Most people are afraid of what has
hit the Indonesian Airline industry in recent weeks. Air Asia, an affordable airline
in Indonesia crashed into the sea when on its way to Singapore from Surabaya,
Indonesia. There are lots of people who lost their loved ones. It was reported
that 162 people were in the plane. It was a big news until France’s and caused
worrisome for those who will travel in the region to be picky when they travel.
One might not be interested on my story here about the accident because
thousands of instant news outlets around the World were reporting it,
telling people what happened and went wrong. It makes this story sounds
nothing; however, what would you feel if you found out that a plane of the airline
you took last week to somewhere had just crashed?
This is what happened to me. In the morning of 23rd of December, last year, I arrived in Jakarta from Japan. That was a next flight after from Chicago, United States. It was a long haul flight as it took 20 hours in total counted from Kansas City Airport where I departed. Certainly, it also means a boring flight. I had to continue my flight from Jakarta to Bali, so I needed to take another one from there. The new look of Jakarta’s airport perplexed me to find out which airline I would take. Soekarno Hatta airport has changed a lot since my last presence there a couple of years ago. New buildings have been added and their layouts are even more perplexing. The new maze layout plus the tired-look physic made me decided to go for what I saw at first. I did not explore more on which airline might be cheaper or safer or offers a better service. Unfortunately, my cell phone was dead that did not allow me to search such information. In a nutshell, I decided to buy Air Asia’s ticket once a person showed me its ticket counter.
It is known as a low-cost airline
in Indonesia. Its domestic flight routes are supposed to be cheaper than the other
airlines. However, it was not that cheap due to the peak holiday season. I
arrived one day before the Christmas day, therefore they priced me a lot more
than its regular price tag. Price was not matter in my decision though. As far I
knew, Air Asia Indonesia had a good safety record. I mean, at least, I have not
heard any of its plane got an accident, even a minor one until this. There
might be somewhere and I missed that information, but it was out of my
knowledge, and therefore, I thought that airline was safe for me.
When the plane took off, it was
running normally like any other plane you took before. There were only some
sporadic distractions in the air when the plane encountered bad weather conditions
which we felt like the plane was hitting a bumpy road down there on the ground
surface. The food service was so ground-transport-like service. The meal is
sold, the stewards come to you and offering food and beverage. But, don’t take
that if you have no cash in your wallet because that is not for free; you have
to pay it separately. It was a kind of unsatisfied service. The airline should
advertise honestly to the future customers that the ticket is cheap which does
not include the meal. I am a person who likes to buy the service all at once.
The cost I pay should be included everything that I will entitle to during the
flight.
The flight at the time was OK. There
was no one know that there would be an Air Asia’s plane crash in a couple of
weeks. I was shocked when I came across the accident news on my Facebook wall
one week after arriving home. I was wondering that the plane might have been
the one that I took last time. I chatted to my friends telling them about the
accident in case they have not read it. I told my parents the same thing. They
were wondering, too. I grabbed my luggage to see the remaining pieces of paper if
the ticket was still there. I wanted to look at the flight number whether my
thought was correct. I grabbed my ticket and looked closely at the news on TV
and the online newspapers, I found that it was not. The crashed plane’s number
was QZ8501, whereas the one I took was as in the photo above.
My curiosity was answered after I
found out that information. However, I felt sorry for those families whose
loved ones were in the plane. We can feel what they have on their mind. As per
this week, rescue teams have made progress. Thirty and so bodies have been found
and identified, also some part of the plane pieces have been found including
the black box. Hopefully, this accident gives more lessons-learned policies for
a safer, and better airline industry anywhere in the World.
**Hope this gives you an inspiration
