Seat 11 !

 

'Thorn chair' by Michele Oka Doner

USA, c. 1980
cast and patinated bronze .91 × 53 × 51 cm

 

Few years ago - alright make it more than a few years ago; when I started travelling by air I used to love sitting on a window seat. A hold over from all those bus trips of my childhood travelling  to the achingly beautiful Kashmir valley. Window seat would allow you to enjoy the view  for those 8/9 hours you had to be sitting on those hard bench like seats. Things changed over time and I could afford better seats and coaches that  ran movies the entire time. Passengers loved that idea but I was never a fan of it. Bus operators would draw all the  window curtains to get  better screen visibility. I would still try to get a window seat and peeked outside through the slits in the curtain.

 

Once in the air  you can not see much ; just endless blue skies and few clouds. To me it is still fascinating, almost a liberating view! For a very long time I continued to book a window seat. I would always resent if that was not available; which happened once in a while. What bad luck I thought !

 

Time is relentless. It imprints itself on everything and everyone. So one fine day as I was flying from Frankfurt to home I realized I have grown up and not that young boy of those bus rides any more ! I was in the window seat as usual in a three seat configuration. Dinner was over; wine was done and  every passenger was trying to catch a wink. I held on for some time but then I had to go. It would have been quite normal but I had gone just before dinner, not too long ago. I had to repeat this later again. So the process involves waking up the middle seat and the aisle seat and maybe make them stand up to allow you to pass while you are trying to hold on to your urges. Jump to 5/7 minutes later and as they are about to slip back into sleep ,repeat this in reverse. Wake up aisle , wake up middle....

 

My window seat days were clearly over! It was a time before airlines had decided to nickle and dime the flying public. I started booking front seats, right behind the first class cabin. Firstly it had better legroom that ensured that you would pass through without disturbing your co passengers. Secondly you would invariably get served food first and the washrooms were not too far either. These seats were also in the front section of the aircraft; which reportedly is smoother to ride during air turbulence. 

           

Now the definition of a bad luck seat had changed for me. Of course airlines do not assign these seats any more; they sell them. About $75 per leg of the journey. I usually buy some good luck now ! 

 

People in the know will tell you that the worst possible seat in a Boeing 787 dream liner happens to be seat 11 A. It is right next to an emergency exit, so you are not allowed to keep your handbags or other belongings with you. Floor needs to be clear of all obstructions. An AC duct apparently is also a restricting  element. Window  is not only not operable; it does not exist. Vishwaskumar Ramesh would have cursed his luck or maybe given an earful to his travel agent. He might have even tried to change to a different seat at the check in counter..... no matter. 11A was his seat and so it remained as he boarded his flight back home to UK. His flight crashed barely 5 minutes into take off. It killed everyone on board the aircraft as well as several others in a nearby  building on which the ill fated aircraft fell .

 

Not everyone actually! Not the occupier of 11A. In an absolute miracle, Vishwaskumar left the catastrophically burning   plane; with charred bodies and smoking debris all around him; on foot. Repeat on foot. He sustained minor injuries , minimal burns and is currently recovering in a city hospital.  The lone survivor of this tragedy!

 

We should never pause to strive for the best possible outcome in every endeavour.  However what we consider bad luck; might actually prove to be the best thing that  ever happened to us. We just do not know it yet.  Ask seat 11A! He will tell you.