My first air flight abroad – A unique experience to remember.
By msdivkar
@msdivkar (23359)
India
February 2, 2012 2:14am CST
I was naturally excited when I saw an appointment letter along with an air ticket from Mumbai to Lagos as that was going to be my first experience traveling abroad. I had never boarded a plane before that added to the excitement to add to that was the prospect of working in an entirely different environment. Being young and energetic then, in mid twenties, I was ready to take the challenge my new job was going to pose.
It was an Air India flight from Mumbai to Lagos with a brief halt at Nairobi. Being less important route Air India was employing old fleet of Boeing 707. After settlement of initial euphoria which is experienced by any new bee during the take off, it was a journey as usual. Everything went smoothly until late in the evening when the dinner was served. While everybody was enjoying his dinner, the plane started jerking as if a motorcar was passing through a road full of pot holes. An announcement came from the captain, “Please fasten your seat belts we have experienced a rough whether. Suddenly there was a sense of sinking as plane dived deep down and it shook so violently that all the food plates came down to the aisle splashing the food all over. For a brief second it felt that the end has come. The things settled down shortly and the plane landed safely in a few minutes. Have you ever experienced such a situation? Please narrate your experience of your first air flight abroad.
2 people like this
10 responses
@beamer88 (4259)
• Philippines
2 Feb 12
I still remember my first time to travel by plane. It wasn't as exciting like yours but it was still very memorable for me. I really had to check in very early just so I'll get a window seat. It was an early morning flight and I was so excited to experience having breakfast thousands of feet above the ground. And I wasn't disappointed. It was an awesome feeling. The sun just coming out amidst the clouds with the ocean as a backdrop. I've never thought I would enjoy scrambled eggs, bacon and coffee for breakfast that much :)
@rarora144 (34)
• India
3 Feb 12
mine first travel was from chennai to delhi from spicejet i got a window seat and the scenery was beautiful when i looked through the window......
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
2 Feb 12
My first flight happened when I was fourteen years old. It was from London to Athens. It was a journey of three and a half hours. I got severe ear pain in my ears on landing. It was when I was twenty four years old that a friend gave me a pair of ear planes. These stop any ear pain so I always use them on the flights I do.
I worst flight I went on was bumpy due to bad weather. It was from London to Sfax via Tunis. I felt really ill on that plane. I was sick and got severe ear pain. I had coffee spilled on me and it hurt my legs. The cups were falling due to the plane shaking around in the air. It was an awfully scary journey.
@msdivkar (23359)
• India
3 Feb 12
Thank you maxima for your experiences of bumpy air flights. Ear pains in initial flights are always there. They get less troublesome as you get used to air travel. I also had that heavy feelings in my ears during my initial flights but not that serious and as I got used to air travel that also disappeared. I never encountered such bumpy rides as I encountered in my first flight as most of my subsequent flights were through Europe where they employ some of the best airplanes.
@pan_23 (420)
• Kuwait
14 Feb 12
i had ear pain when i am travelling in flight abroad lonely for first time. and so from second time onwards,i was keeping cotton in my ears. and nothing more bad experiences in flight for me. for first time ,when i am in flight, cool drink had droppen on my saree,(without any jerks of flight),when i opened forcely the cool drink bottle. so when i see that saree now also,i remember my first flight experience.
i feel thrilled after seeing clouds from top of the sky.
i had bad experience in airport in india(hyd),from airport people,for my first travel. as i am going to travel lonely from hyd-kuwait, airport people had confused me for paying money as insurance. i dont know about it and asked my husband about it in phone,who is in abroad. he also dont know about it. as i am lonely,airport people want to take money from me,in confusion. i didnt pay them and i have taken help of one my relative's friend,who is employee in airport in other section. so when i am in confusion for one hour,co passengers had all gone for boarding and i was in full tension for one hour,whether i can go or not.but with friend's (employee) help i had releaved my tension,and so i have given him one gift when i had returned to hyd after 6 months.
@doggydimon (1369)
• Philippines
4 Feb 12
Good thing that didn't stop you from riding a plane again. hehehe... I have been hearing a lot about Lagos. I hope I can visit it also. As for my first flight experience, nothing much. It was just an hour plane ride to one of our local destinations. I was with my friends and schoolmates back then. It was everyone's first flight and we were all excited and noisy that the nun who accompanied us during the flight would come to our row and lecture us...hahaha... As for the frightening experience you described, I experienced it once when we were on our way to Saigon. When you look out the window, it was all sun and no cloud in sight. Then when we were having our late breakfast in the plane, there was a sudden bump or dip that made my milk spill all over the tray. There was turbulence in that area as what the captain said.
@viju0410 (2286)
• India
2 Feb 12
Hi msd, Great to know that you all landed safely and you enjoyed your long trip. Hope you are settled down and enjoying the new place, new job and new surroundings. best of luck.. and no such experience to share for me on this now. take care
@msdivkar (23359)
• India
2 Feb 12
Hi viju,
You have got me wrong. This incident was from my memory lane, it has happened long time back. i am already back to my home country after I had a seven year stint at that place. i did enjoy my stay in Nigeria. That was one of the best part of my life.
@allknowing (137775)
• India
3 Feb 12
My first flight was a one hour fifty five minute ride. I was going home on holiday. I looked down when the plane was mid air and was fascinated to see what lay beneath - small houses, small green fields and people looked like ants. The landing was equally exciting.
I am now a veteran traveller having gone on several foreign holidays. When in the US in the span of 60 days I got in and out of 21 planes with no mishaps. Praise the Lord.
@WakeUpKitty (8694)
• Netherlands
2 Feb 12
To be honest I can't remember how I felt the first time. I think I was about 12 perhaps 13 years old and I went with my mother, granny and siblings to.. (Spain??).
If it was Spain at that age I still remember I ate the best strawberry pie over there I ever had plus my mother spoke very bad English and my granny was sooo proud of her.
@sweetajlo (175)
• Philippines
3 Feb 12
hello msdivkar,
i was smiling after reading your post as i could remember my first travel to abroad...since it would be my first time to travel by plane...and was so happy that i should take domestic plane from my place to manila before going to ride an international plane...i was so scared and i don't have any idea what to do as i could see on the news that no one survive on plane crashes hehehehe... those are funny thoughts that time that when i think of it i could help but smiling, then i was shock too that the international plane is bigger than the domestic plane haahahaha funny thing then.that was my first travel abroad to UAE. first time experience is the most memorable one for me :)
@ecaron (678)
• Canada
3 Feb 12
I was nineteen years old, and although I had flown to Germany before when, I was little, about five, I remember this later flight more vividly. I was flying with my Dad who is German, through and through, we were going to the old country to visit relatives. At the airport in Toronto after coming on a short flight from Regina, we had a four hour layover and my dad just wanted to sit in one of the lounges at the airport and drink. When they finally called our flight, I had to coax him to go and help him walk on board the plane. The flight went fairly smoothly, although we encountered a little turbulence over the ocean but nothing too frightning. My visit to Germany was pleasant and the flight back was too. Another plane trip was here in
Canada on a very small plane. It was very loud and noisy and you felt like you were going to drop out of the sky at any moment, sometimes. Ha, Ha, but it was fun, regardless.
