• Jet Airways to Dubai: Introduction
• Allways VIP Meet & Assist, Delhi Airport Terminal 3
• Plaza Premium Lounge Delhi Airport, Terminal 3 International
• Jet Airways 9W546, Economy Class, Delhi to Dubai
• Dubai Visa on Arrival for Indians
• Ahlan Business Class Lounge, Dubai Airport Terminal 1

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After a weeklong stay in Dubai, It was time to head back home to India. We were booked on Jet Airways afternoon flight from Dubai scheduled for a 02:35 pm departure. The morning of the departure we got a delay message from Jet Airways advising that due to operational reasons our flight would now depart late at 03:10 pm. So, we timed ourselves accordingly and arrived at the Dubai airport around 12:30 p.m.

Jet Airways uses Terminal 1 at Dubai Airport for their operations to India. On arrival at the terminal, the economy queues were long, and a closer look at the departure screen showed that not only the departure flight to Delhi was delayed, but also the Mumbai departure was postponed.

The JetPrivilege Platinum/Premiere check-in counters, however, were vacant. The agent checking us in was polite, and while chatting us up, she informed us that the delays were due to the late arrival of aircraft from Delhi and Mumbai. Although the aircraft coming in from Mumbai was due to land soon, she had no update on the inbound plane from Delhi. Just like the incoming flight, this time again we had no luck with using our Platinum upgrade vouchers. The agent handed us our boarding passes and invites to the Marhaba lounge that the airline uses in Dubai.

We made our way through passport control and security which took us less than 10 minutes and headed to the lounges on the first floor. We opted to go the Ahlan Business Class Lounge which is just a short walk from the Marhaba lounge. This was a beautiful lounge where we ate a scrumptious lunch and then headed to the gate.

Boarding started promptly, and we boarded the plane with all the elites.

Jet Airways 9W 545
Dubai (DXB) – Delhi (DEL)
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Departure: 03:35 PM
Arrival: 8:00PM
Aircraft Type: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 10D (Economy/Bulkhead)
Meal Service: Lunch

On this flight, we took over the bulkhead economy seats, with 10D and 10F between the both of us. In spite of a full flight, the boarding process was efficient, and the aircraft pushed back at 03:35 pm. However, it was in a long takeoff queue.

Just before pushback the captain came on the PA and apologised for the delay. He also advised that this flight was the one that came in from Mumbai which meant that the Dubai-Mumbai flight must have been further delayed. Sitting in the front row helped us get the extra leg room. The middle seat in between us was empty. It’s always nice to get all the extra space on a 4-hour flight.

The flight finally took off at 04:05 pm with a further half an hour delay. By now the cabin temperature was so cold that many passengers including me requesting for blankets. Soon after takeoff, I heard a passenger arguing loudly with the crew a few rows behind me. Apparently, he had a non-reclining aisle and wanted to be moved to another aisle seat. The aircraft was full, and the only empty seat was the one in between us. Finally, the grumpy gentleman stormed out of his seat and parked himself unhappily on 10E. There went my hopes for extra space.

Thirty minutes after getting airborne the meal service started. I was served my special meal before everyone else again.

It tasted good but wasn’t a low-fat meal with the white rice and bun. The only difference between the regular meal and my low-fat meal was that I had fruits instead of dessert. Anyhow, I had already eaten lunch in the lounge and wasn’t hungry much.

Ajay’s regular vegetarian lunch had matar paneer and dal, and he said it tasted much better than the lunch he was served on the inbound flight.

The drinks included some Dewar’s whiskey, Smirnoff vodka and wine. The beer drinkers had a choice between Heineken and Tiger beer.

The Boeing 737 fleet of Jet Airways is fitted with JetScreen, which makes it possible to watch movies and the moving map on your own device. Not a bad way to kill some time I say.

It was an uneventful flight this time around. After meal service, I slept until the seat belt signs were on for the descent. The crew started preparing the cabin for landing about 30 minutes before touchdown. The captain on PA said that visibility was low due to heavy smog in Delhi, but it was good enough for us to land. We touched down at around 8 pm and after a short taxi arrived at our gate.

The queues at immigration counters were super long, and some of the immigration officials were oblivious of the lines and taking their own sweet time to clear passengers. I overheard one of the officials interrogate passengers and ask them all sort of absurd questions like the purpose of his visit to all the other countries that he’d visited before. It was after many years I was at passport control in Delhi airport and when comparing it to Mumbai which is often as busy as Delhi, the queues in Mumbai move much faster. The arrival immigration process in Delhi is also a bit different where they don’t take pictures of arriving passengers, unlike Mumbai. Anyhow, in spite of being one of the early passengers to deboard, It took us more than 30 minutes to clear immigration.

Bottomline:

Overall, this was flight was marginally better than our inbound flight, though there was nothing to gloat over. The crew was professional and efficient and the captain chatty on the PA system.

Have you flown from Dubai on Jet Airways? Which is your favourite airline on the India- UAE route?

The Pros

+Convinient flight timings
+Professional & efficient crew

The Cons

-Poor quality of aircraft upkeep

Rating