Meanderings from Up in the Air

Every time I take off on another flight, I wonder why I didn’t take a bus or train?! For some reason the turbulence on the first and last 15 minutes of the flights are quite bad and very unnerving. I’m not sure why they are so unnerving…I’ve been doing this for more than a few years now. On a recent trip with a friend, he even commented that the flight’s turbulence was the worst he’s experienced this year. For me, it was just a normal flight. My job changes based on the opportunities which arise. So for the last year I’ve been taking monthly trips to Bangalore. The topography we fly over is an arid plateau surrounded by low mountains and forests with temperatures fluctuating from over 104 during the day to 80 at night. I understand about the sun heating the air and it causing irregular masses of air to rise. Also, Jet Streams of air at higher altitudes fluctuate due to air pressure changes causing more turbulence.

But the experience of turbulence in a Boeing 737 is a bit more traumatic than that sounds. Maybe it’s due to me traveling alone so I’m alone in my thoughts? I think I’ll book a train for August. Here we go again…descending into Bangalore!

This doesn’t help either: http://www.airsafe.com/events/models/b737.htm

May 1980; Indian Airlines 737-200; near Rampur Hat, India: The aircraft experienced severe en route turbulence. Two of the 132 passengers were killed.