here is something that I can't let pass so easily. So lets get into the nitty-gritty...well atleast some details.
So here is what I would do if I was made supreme commander of India with absolute command and authority
1. Implementation of Uniform Civil Code after a timeframed dialogue process.
The worthiness of a Uniform Civil Code in as diverse a society as India is overwhelming. There is no reason why the various parties concerned have not been able to reach a consensus on this issue. Most importantly it has been the largest minority community who is not ready to get this issue in the forefront. Not even in Islamic states have they been given this much freedom. However it is time that they stood up for being true citizens of India and show that they are willing to let go of some haphazard ways for the betterment of their own and the country as a whole. Ofcourse dialog is important and a must. However there has to be a timeline set and this timeline should be set in stone so that we can move forward towards developing a strong and united nation.
2. National Language.
The issue regarding the National Language has been bought up on many occasions however nothing has been done about it. For the nation to be one nation we need to identify with each other and there is no better way than by having a common medium of communication. The national language Hindi should be compulsarily spoken everywhere and all sign boards throughout the nation should bear captions in Hindi, English and the local tongue. The debate could be continued for a limited period of time to decide if Hindi is not a suitable national language but it should occur within a very limited and short period.
3. Paid Mandatory Military Service
Military Service has been touted for many years but the problem there being the simple fact that India has the largest growing youth population in the world. This leads to a statistical nightmare in terms of carrying out a thing like mandatory Military Service. However if we go ahead and enforce the same for 2years by replacing the customary 11th and 12th grade with 2years of military service and making the youth pay for these 2years an equal amount they wouldve paid towards their education we can possibily have a way of lowering the cost burden on the economy. Moreover Military Service can also be replaced with things like community service, rural volunteers eg. teaching in a school for 2 years etc.
4. Cleaning the politicians
Having the same bloodline of politicians has lead to the mass rape of our constitution by these so called elected officials. There should be a limit on number of people who have served/leeched the country from a particular family, sons, daughters, nephews, neices etc all included. Moreover people who would stand for election need to have been in community service for atleast 5 years and should not have crimes that ellicit the death penalty registered against them. They should have atleast completed their graduation and know how to dress in a suit and tie if need be.
5. Timeframed Elimination of Reservation based on caste and a move towards providing opportunity to the economically backward sections.
The reservation system in the country has been misused from the get go. The people who should be getting the benefit of this system are nowhere in the picture while the scoundrels in parliament make fake certificates and place their signatures on the same for a paltry sum. The caste based reservation system is clearly a step in the wrong direction. There needs to be a system that provides economic support ie low interest or 0% interest loans to people from economically insufficient families.
6. Strengthening the Police Force.
Save Mumbai and Punjab the police force all over India is in shambles and definitely not worth mentioning. The level of corruption in this guardian of our society and the most visible form of governance in our daily lives is nauseatingly high. There needs to be an immediate increase the pay scales of these gentlemen while weeding out the rats and boot-polishers of the politicos within these ranks. Their morale should be boosted by providing regular interaction with the armed forces and making sure that this force is ready for frontline duties as a reserve force for the nation if and when need be.
7. Panchayat Raj and Central Control
The states would continue to have autonomy for various purposes, especially with daily governance and issues regarding the region. But any decisions that would lead to turmoil or cause other states to carry out nefarious actions should be dealt as a matter of the nation. The Centre would have total control towards taking decisions on these issues. Moreover the panchayat type governance model should be followed wherein localities govern themselves and are allowed to invest a portion of their taxes paid back into their own community.
I am sure I will remember many more once i leave this space but these are all for now. Cheers!
So here is what I would do if I was made supreme commander of India with absolute command and authority
1. Implementation of Uniform Civil Code after a timeframed dialogue process.
The worthiness of a Uniform Civil Code in as diverse a society as India is overwhelming. There is no reason why the various parties concerned have not been able to reach a consensus on this issue. Most importantly it has been the largest minority community who is not ready to get this issue in the forefront. Not even in Islamic states have they been given this much freedom. However it is time that they stood up for being true citizens of India and show that they are willing to let go of some haphazard ways for the betterment of their own and the country as a whole. Ofcourse dialog is important and a must. However there has to be a timeline set and this timeline should be set in stone so that we can move forward towards developing a strong and united nation.
