Im not usually one for unnecessary small talk, though when traveling internationally I do my best for two reasons. First, Im genuinely interested in hearing what locals have to say, and second, I want to seem polite and interested in them.
Continue reading: When small talk doesn’t pay off…
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
1. A 'short-cut' in that part of the world is usually anything but...... 🙂
2. Funny, you requested American beverages.... we usually hope for the locally-catered stuff that has REAL SUGAR in it!
OMG - That is a first class meal on an 15 hour international flight. Shit - why bother with American carriers. On any of the international carriers, you'd be sipping Krug/Dom and enjoying 6 courses for your first meal, and 3 course for your second.
Hi Lucky;
Great post. But getting ice at an Indian airport was a rookie mistake. Would you drink water out of the tap at the airport?
FWIW, I would have not touched water/ice IN the terminal, but I would have accepted it on the plane, assuming American had sourced appropriately clean ice.
So that's a bad idea?
Nice post. Did you take those pictures of the shortcut while that lady was escorting you. Did she feel embarrassed or something.
I still don't get it. I mean why did she singled you out from the crowd. May be it was just your lucky day
The real sugar thing isn't applicable if you drink diet. There's a definite difference between Diet Coke and Coca Lite (what they have in Costa Rica, where I used to live) so I'm guessing it's the same with Indian diet.
@caveman From what I've seen on other trips reports about Delhi & India, they tend to escort many of their premium passengers to the lounge.
And yeah, that food looks nasty.
Never understand why some countries do the ridiculous security questions and other don't. Last overseas trip was Iceland where I was asked similar stupid questions and a month before in Hong Kong nothing or in Australia for that matter.
Are the stupid security questions a policy of the country of departure or of the home country of the carrier? With one exception (Virgin Atlantic), I've only ever been asked the stupid questions while flying US-based airlines back home from destinations outside of North America. Foreign-based airlines generally don't seem to bother with this charade.
I love eating Indian food, but hate the way it looks. Everything is brown and stewed looking.
Looks like the meal my wife got on United when she ordered the "Asian Vegetarian" special meal 🙂 She is Chinese and was expecting something from HER part of Asia 🙂
Lucky - forgive my ignorance by FML=?
As for Diet Coke, as a fellow connoisseur, there is an appreciable difference between the Diet Coke / Coke Light produced by each Coke factory across the globe. Here in the UK, I will only drink Diet Coke produced at their English factory (a London suburb) and refuse to buy imported Coke Light because it tastes different. The Irish market is supplied by a factory in Belfast. Despite being rather close, the taste is, once again, different.
Anyway, back to the trip report. Interesting as always. I suspect the agent was on her guard because of the preconceptions that many new to India (rightly) have that someone might not be an official helper!
@John - I thought Butter Chicken is Indian too. It is one of the best Indian dishes I have ever had at a local northern Indian restaurant in SF, Saffron Griil.
Wow, and people make fun of United's C/F food 😉
Those meals look like LH F compared to this!
Not only are the AA meals nasty, but during the dozen or so trips that I have taken in 3 years, the menu HAS NOT CHANGED - either outbound or inbound!
BTW, the stupid questions are asked worldwide - IF you are foolish enough to be flying an US carrier!
@ JetAway -- Oddly it never crossed my mind. All of the resorts we stayed at had ice made of bottled water, so I guess I approached it with the same mentality, which might have been a mistake. That being said I didn't get sick, so...
@ Eric -- In fairness it was business class and not first class, though still equally bad!
@ caveman -- I was actually walking next to her while my friend was walking behind, so he took them.
@ Baggageinhall -- See here: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fml
@Eric: "On any of the international carriers, you’d be sipping Krug/Dom and enjoying 6 courses for your first meal, and 3 course for your second."
I don't think so. International flights from India tend to leave in the wee hours of the morning (e.g., Lufthansa's 3:00 am departures from Delhi and Mumbai to Frankfurt). I could be wrong, but I don't think they serve more than a light snack after take-off, even in first class. Then of course you get breakfast before landing.
Actually, I was wrong: Apparently LH *does* provide a full multi-course meal to its first class passengers from India to Germany:
https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2010/12/
I wonder, though, who wants to eat that much food at 4 am, rather than just going to sleep!
Just landed after travelling DEL-SFO on LH via MUC in Business. Flight departed DEL at 9 AM and we had two great meals. Made flight attendant dump out my drink and get me another after he put ice in before I could say no. Also, no security questions from LH check-in.