The worst of times brings out the best in us?

Neerja (2016)

They always say that we all have that 'selfish gene' in us that helps us and our dependents to survive and continue our progeny. It is our inborn safety mechanism. This 'gene' theory just remains a theory and has never been identified. There are, however, certain chemicals and hormones in our body that are secreted in abundance at certain times to initiate 'proactive' gestures to build that bond that paves the way to the 'protected list'. Progestrogenic hormones during pregnancy, parturient and lactational times ensure the protection of unborn and newborn. Flooding of the blood and brain with feel-good hormone of oxytocin during passionate and intimate moments cements the closeness of two individuals to provide security for one another. To go the whole nine yard, to endanger one's self for someone unrelated for humanity sake is a feat often praised relentlessly. Why do some go beyond the call of duty, risking one's life is anybody's guess? Is it not being alive the most valuable thing in life? Our body is geared with various reflexes to safeguard its internal organs, so the idea of self-sacrifice can be quite unnerving.

Hence, the countable accolades, honours and immortalisation of her name in the airline industry -Purser Neerja Bhanot of Pan Am. In 1986, 5th September, two days short of her 23rd birthday, Bhanot was flying as the head flight attendant on Pan Am flight 73 from Bombay to New York via Karachi and Frankfurt. During their stop-over at Karachi, the plane is boarded by four Palestinian terrorists disguised as Pakistani airport security forces.

The movie builds up showing Neerja as a lovable family girl much loved by her family and friends. She had a failed marriage (dowry is the issue) which is told in instalments as the main story is unveiled. There is also a prospect of a new boyfriend who may be proposing to her soon.

Neerja Bhanot 1963 - 1986.

The flight which she thought would be an another routine before she returns home for her birthday turns out to be anything but ordinary. The terrorists had intended to divert the plane to Cyprus to bargain for the release of their friends imprisoned in Israel and Cyprus. Apparently green and ill-planned they fumbled. Bhanot alerted the pilots when they entered the flight forcefully who escaped via the safety hatchet. Stranded on the tarmac with no pilots and engineer to man the radio as the lethargic Pakistani authorities drag their feet to organise things, the armed-to-the-teeth terrorists get hot under the collar. They start brandishing their guns and shooting the passengers to get things moving.

Bhanot role in saving the day is hiding the passengers passports to protect Americans, comforting distressed passenger, trying to reason out with the hijackers and finally helping passengers to slide down the emergency exit in the last part of the story as the armed forces ambushed the aeroplane. She is fatally wounded.

The trend is slowly changing. Gone are the typical story build-up of boy meets girl, songs, obstacles in love and love finally appearing triumphant. This is a venture of realistic movie making with the element of suspense evenly maintained interspersed with flashbacks to put Bhanot's past history in perspective to explain her courage to stand up in the face of adversity. 

Now, everyone can fly (the plane)!

The tagline 'Now everyone can fly' must be the most overused, ridiculed and abused business tagline ever in Malaysia. Now only every Tom, Dick and Harry can fly, and Jane and Mary be stewardesses; the news on a podcast recently convinced me that even any Ahmad, Ah Chong and Samy can fly a plane!
You see, there was an analysis of the ill-fated Air France 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. As we all know, it went down, and it took 2 years for its wreckage and flight decoder to be found and analysed.

My untrained aeronautically challenged mind interpreted the simplistic turns of events as such...

The plane, an Airbus, was cruising on autopilot at 37,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean. It was manned by 2 co-pilots after the captain retired to take a nap as the going was easy. There was a minor storm, noting alarming, but it caused a little frosting over one of the wings. That is when all hell broke loose. Airbus has an automatic system called 'fly-by-wire'. It is supposed to aid manoeuvring, but it decided to take charge. It could not be overwritten. The plane stalled without the knowledge of the co-pilots. The captain who arrived at the scene, puzzled by the state of affairs, took the mistaken step of plunging downwards and accelerating towards the ocean floor.

Investigators who analysed the chain of events cautioned that perhaps flying was too much automated. Admittedly, that automation was initiated to easing flying and rectify inadvertent errors. Over time, it appears as though that autopilot seems to be doing all the piloting proper. Apparently, a pilot who clocks 300 hours of flying only does 4-6 hours of actual flying. Otherwise, he is just setting the flight plans and punching in data. Hence, there is a dearth of physical flying as in the old days. And there is no reason for an engineer to be onboard anymore as computers can do that! There is only so much simulated flights can do.

Whatever is said and done, automation is here to stay. In fact, in the not so near future, we may see pilotless planes. Despite the bad reputation that surrounds the airline industry today, the incidence of an air crash is only 2.8 per a million flight take-off! It is still safe, and everyone can fly from point A to point B with peace of mind.

Of frills and thrills...

Wanting to stay away from hassle and bustle of modern living, I managed to escape for a short getaway! As it was a last minute after thought, I had to settle for a regular ticket from a regular airline as all the tickets from the no-frill ones were either taken up or the their websites were too darn user un-friendly! Guess everyone wanted to fly away to greener pastures just because everyone can fly.

As it had been a mighty long time since I flew in a national airline, it was an eye opener on what most people have been missing.

Somehow, from the time of its inception, a journey on a plane has been associated with bourgeois living. People got dressed to the nines. Fair maiden fall all over and bend over backwards to serve the passengers. Servings on flight had to be first class and exquisite and comfort is of paramount importance. All that changed with young punks who came out thinking out of the box and forever changed the experience amongst the clouds. "We make it cheap for you", they said. "You pay for what you want." Preferred seating, extra leg space, express check-in, personalised notification, insurance, food on-flight etcetera were only charged upon request. Luckily, emergency life saving equipment were not charged, or were they?

After being ushered into our seats with salutations of 'Ayubowan', we were left to enjoy the comforts of air travel interrupted periodically by the in-flights announcements of take off and safety precautions. We were spared of having to give the pathetic look at the equally bored air stewardesses on most flights with their acrobatic manoeuvres on life safety tips in case of a crash. Anyway, most people watch it out of pity than really curious to know! All public service announcements were screened on our personalised monitors.

After a short stop for food, we were left to meddle with our flight electronic devices before our arrival without much hassle. No confusion over pre-booked meals, shortage of meals, passengers ordering at last minute, requesting for menu, requesting for unheard dish, selling of duty-free items and passengers treating the flight attendants as their personal maids! Not everyone wants to fly like that! Or is that what happens when everyone can fly? I rather not be thrilled by no-frills next time!