- Title: INDIA: Former Indian airline engineer takes slum kids on a flight of fancy
- Date: 30th December 2007
- Summary: (L!3) NEW DELHI, INDIA (RECENT) ( ANI -ACCESS ALL) BUFFALOES SITTING IN A COURTYARD NEXT TO AN AIRCRAFT IS PARKED IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA OF NEW DELHI "BOARDING PASSES" BEING ISSUED TO THE CHILDREN TO ENTER THE PLANE CHILDREN COLLECTING THEIR BOARDING PASSES FEET OF CHILDREN CHILDREN CLIMBING THE STEPS OF THE PLANE AN "AIR HOSTESS" WELCOMING THE CHILDREN AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE PLANE A CHILD LOOKING OUT OF THE WINDOW OF THE PLANE "AIR HOSTESS" CLOSING THE DOOR OF THE PLANE CHILDREN WAVING THEIR BOARDING PASSES SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS BEING GIVEN TO THE PASSENGERS GIRL LOOKS ON AS SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS ARE BEING GIVEN GIRL DISPLAYING THE SAFETY JACKET (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) AJAY, A CHILD FROM DELHI'S SLUM AREAS WHO CAME TO EXPERIENCE THE "FLIGHT", SAYING: "Every time I used to look at an aeroplane in the sky, I used to wonder, would I ever get to sit inside one? Today my life's dream is fulfilled." (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) VARSHA, ANOTHER CHILD FROM THE SLUMS, SAYING: "I am feeling great. I have come to see the aeroplane. I had seen planes from outside only, never from inside. Today I have seen a plane from Inside. It is really nice." A BOY LOOKS ON AS THE AIR HOSTESS TAKES OUT THE FOOD TRAY FROM THE SIDE OF HIS SEAT CHILDREN BEING SERVED REFRESHMENTS ON THE "FLIGHT" 17 AIR HOSTESSES GIVING CANDIES TO THE CHILDREN A GIRL SMILING (SOUNDBITE) (English) NIRMAL JINDAL, WIFE OF B.C. GUPTA, OWNER OF THE AIRCRAFT, SAYING: "It is the smile on the face of children, the smile on the face of poor and deprived people. They may not have shoes on their feet but when they come with such a happy face, the moment they enter in the gate and they see such a huge plane standing in front of them and they just climb the stairs with such a big smile and they sit and their happiness gives me uttermost pleasure and happiness." B.C. GUPTA, OWNER OF THE PLANE, SHOWING THE WORKING OF THE PLANE INSIDE THE COCKPIT TO THE CHILDREN CHILDREN LISTENING INSTRUMENTS INSIDE THE COCKPIT (SOUNDBITE) (English) B.C. GUPTA, OWNER OF THE AEROPLANE SAYING: "They (the poor children) keep on coming, and when they come they come with a dream. They are from a very poor section, their parents cannot afford any flying. They want to be in the aircraft but they cannot pay. They have some dream and their dream is fulfilled here." FRONT OF THE PLANE HANGING OUT WITH RESIDENTIAL HOUSES IN THE BACKGROUND CHILDREN SLIDING DOWN THE EMERGENCY EXIT OF THE AEROPLANE CHILDREN SLIDING DOWN FROM THE PLANE A PLANE FLYING OVER THE AIRCRAFT
- Embargoed: 16th January 2008 11:24
- Keywords:
- Location: India
- Country: India
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky,Social Services / Welfare
- Reuters ID: LVADJDOMKOV2IF281K3N93ZI68RL
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: In a middle-class suburb of the Indian capital, jostling for space among a slew of houses and buffalo shelters stands a 280-seat Airbus A300. Hundreds of children from desperately poor families regularly come to fulfill their wishes of seeing the inside of an aeroplane, some with their parents, some through their schools and many through charity organisations.
In the backyard of a home in Delhi stands a huge aeroplane-- it has been attracting curious onlookers and passers-by as it sorely sticks out from the property housing it.
Every week, hundreds of Indians visit the 280-seat Airbus A300. After 'checking in their bags' and being issued with boarding passes, they are welcomed on board by smiling air hostesses. A public address system reminds them to fasten their seat belts while aircraft owner B.C. Gupta's wife, Nirmal Jindal takes them through detailed safety instructions.
Bahadur Chand Gupta, a former airline engineer fulfilled a decade old dream when he bought a decommissioned Indian Airlines plane in 2003 and cut it into four parts. After nearly one-and-half-years of working on it, he managed to put it all together in Dwarka, just a stone's throw away from Delhi's international airport.
The plane has been cut down to about two-thirds of its normal length and is supported by thick concrete pillars. A toilet block has been created underneath the tail. Inside, Gupta has replaced the bulkhead between the coach and business cabins with a wooden wall to mount an air-conditioner to cool the cabin in New Delhi's oppressive summer heat.
The plane offers a dream come true fancy flight at an affordable cost.
A majority of its passengers, who have never seen the inside of a plane, let alone flying, pay 150 rupees (US$3.80) to enter.
It has already become a popular picnic spot for school children who come in droves to get a "surreal" in-flight experience complete with boarding passes, snacks and a visit to the cockpit.
And for those looking for something different, there is the option of holding a birthday bash onboard --- just like the swish jet set.
But for the underprivileged, the experience is for free.
Hundreds of children from desperately poor families regularly come to fulfill their wishes on Gupta's plane, some with their parents, some through their schools and many through charity organisations.
Ajay, the son of a cobbler, was part of one such trip organized by a charity organization. The 11-year-old was overwhelmed by the new experience of sitting inside a plane.
"Every time I used to look at an aeroplane in the sky, I used to wonder would I ever get to sit inside one. Today my life's dream is fulfilled," said Ajay who was brought to the plane along with 350 other children from various slums of Delhi.
Varsha, another girl from the same group, said she never imagined the plane would be so spacious from inside.
"I am feeling great. I have come to see the aeroplane. I had seen planes from outside only, never from inside. Today I have seen a plane from Inside. It is really nice."
Gupta, who hails from a small village in Haryana, says when he became an airlines engineer in 1980, he was flooded with a deluge of requests from his fellow villagers wanting him to take them inside an aeroplane but he was helpless because of security constraints.
However, the thought remained with him all these years and now he can finally fulfill all those dreams.
During the week, the plane is used for cabin crew training and also to train engineering students and on the weekends Gupta throws it open to general public who want to have a peak inside a plane.
Gupta's wife, Nirmal Jindal, who teaches political science at the University of Delhi, says they also try to teach people about air travel etiquette and familiarise them with safety procedures.
But the husband-wife duo say that what really keeps them going even during times of financial turbulence and bureaucratic hassles is the smiles they manage to bring to the faces of poor children.
"It is the smile on the face of children, the smile on the face of poor and deprived people. They may not have shoes on their feet but when they come with such a happy face, the moment they enter in the gate and they see such a huge plane standing in front of them and they just climb the stairs with such a big smile and they sit and their happiness gives me uttermost pleasure and happiness," Jindal said.
Indian skies have never been as busy - new airlines, including a slew of budget carriers, have made flying in India more affordable - but even a $20 ticket is too expensive for most Indians.
Only 1 per cent of Indians have ever boarded an aircraft.
Gupta says he wants to give people from the remaining 99 percent a chance to see something they probably can never afford otherwise.
"They (the poor children) keep on coming, and when they come they come with a dream. They are from a very poor section, their parents cannot afford any flying. They want to be in the aircraft but they cannot pay. They have some dream and their dream is fulfilled here." - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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