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- June 15, 2006
Flying is fun
I had a bit of a debacle of a day today. Had to go to Sydney for work, for a10.30 meeting. So I booked myself on the 8.15 flight which should give me plenty of time to get to where I had to go. I was good and rocked up to Canberra airport by about 7.20, and went to hang out in the lounge (no waiting round with the riff raff in the public waiting areas for me). I must add that it was very foggy here this morning, meaning no planes could land here, therefore none were available to fly me to Sydney. So I waited, and waited, the 8.15 departure slipping to 8.55, then 10.05, 11.05. I rang Sydney to let them know my situation, and moved my meeting to the afternoon. The lounge at the airport was standing room only. Just before 12 I decided to give up and abandon the trip, went to the desk to cancel when the first inbound plane landed, so my flight could leave about 12.15 …..5 hours waiting! Thats the worst I’ve ever had - its foggy in the morning several times each winter, but about 2 hours is the worst delay I’ve had till today.
Anyway, got to Sydney about 1.30 for my meeting, dealt with a couple of other things, then got back to Sydney airport for my 6.55 flight. Well, the delays this morning still hadn’t worked themselves through the system, so the flight home didn’t go till nearly 8 pm. At least waiting around in the lounge in the afternoon is better than in the morning … it has the advantage of free drinks.
So, 6 hours of waiting around at airports today. What a way to spend a large chunk of my day!
I chuckled to myself on the way home, when I got my boarding pass it said “catering not assured”. Well fuck me dead, I thought, I’m devastated at the possibility of missing out on airline food. I don’t even know why they bother serving food on domestic flights now, its such a token effort anyway … crackers, cheese and dip in a plastic box, with an OJ. Best thing I’ve had on an afternoon flight lately is when they’ve served a packet of cashews and some of those cheese twist thingys.
Anyway, despite my joy at the prospects of spending much time hanging out in airports, I’m flying again on Sunday, to New York for the week, for work. But that’s business class, so I’m not going to suffer being jammed into economy class, so I get one of these.
Technorati Tags: flying, airlines, delays, airline food, New York
3 Responses to “Flying is fun”
I always loved flying and hanging around the airport. Watching poeple come and go was always fun. And I just loved watching planes. Always amazed at how 750,000 pounds of plane can get into the air and still be graceful. Of course now with airport security the way it is you cant really enjoy it anymore.
By Jill on Jun 15, 2006
You’ve just learned (the hard way) one of the most important lessons about Canberra: never try to fly in or out of Canberra Airport on a winter morning. What you described happens at least a couple of times a week. Best to schedule trips in the afternoons! It’s like trying to catch a taxi in Canberra on friday afternoons… only for the desperate and unwise.
By Ampersand Duck on Jun 15, 2006
I knew the risk, but its never affected me that badly - maybe an hour or so in the past. I usually book myself on the first flight in the morning, but couldn’t be bothered getting up that early for yesterday.
I’ve made sure I’m on the first flight out on Sunday.
By Living in Canberra on Jun 16, 2006