January 3, 2024 - Wednesday - Departure for Delhi

Our bags were packed yesterday. This is closer to departure than is usual for us. I guess we are finally getting better at this. Our taxi was ordered for 12:05 PM. I like to make sure it is coming in the afternoon so I don’t book it for 12:00. We know that the driver usually arrives 5 to 10 minutes early for trips to O’Hare. Today he arrived 30 minutes early and was happy to wait for us. we were finishing our checklist. Turning down the heat, turning off the water, and turning off the water heater were the last things to be done. We were underway before noon.

We walked into terminal 2 at 12:30 for our 3:30 Air Canada flight to Montreal. Check-in went smoothly. We checked 3 bags, 2 large plus a small one for our tour to the Taj Mahal. We would have had only 2 bags but we are limited to a 33 pound bag for the flight from Delhi to Mumbai to join the ship after the land tour. Our bags were checked through to Delhi and we received boarding passes for both flights, Chicago to Montreal and Montreal to Delhi. Passing through TSA Pre was a breeze. 

We proceeded to the United Airlines lounge which hosts Air Canada passengers. We spent two hours there with a light lunch. During that time I received a text notifying us that our flight was delayed until 3:50. Half an hour later there was another text announcing a gate change. 

At 3:00 we went to the new gate. The plane had just arrived and we boarded immediately after deplaning and cabin cleaning. Priority boarding for business class is a joy. We were seated by 3:30. We backed away from the gate at 3:45. This was a small plane and it was not full with only 51 passengers. There were only 5 of us in business class. That was a joy because it allowed us to visit with Frank our flight attendant for quite some time. He was born in Prague and encouraged us to visit someday. He has lived in Canada for 30 years and has worked as a flight attendant for 25 of those. His wife also works for an airline. This allows them to fly extensively for pleasure. He was very interesting and eager to talk about their travel experiences. We had a happy landing at 7:00.

This gave us time to make the long walk to the gate for our 8:30 departure to Delhi. We only waited in the gate area for 20 minutes before boarding started. Business Class service commenced as soon as we were seated with a welcoming glass of champagne. The flight departed on time and was remarkably smooth. Dinner was outstanding. Four attendants were serving the 30 passengers in business class. Beverage service was also very good. After eating, I was able to fall asleep right after changing my comfortable seat into the lay-flat bed. I got 6 hours of sleep before it was time for breakfast. I decided to get into the spirit of things with an Indian breakfast. When I ordered it the Indian attendant who was serving me was surprised and made sure I understood that it was a vegetarian breakfast. It was excellent with a vegetable muesli and a tasty vegetable stew of sorts. Indian tea was very good with a fruity aroma. 

Alice did not get as much sleep as I did. She enjoyed a traditional breakfast. We were both rested enough to look forward to our arrival in Delhi.