Hi all

Travelled at the end of march between Bhubaneswar and Delhi, with a choice (at 8.30pm when I needed to fly) between Jetlite with a CRJ, or Alliance Air with a 737-200.

After reading a couple of accident reports we chose Jetlite (code S2, formerly Air Sahara) which I am pleased to say got us there safely (and without worrying whether the engine was going to fall off as it did to one of the competitor's aircraft 7 years ago).

Anyways - I digress. The flight itself. The CRJ: I thought they were new? Well this one had done the rounds. The cloth seats that had decent pitch (maybe 33"?) but sagged and provided no support (made the flight very uncomfortable). Service: two cabin crew on hand, only one ever came through the cabin (no wait, the male did, once, to use the lavatory.)

During taxi, all of the flight, and again on taxi after pulling off the runway, both crew sat in the forward galley with the curtain firmly drawn and secured (using the push studs to keep the curtain in place). How much privacy do they need? How safe is it? Do I not need to be able to see the exit in case of emergency?

Every request was met by the female cabin crew member with 'no sorry'. I know S2 is low cost, but there were no pillows, blankets, tea or coffee for this 2.5 hour dinner time flight. We were served a small box with a bottle of water and a vegetable patty in a bread roll. And a muffin. (Both were stale.) Other carriers, cheaper fares, shorter flights, made an instant coffee. Made me wonder if S2 did not usually provide this, or whether our crew were too lazy.

The toilet was terrible. Quite possibly the worst public toilet I have ever encountered. And the smell was not contained. The odour was so overpowering that it 'clung' to passengers' clothes, so as they returned to their seats they brought the smell with them.

The female cabin crew had the seat at back of aircraft for take-off and landing. She clearly saw one passenger put a large piece of cabin baggage in the aisle during landing approach and did nothing to move the bag. (I turned around and watched her looking at the bag.) I repeatedly pushed the call button, pointed at her, then the bag, and she eventually moved into action. (This was not a case of the passenger organising things and going to put the bag away of their own accord, they had put it there to leave it there.)

So. The safety, well, fastened curtain during taxi??. It is low cost, but foreigners can't access the low cost fares via the web - we paid USD155 each (plus taxes) for the flight (one way).

Ok - rant finished. (not sure I feel better though? )

Regards

lme ff