I was on a flight to Chicago to attend Workday Rising, the annual conference of Workday. Whenever I get on a flight, some of my early travels always run through my mind.

I distinctly remember my very first flight out of Colombo to Trichy in South India. It was in 1972, when I was coming to India for my “higher studies”. It was all so strange and I had no idea what to do and followed whatever the person next to me was doing. They gave a hot towel, which my neighbor didn’t want (clever guy). By the time I figured out what the others were doing, it was no longer hot. I was so nervous that I forgot to look out and enjoy the take off etc., which are typically the thrills of a first flight.  Of course, the technology of flights themselves never crossed my mind until later.

The next one was my flight in 1978 to come to the US. Another nervous and anxious flight. I was very depressed to be leaving my family back home. All the outwardly brave statements I made to friends and family about going to the US and not coming back for years turned into an outright scare. I took a Swissair flight because it was the cheapest at that time. Everything smelled strange, including the smoke from cigarettes in such a confined space.

We had a stop in Zurich and those days, the airlines were generous enough to give you a coupon for food when you had a break. We got a generous coupon to eat breakfast in a restaurant before the next flight. I met some Tamil (my mother tongue) speaking guys who worked for a shipping company and were going to New York to board a ship for a 6 month stint. They did 6 months in the seas and went home for the other six months. It was a relief for me to have found someone who were familiar with the restaurants and coupons and the like.

They were friendly and introduced me some alien foods that they all were enjoying while I nibbled at an omelette, which I used to love. It just wasn’t the omelette I was used to, so I was so disappointed! When we were about to pay, the guys pooled all the coupons and divided up the remainder and were asking me to pay $15 more. I was shocked. I had on me a total of $500 in cash, which was a loan from a bank and these guys were asking me for a whole $15! I hardly ate anything. If at all we are talking about fairness, they should be giving me back some money. While I hesitated, someone else in the group argued in favor me and waived me from paying.

In 1980 I went back to India for my sister’s wedding and it was one of my happiest trips. I was delighted to get back and I was also going to be in India for 2 months. I was so sad coming back. This continued on several trips to India till the late ’80s when the trips to India were always the happiest. Then things changed.

In the past 10 years or so, the number of times we fly every year has dramatically increased. The availability of technologies in flight, ranging from individualized entertainment to WiFi also helps you with more distractions. I also have been increasingly fascinated by the sheer weight an aircraft is able to carry and how all of this works.

So a couple of years ago I took a course in edX, I believe it was “Introduction to Aeronautical Engineering”  where I learned the physics behind the flight. The thing that stuck in my mind was that the formula that describes the lift is a function of the air density, the speed of the aircraft and the surface area of the wing. Of course there is a whole lot of other factors that are indirectly or directly related to these fundamental factors.

Another thing I am always curious is why is it that we don’t get cell signals on flight. I do understand why they prohibit the use of cell phones (due to potential interference with critical communication between the pilots and the ground), but why is it that we don’t see signals. This article from CNN explains this nicely. Basically, cell phones totally rely on cell towers in the ground, unlike satellite phones that rely on satellite communication. So, the thought that as you go higher, you are getting closer to the satellites and therefore cell signals should improve is wrong because our cell phones don’t use the satellite signals to communicate.

I am so thankful that we have reliable WiFi on flights these days so I can remain connected (I know that this is not a popular topic amongst some that I know. They would rather sleep or read a book during a flight). I am not so happy about the amount of money some of them charge.I think over a period of time competition will drive the price down or WiFi will be free. It will also be the case that over a period of time, WiFi on flights will be free.

Now, if only they provide WiFi on longer international flights!!!