I’ll Fly Away

Recently I was talking with our aunt who was a flight attendant in the ’60s and she was regaling me with stories of how exclusive and luxurious air travel was back then. Having just come home from flights that in no way shape or form could be described as exclusive or luxurious I feel the need to vent. I wonder if you will find anything I describe familiar?

Off To A Slow Start

Our trip started off with an ominous announcement. Yes, you guessed it – our first flight was delayed. It started out to be only 10 minutes late but by the time we had received the fourth notification of a delay we were over an hour late leaving. To add insult to injury, we had to get up at 5 am to get to the airport on time to check in, only to sit in the waiting area for an extra hour. We did feel lucky though that we were delayed not cancelled when a notice came over the loudspeaker that a flight to Puerto Vallarta was cancelled due to a fire at that airport. I felt sorry for all the Puerto Vallarta travellers in their shorts and sunglasses as they filed out of the waiting area, especially when they were told not to go to the check in desk to rebook, they would receive an email advising them of when their trip would be rescheduled. My guess is they might still be waiting for that email to arrive.

With two more tight connections to make we were concerned that this delay might make it difficult to make our next connection. But we needn’t have worried because we were soon notified that our next flight was also delayed. And of course, just as we were getting ready to board our second flight, we were notified that our third flight was, you guessed it, delayed.

Are We There Yet?

Tired and hungry, when we landed at our second airport we did have time to have some dinner. Shortly thereafter we received a text informing us that, because of the length of delay to our third flight, we were each being provided with a $15 voucher for use at specific airport food outlets before departing. Aside from the fact that we had just paid for dinner, it was a nice gesture I suppose, except we received the vouchers at 8:50 pm and all but two of the outlets closed at 9 pm. I have to hand it to my husband-he was not to be deterred. He took off like a shot and returned about 20 minutes later having successfully spent all $30. One small victory for us.

Very late and with a huge sigh of relief we boarded the last flight of our journey. My husband, ever the optimist, thought that all the delays were fine as each one meant we could make our next connection. Me not so much, especially when we finally landed at our destination after more than 12 hours of travel, in the dead of night and -20c temperatures. And just in case there was any doubt in my mind about how I felt, my suitcase came off the conveyor belt with a big crack in it.😩

Homeward Bound

I wish I could say that our trip home was better, but alas, I cannot. If anything the airline gods ramped it up a notch. In order to get a more direct flight home we were forced to take a flight which left at 5:40 am. this meant that we were up and on the road to the airport by 4am and praying that we would leave on time, which we did. This leg of our trip was relatively uneventful, aside from the gestapo-like ticket agent who repeatedly threatened that anyone who tried to board before their zone was called would be sent to the back of the line. I think he missed his morning coffee.

At our connecting airport we had a momentary scare when we checked the departures board and our flight was listed as cancelled. Fortunately this wasn’t the case, however there was a stop in Winnipeg added, the reason for which was not made entirely clear other than a reference to high winds. This would turn a five hour flight into a 6+ hour flight but at least we didn’t have to get off the plane. But little did we know…

Shortly after we made it to our gate we were on the delay merry-go-round once again. We did not have to worry about a connecting flight so we were less bothered by this. We just wanted to settle in and relax.

Our optimism was short lived however, when we realized as we boarded that we were on a smaller plane with less legroom, much, much less legroom. I am of average height and my knees touched the back of the seat in front of me and my poor husband who is 6’4″ had to fold himself up like a pretzel to get in his seat. And of course the people in front of us decided to recline their seats about half way through the flight. I will say the flight attendant tried to find us other seats where there would be more legroom but it was full flight. Suffice to say the seat my husband paid for was used only about half of the flight, the rest of the time he spent standing and walking the aisle. I have to hand it to him he emerged from the plane over 6 hours later with smile on his face. I feel like I should do a public service announcement here and advise that you never book a long flight on an Airbus 320 unless you are 5 feet tall or under.

The one tiny bright spot on this flight was that the landing was smooth, nary a bump or wobble to be had. And what about that mystery stop in Winnipeg? As we were disembarking I overheard the passenger behind me stop and ask the pilot the real reason for the stop. The pilot told him that the combined weight of passengers and luggage would not allow them to fill fuel tanks fully and so we had to stop in Winnipeg for a fuel top up. That was a first for me.

After collecting our luggage we emerged from the airport to beautiful sunny skies and a warm temperature. I guess the airline gods thought we had had enough.

Ok, I feel better now. I need a nap. 🤣