Travel travails - Ku-Wait airways

I had one of the most unique experiences in all my years of travelling when I used KuWait Airways for my trip to USA this 30 July 2023. 

Slated to be the ‘world’s most improved airline of 2023’, KuWait airline promised a pleasant travel while I made the booking from Mumbai- JFK- Mumbai, or that is what I assumed from the itinerary. Everything looked good until the airline informed a 3 hour delay in departure from Mumbai. The messaging was done two days in advance and all that meant was a reduced waiting time at KuWait airport. It sounded welcome as the airline confirmed through interactive messaging that the 50 minute break is enough time to change aircrafts. We did not want to leave anything to chance and reached the airport well before the counters opened. Surprise #1 came in the form of an announcement of delay by another 90 minutes which meant that the connecting flight to JFK will fly away before we land at the layover airport. It looked like there were many passengers traveling the same sector as us & therefore we assumed that the Kuwait-JFK flight will wait for us.  Surprise #2 was the board showing the new time as a good 7 hours behind the original plan. The subsequent announcements ceased to be a surprise and the incoming aircraft landed a good 12 hours late. We were informed by way of an email that there will be a ‘minor’ change and that we will get the next day’s connecting flight. Questions about getting other options to travel was fended off by the ground staff at Mumbai by passing on the burden to the ones at Kuwait. It was also very surprising to see that all the staff at Mumbai were not employed with the airline but outsourced. We boarded the aircraft with the anticipation of the airline providing hotel accommodation at Kuwait. 

As the aircraft landed, we were informed that the temperature outside was 48 degree C. We ignored the message expecting that we would go out into airport with the comfort of an aero bridge. The plane stopped away from the Terminal and we realised that the airline company would give us a feel of the desert heat. It was tortuous for those few minutes before we got into the bus that would take us to the terminal. The  airline provided accommodation at Safir Airport Hotel, a clean little place within the airport premises which means that a visa is not required. They could have let us languish in one of the lounges or on benches near boarding gates, but they chose to put us up in a neat room. A redemption to some extent. After a dinner along in the company of a young couple, Ayesha and Hussain, it was time to go the room and rest.

A good night’s sleep proved the best medicine rather than laughter as frayed tempers were hemmed in well and good. The morning looked as promising as the reassuring information screen at the hotel that showed our flight KU 117 to be on time. Breakfast was served at 6 am and the coach hauled the group that missed the previous day’s flight to the airport. The checking at the airport was as stringent as it could be and we walked in to aircraft looking forward to the long haul to the Big Apple! The aircraft took off without too much of a delay. I was surprised to see very few crew members within the plane and wondered how such a small team would feed the passengers who have nothing better to do in the next 13 hours than to eat, watch movies, eat, sleep and to eat. The puzzle was solved by the distribution of a small card which said that snacks and drinks will be available at the gantry for pickup. Smart idea for those who sat in aisle seats and not so smart for the rest. The inflight food evoked mixed feelings. While the breakfast was insipid, the second service was palatable.

The aircraft landed at 2.25 pm at JFK. The crowd at Border Control was a lot but we passed through that procedure without too much of a questioning. Traffic from JFK to NJ was as bad as expected on a working day but the joy of meeting the kids overpowered the pains of the longer than expected travel.