Today
while returning to Mumbai from Delhi, I arrived an hour and a half early of my
scheduled time of departure. As usual the T3 airport in Delhi was buzzing in
its full glory. I surfed through few shops and bought some stuff here and there
and then finally decided to proceed to the boarding gate and wait for the gates
to open. On the way, for the first time I noticed the ‘prayer room’. I was
intrigued to go inside and instantly felt to go pay my gratitude for the
fruitful trip that I had. It was a very instinctive
move. The peace and silence of the room was profound. Luckily there was no one
in the room so I got my private moment to connect with the energy in the room.
The room had just one wooden table and a huge glass window. The outside view
was a typical airport scene with aircrafts moving here and there, ramp staff working
and servicing the metal, take offs, landing, passengers boarding, handsome
captains chit chatting and lively crew ready to service their next flight.
The
whole view brought back some amazing memories from the past. My association
with Kingfisher Airlines is one of the most enriching experiences and one that I
will cherish forever. The unfortunate demise of the airline is absolutely
tragic considering that the airline was a work of passion - nurtured with lot
of compassion and love, by the entire team of the airline. At one point, when
Kingfisher was a shining star, we took so much pride seeing our airline standing
in the midst of the runway madness. The Bird, the red metal, the well groomed
crew in red uniform - symbolized our airline. Everything was done in style and
with lot of attention to detail. Sometimes when people asked me that why did we
continue to work when airline didn't have any fund to pay our salaries? The
answer was simple – it was not some XYZ person’s airline. It was a piece of
work designed and nurtured by us. Leaving Kingfisher was one of the toughest
decision of my life and done when there was no other option at hand. The
feeling can be considered synonymous to - a painter, who creates his master
piece and for some reason if he is asked to sell it because he incurred a cost
in making it that he couldn't afford in the first place, the artist will feel
bad for giving up his masterpiece and not for the debt he incurred.
In
my experience (specifically in India), I am yet to see a service brand that is as
matured, as energetic, as glamorous and as professional with equally high standards.
Excellent ‘Guest Service’ was the only mission and for which we took lot of
pride in. There is no doubt that while we – the kingfisher-ians lost our beloved airline, India also lost one of
its iconic brand, which had proved its worth in foreign lands. Airports in
India are incomplete without Kingfisher.
We
miss you Kingfisher!
Love,
Jini
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