2. National Language.
The issue regarding the National Language has been bought up on many occasions however nothing has been done about it. For the nation to be one nation we need to identify with each other and there is no better way than by having a common medium of communication. The national language Hindi should be compulsarily spoken everywhere and all sign boards throughout the nation should bear captions in Hindi, English and the local tongue. The debate could be continued for a limited period of time to decide if Hindi is not a suitable national language but it should occur within a very limited and short period.
3. Paid Mandatory Military Service
Military Service has been touted for many years but the problem there being the simple fact that India has the largest growing youth population in the world. This leads to a statistical nightmare in terms of carrying out a thing like mandatory Military Service. However if we go ahead and enforce the same for 2years by replacing the customary 11th and 12th grade with 2years of military service and making the youth pay for these 2years an equal amount they wouldve paid towards their education we can possibily have a way of lowering the cost burden on the economy. Moreover Military Service can also be replaced with things like community service, rural volunteers eg. teaching in a school for 2 years etc.
4. Cleaning the politicians
Having the same bloodline of politicians has lead to the mass rape of our constitution by these so called elected officials. There should be a limit on number of people who have served/leeched the country from a particular family, sons, daughters, nephews, neices etc all included. Moreover people who would stand for election need to have been in community service for atleast 5 years and should not have crimes that ellicit the death penalty registered against them. They should have atleast completed their graduation and know how to dress in a suit and tie if need be.
5. Timeframed Elimination of Reservation based on caste and a move towards providing opportunity to the economically backward sections.
The reservation system in the country has been misused from the get go. The people who should be getting the benefit of this system are nowhere in the picture while the scoundrels in parliament make fake certificates and place their signatures on the same for a paltry sum. The caste based reservation system is clearly a step in the wrong direction. There needs to be a system that provides economic support ie low interest or 0% interest loans to people from economically insufficient families.
6. Strengthening the Police Force.
Save Mumbai and Punjab the police force all over India is in shambles and definitely not worth mentioning. The level of corruption in this guardian of our society and the most visible form of governance in our daily lives is nauseatingly high. There needs to be an immediate increase the pay scales of these gentlemen while weeding out the rats and boot-polishers of the politicos within these ranks. Their morale should be boosted by providing regular interaction with the armed forces and making sure that this force is ready for frontline duties as a reserve force for the nation if and when need be.
7. Panchayat Raj and Central Control
The states would continue to have autonomy for various purposes, especially with daily governance and issues regarding the region. But any decisions that would lead to turmoil or cause other states to carry out nefarious actions should be dealt as a matter of the nation. The Centre would have total control towards taking decisions on these issues. Moreover the panchayat type governance model should be followed wherein localities govern themselves and are allowed to invest a portion of their taxes paid back into their own community.
I am sure I will remember many more once i leave this space but these are all for now. Cheers!
Monday, July 31, 2006
Chinese Valentine's Day
It seems that according the Chinese calendar today is celebrated as Valentine's Day. Surrounding this myth there is a truely beautiful story of two lovers. The amazing thing was that it did actually pour heavily out here in Gurgaon today and I just couldn't let the coincidence slip by. Hope you enjoy the tale!
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
India as an integral part of China
Now I know how the Chinese feel. India has gone ahead and blocked access to sites such as blogspot, geocities etc where people like myself post their views. This under the excuse of the Mumbai blasts and that such sites were being used by anti-national elements. Well that just shows the amount of stupid morons we have in the IT department in our country.
And whats worse is that the blockage is done in a technology unsavvy manner. For eg. I can still post to my blog by logging into blogger but I just can't access it in my browser. So if any anti-national element needs to spread his/her message he/she still can and ofcourse the use of proxies and other hacks would still allow you access to any of the blocked sites.
And all this in a democracy and that too the largest one in the world. The word "largest" that is harped on so much. Well as long as this lasts let me welcome all my countrymen/women to being an integral part of China.
Technorati Tags: India, Blogs, Ban, China
And whats worse is that the blockage is done in a technology unsavvy manner. For eg. I can still post to my blog by logging into blogger but I just can't access it in my browser. So if any anti-national element needs to spread his/her message he/she still can and ofcourse the use of proxies and other hacks would still allow you access to any of the blocked sites.
