Monday, January 28, 2013

The luck of the Irish

....so this time I did it ! ..a budget flight..Irish no less..no not Airlingus or some other sexual connection..
worse Ryan air....
Bejesus !, what a process...just to get the flight booked !...its a mine field...click on the wrong button, or sequence and you end up paying quadrillions for baggage, insurance to cover the entire passenger list of the Titanic, seating arrangements for an Indian wedding and the wake afterwards…
So armed with my boarding card and the VERY clear instructions that should I appear at the airport with anything else in baggage other than booked I will pay the national debt of Somalia for the next three years as a fine, I cheerfully approach my local Ryanair ex-airforce base.
Surprisingly the little lady is pleasant as she tells me I have “priority boarding” and to go straight through….to the waiting line, in the waiting collection area, sub-divided into those “who have” and those “who don´t”, in the communal waiting room.
After seeing the brake smoke of the landing plane, we are “ordered to gather…passports open, tickets in hand for the 13;30 pm dash at Braintree…..its 60m across the tarmac…
…those that have are let off the leash first….elbows and expressly checked (dimensions & weight) carry-on baggage flapping in the driven snow!!....only to find the steps are still being dragged into place…
Wet and “priveliged” I slip into 2 F only to find that my on board luggage has no place above my seat and cannot be placed at my feet !...it disappears backwards…oh woe…I can imagine what happens when we land …
Seats built for the legless, non-tippable—succulent blue leather slippery and worn through!
Well its only for an hour and half they promise…doors close..middle seat takers dawdling and being hurried by Polish and Spanish speakers barking commands to SIT…and we are off….
Levelling out drinks at Ascot prices, and A5 greasy spoon tastes are quickly dispensed…asked all three 2D , E and F managed in unison to move their legs from left to right!.with those polite excuse me smiles !
…a fanfare rouses us all to inform us that …yes Ryanair has done it again, arrived on time that is…and not a moment too soon..anticipation rises..freedom…arrival and disembarkation…talk about the last helicopter leaving Saigon..but in reverse ! Sinking ship comes to mind !..
No ladies and gentlemen…if at all finances allow….TAP…no not the Portugese National airlines…but sound advice….
Take Another Plane !

Monday, January 21, 2013

Ladies and Gentlemen...

........we are currently experiencing turbulence please return to your seats and tighten your seat belts.....

Why does that always happen just when I finally get that cup of coffee I´ve been so waiting for, only to see it slop over the sides into the saucer destroying that little paper napkin, and worse my shortbread biscuits!

Is it a normal phenomina that turbulence starts approximately 1 hour into the flight when food is being delivered...a bit like the announcements that pop in just when you are about to find out who killed who in the in flight film...

I suppose its because we are all now routined, and enjoy the routine...so when that announcement comes through !, well we sigh ! and click annoyed with our tongues at the inconvenience.....and wait for the roller coasting to stop, hoping to retain a clean jacket, shirt , tie and heaven forbid trousers !