This is a very surprising entry. I bought a ticket to Kochi on Paramount airlines, because it was the lowest fare among all other airlines, and was the only airline to have direct flights at the time I required. My ticket was bought at their ticketing counter at Chennai airport. As I wheeled my bag inside the airport, I couldn't help but notice the tiny little shack that served as the check-in counter for this airline. I went to the counter, checked my bag and got my boarding card. 10 seconds later, I was shocked to see that the person taking my bag had to manually cart it over to their processing station - not even a conveyor belt. I was beginning to think the plane would be pushed off the parking spot by a handful of people as well.
That's when it hit me. I had actually checked in at a convenience kiosk of Paramount Airlines. One of three such kiosks scattered around the terminal, in addition to a fully functional check-in desk - with a baggage conveyor. Tucked behind my boarding card was a coupon for refreshments at the waiting area - the employee of the Coffee Day kiosk who redeemed my coupon for me apologized to me because the Paramount Airlines lounge wasn't ready to be opened after renovations.
The flight was on time, and the time from push-off to take-off was probably 7 minutes - a far cry from the 25 minutes at Dubai and 40 minutes at Amsterdam. Once airborne, I was treated to some Masala Sharbat (good old Indian Lemonade) - in a real glass. Meal service on the 1.5 hour flight started with a crew member opening the tray table and laying a table cloth over it, followed by a real cloth napkin. After a wonderful meal service with real cutlery and crockery (including warm soup), we were ready to descend.
Quick pass through Kochi airport, and I was on my way to my aunt's house. The speed through each airport was commendable. The underdog airline was memorable, and the weather in Kerala was amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better trip.
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