And all this in a democracy and that too the largest one in the world. The word "largest" that is harped on so much. Well as long as this lasts let me welcome all my countrymen/women to being an integral part of China.
Technorati Tags: India, Blogs, Ban, China
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Air Deccan Sucks
Air Deccan should be renamed Air Dick-an. I just decided that I would like to travel to Mumbai for the weekend and for saving around 500Rs I decided to fly Deccan. Now I got onto the site and selected my flights and when I hit the confirm button (before moving to the payment tab) there is this popup which shows up saying that RF######## is my reference number just in case I don't get the PNR number at the end of this. I should've bailed out just then but naive me went on to make the payment and lo-and-behold the site just went onto a blank page with Done showing up at the statusbar. Now I try the reference number to get my PNR but it says that the number is invalid. Great. Immdieatly checked my bank balance and ofcourse 5573Rs were already dedcuted. I call the customer care number and after giving the jerk wastes 30mins of my time typing my complaint down he says that they have registered a case and it would take 14 working days for me to get my money back. Whats worse is that I don't get the tickets either.
Now this is just ludicrous use of technology. Stupidity at its worse. By giving out a RF number before the payment is made just says that they already know that their system doesn't work and they are not willing to do anything about it other than show a useless popup with an equally useless RF number.
Chuck Air Deccan out of the window from my list of i-wanna-fly-em airlines. Jerks!
Technorati Tags: AirDeccan, CustomerCare, Complaint, BadExperience
Now this is just ludicrous use of technology. Stupidity at its worse. By giving out a RF number before the payment is made just says that they already know that their system doesn't work and they are not willing to do anything about it other than show a useless popup with an equally useless RF number.
Chuck Air Deccan out of the window from my list of i-wanna-fly-em airlines. Jerks!
Technorati Tags: AirDeccan, CustomerCare, Complaint, BadExperience
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Mumbai Blasts 7/11
Everyone has by now heard and read about the merciless act of terror committed by cowards in Mumbai on the 11th of July 2006. The series of 7 high intensity bomb blasts most of which were in the local trains in Mumbai killed nearly 200 people and left more than 700 Mumbaikars injured. As anyone who has visited Mumbai would know that the train network is the heartline of the city and literally millions of middle class people travel to and from work using this mode of transport.
These killings were a rude shock to many of the cosmopolitan Mumbaikars. This shock will leave an indelible mark with many of us. At the same time though these blast give us a stern reminder that India has been in a state of emergency right since 1979. The events of 7/11 in Mumbai are acts that happen on a routine basis in our state of Jammu and Kashmir. People in J&K have been held hostage to these terrorists for the past 2.5 decades while the rest of the country has continued on with its own agenda turning a blind eye to our citizens and soldiers in J&K. This callous attitude has strengthened the network of these terrorists not just within the state but throughout the country. They have probably managed to form an invisible thread within out country with strong support of the governments of Pakistan and Bangladesh which provide economic, moral and territorial support for their neferious training camps and madrassas.
I just read an article in the Hindustan Times by the renowned Barkha Dutt (NDTV). She as a journalist has been a strong supporter of the peace process and these blasts have shown her the grim reality of terror first hand. As it has for many of us. Things that have been only seen in snippets of Israeli telivision footage and gory pictures are now things that we can relate with having experienced it first hand. According to her article the shock was so strong for her that she doubts the success of the peace process and the need for us to waste our valuable resources trying this route while the other party is not ready to move a muscle in return. Well Barkha welcome to the real world. Just to put in in figures J&K has seen the loss of >50,000 Indians over the past 2 decades. That is 250 times the people that died in Mumbai!!! Now imagine the casualties in lives, injuries and their families.
It is time that India strikes back. India has to prove to the world and more importantly to her citizens that she is ready to defend herself and that she values the lives of her citizens. Unlike int the past, where Indian soldiers of the flag where tortured and their mutilated bodies were strung on bamboo sticks like some hunter's game by Bangladeshi troops and yet India did not strike back. That event still gets my blood boiling with anger. The largest democracy in the world needs to value the life of each and every of its citizens and just as the United States had the right and the determination to defend its country by waging wars overseas we too need to weed out these fundamentalists at their roots. If it is by crossing international borders then so be it... all things considered we are at war since 1979 its time we seize the fort and hoist the flag or else generations will keep paying the price for our cowardice.
