Have You Paid for a Meal in an Airplane?
I will talk about the Indian context
Me & my wife were seated next to each other on the aircraft.
The aircraft was at an altitude of 20,000 ft above sea level.
We were talking about different things and looking at the people and what they were doing on the plane.
The flight attendants were serving drinks and snacks.
The person in front of us ordered a meal and paid for it with a card.
At that moment, I had a question in my mind
My wife was gently pushing me to buy something too, but I politely said no.
Some people get hungry when they see food, my wife is one of those people. :)
I wasn’t sure if I should ask the question to the flight attendant when she came to our seats.
I like to take my time and think before doing something, especially when it involves talking to a lady I don’t know.
But if I feel like it’s the right thing to ask or if I’m really curious, then I’ll go ahead and ask the question.
Without further ado, I said those 2 words :
“Excuse Me”
A Little Back Story
When you’re on the ground with easy access to the internet, the transaction happens right away.
- You put your card into the POS machine.
- You enter your PIN. Transaction gets validated.
- Money gets debited and the transaction is successful.
But on the plane, especially in India where there’s no internet access during the flight, I was puzzled about how the transaction would work.
I was thinking about it quietly and wondering. I eventually asked my wife, and even though she had quick answers, I still had some doubts and assumptions about the solution.
I decided to reach out to the Flight Attendant.
The Conversation
Here is a snippet of the conversation that took place between me & the flight attendant(FA) after I said “Excuse Me” :
Me: How are transactions executed?
FA: Transactions are validated after the aircraft is grounded, and there is a limit to the transaction amount.
Me: What if the card is expired or does not have the required limit?
FA: It detects it. She said something like — IT detected it. I could not hear it properly & was not convinced of her reply.
Me: How does it detect if the card is expired/CVV is wrong?
I could not get an answer to this.
After some searching I found…
Since the seat number and passenger details are noted, it makes it easy to track down fraudulent transactions.
My Assumption
I believe they first confirm all transactions when a plane lands & internet connectivity is there & post that de-boarding starts. Correct me if I am wrong.
Am I thinking in the right direction?
How does it work in your country?
About Me
I am Piyush Vaish. A Developer turned Designer and an Online Writer.
I am on a mission to build a brand without a niche.
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