Technorati Tag: Mumbai, Bombay, Blasts, 7/11, Jammu, Kashmir, BarkhaDutt, India
These killings were a rude shock to many of the cosmopolitan Mumbaikars. This shock will leave an indelible mark with many of us. At the same time though these blast give us a stern reminder that India has been in a state of emergency right since 1979. The events of 7/11 in Mumbai are acts that happen on a routine basis in our state of Jammu and Kashmir. People in J&K have been held hostage to these terrorists for the past 2.5 decades while the rest of the country has continued on with its own agenda turning a blind eye to our citizens and soldiers in J&K. This callous attitude has strengthened the network of these terrorists not just within the state but throughout the country. They have probably managed to form an invisible thread within out country with strong support of the governments of Pakistan and Bangladesh which provide economic, moral and territorial support for their neferious training camps and madrassas.
I just read an article in the Hindustan Times by the renowned Barkha Dutt (NDTV). She as a journalist has been a strong supporter of the peace process and these blasts have shown her the grim reality of terror first hand. As it has for many of us. Things that have been only seen in snippets of Israeli telivision footage and gory pictures are now things that we can relate with having experienced it first hand. According to her article the shock was so strong for her that she doubts the success of the peace process and the need for us to waste our valuable resources trying this route while the other party is not ready to move a muscle in return. Well Barkha welcome to the real world. Just to put in in figures J&K has seen the loss of >50,000 Indians over the past 2 decades. That is 250 times the people that died in Mumbai!!! Now imagine the casualties in lives, injuries and their families.
It is time that India strikes back. India has to prove to the world and more importantly to her citizens that she is ready to defend herself and that she values the lives of her citizens. Unlike int the past, where Indian soldiers of the flag where tortured and their mutilated bodies were strung on bamboo sticks like some hunter's game by Bangladeshi troops and yet India did not strike back. That event still gets my blood boiling with anger. The largest democracy in the world needs to value the life of each and every of its citizens and just as the United States had the right and the determination to defend its country by waging wars overseas we too need to weed out these fundamentalists at their roots. If it is by crossing international borders then so be it... all things considered we are at war since 1979 its time we seize the fort and hoist the flag or else generations will keep paying the price for our cowardice.
Technorati Tag: Mumbai, Bombay, Blasts, 7/11, Jammu, Kashmir, BarkhaDutt, India
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Carriers in the Indian Skies - A Candid Comparison
Desi Fun(da)
Well over the past few months I have flown in many of the new carriers that have invaded the Indian skies. The list of airlines who have enjoyed my business, and in true desi fashion have not bothered to thank me at all, are as follows and ofcourse it is accompanied by my list of cribbs and kudos.
1. Indian (formerly Indian Airlines)
Kudos
good food
pleasant service
very frequent flights
superb connectivity
experienced engineers and hence safer planes
national domestic carrier
allows decent amount of baggage
pleasant service
very frequent flights
superb connectivity
experienced engineers and hence safer planes
national domestic carrier
allows decent amount of baggage
Cribbs
the changed name and colors aren't enough
airhostesses are not hot enough
green seat covers and not appealing
online booking portal is not user-friendly
not much legroom
airhostesses are not hot enough
green seat covers and not appealing
online booking portal is not user-friendly
not much legroom
2. Jet Airways
Kudos
hot airhostesses
good connectivity
international flights
experienced crew
allows decent amount of baggage
good connectivity
international flights
experienced crew
allows decent amount of baggage
Cribbs
jet-sahara deal devalued my stock by ~20k
too high fares
not much legroom
too high fares
not much legroom
3. Kingfisher
Kudos
bought in strong competition to the big boys
superb food
friendly crew and staff
focussing on service
classy uniforms
introduced very easy online booking
slab fares
brand new A320s
allows decent amount of baggage
superb food
friendly crew and staff
focussing on service
classy uniforms
introduced very easy online booking
slab fares
brand new A320s
allows decent amount of baggage
Cribbs
airhostesses couldve been hotter
slab fares again
not much legroom
slab fares again
not much legroom
4. GoAir
Kudos
classy online booking
choice of seat online while booking itself
choice of seat online while booking itself
Cribbs
seats get expensive as you book closer to the departure date
yucky flourescent uniforms under navy blue vests and pants
leased aircrafts
not much legroom
allows only 15kgs baggage - excess is at Rs70/kg
yucky flourescent uniforms under navy blue vests and pants
leased aircrafts
not much legroom
allows only 15kgs baggage - excess is at Rs70/kg
5. SpiceJet
Kudos
good service
friendly and smiling crew and staff
serving cookies and water onboard instead of whole meals - cost-effective and sensical for Indian flight durations
brand new Boeing 737-800s
good legroom
good looking airhostesses
friendly and smiling crew and staff
serving cookies and water onboard instead of whole meals - cost-effective and sensical for Indian flight durations
brand new Boeing 737-800s
good legroom
good looking airhostesses
Cribbs
those Boeings are hideous and make too much noise
allows only 10kgs baggage
allows only 10kgs baggage
6. Air Deccan
Kudos
very economical and made flying possible for a large section of Indians
(30-40% of its flyers are first time flyers)
very creative advertising techniques employed for additional captial generation
online booking is decent
online booking is decent
Cribbs
Well there is no guessing which one is my favourite and which ones I'd rather not entrust my life with. All in all I feel safety is of the paramount importance to me while I fly and there is nothing else that matters especially while flying within the subcontinent. The flight durations are around an hour to an hour and a half and food and other things don't matter much. If an airline promises me safety at a reasonable price and throws in some goodies and eye-candy with it I would definitely shell out the extra amount to have a thoughtless journey. On the other hand the various low cost carriers have definitely helped bring air travel to the common man and cost will always remain of paramount importance to many of us Indians. I wish all the carriers well and am sure that there are sufficient customers to feed all their fat bellies in our country. leased aircrafts - most of them look as-if they were picked off a airline scrap yard
no service at all
heavy last-minute cancellations and rescheduling of flights
don't even serve water onflight - everything has to be purchased
sad and depressing airhostesses
not assigning seat numbers ie you can pick any seat as you board the flight
allows only 15kgs baggage - excess is at Rs70/kg
no service at all
heavy last-minute cancellations and rescheduling of flights
don't even serve water onflight - everything has to be purchased
sad and depressing airhostesses
not assigning seat numbers ie you can pick any seat as you board the flight
allows only 15kgs baggage - excess is at Rs70/kg
Technorati Tags:
India,Airlines,Indian,JetAirways,Kingfisher,GoAir,SpiceJet,AirDeccan
GoAir experience
Desi Fun(da)
The online booking experience at the GoAir website is wonderful. The site is designed in the eye friendly colors of light blue and white and things seem to be arranged spot on. The best part of the ticketing experience is that there is a "Pick Seat" feature which gives you a layout of the airplane and lets you pick your seat. Now that is one thing that I have always wanted to see especially wrt international carriers. When someone is paying around 20k for a one-way international ticket they should at least have the opportunity to request a particular seat. Surprisingly no one of our other carriers have this feature available as yet. I guess they are just scared to show how many seats are actually full. And it helps that I may just get a free air ticket on this route....pretty cool.
And whatsup with those hideous uniforms. It looks like some design school dropout got the task of desinging their uniforms and man are they sad. The long sleaves and flourescent colors do not go along with the navy blue pants and tops that they wear and worse still they are really injurious to the eyes. Even if the attendants are good looking the uniforms would turn me away. The airhostesses were alright but still Jet rules. The served a bottle of water on the flight and there were other refreshments on sale. So it was pretty decent. The planes are definitely leased out and not brand new so it is a bit unnerving but they don't seem to be that old.
Well unfortunately I did not win the free ticket and whats worse is that my baggage turned out to be overweight so had to pay a hefty price of Rs70/kg to load it. I should have just carried it as hand baggage instead of checking it in like a dumb ass. But in general the checkin procedure was alright. There were no unnecessary delays or anything so that was a plus. The only crappy part of the GoAir website is that the booking feature works only on IE :( and doesn't move on Mozilla.
Technorati Tag:GoAir
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