OK! So I did not get to the update as quickly as hoped. It has been busy for me ever since getting home. I was home earlier than planned.
My flights on Emirates went without a hitch. I LOVE that airline. They stick to the schedule, the aircraft are always in good working order and they never dick you around or make you run all over the airport chasing gate changes. I flew from Auckland (NZ) to Sydney (Australia) to Dubai (UAE) to Frankfurt (Ger) with no problems. Every flight boarded as planned, left on time, on clean well maintained comfortable aeroplanes. The staff is always pleasant, helpful and friendly. The food is excellent and plentiful (few people are able to eat everything on the tray) and served with a smile. The drinks are all free, from agua to brandy to cafe. They bring hot wet cloths around before each meal to clean up before eating. They circulate through the cabin constantly with water. There are thick pillows, nice warm blankets and headphones waiting on each seat when you board and for long flights a bag or pouch with necessities is supplied. They include toothbrush and toothpaste, eye mask for sleeping and a hair comb for when you awake. The toilets get cleaned regularly too. For long flights they spread passengers out whenever possible to give everyone room to stretch and sleep comfortably. AND they don't give me a hard time when I walk about and do yoga stretches in the aisles. In fact they encourage everyone to do seat exercises with a video. Each seat has its own TV screen with a choice of movies (over 100), music (~40 channels), television (10 channels with ~10 shows each) and computer games (several). On my flight from Dubai to Frankfurt I was on a plane with the older system installed. This gives enough movies (3 consecutive), music (15 channels), TV (6 shows) and games (plenty) to keep everyone amused for the 6 or 7 hours onboard. Flying with Emirates is a truly excellent experience and you hardly notice the hours passing by. Even in economy you feel like your flying first class... except for the seat size and spacing. Although the seats are quite comfy.
When I got to Frankfurt I decided, last minute, to continue instead of doing the 2 day stop over. The hassle and expense of finding a hostel, getting into town, finding my way around and then getting back to the airport in 2 days was not appealing at all. I just wanted to get it over with. I was exhausted (having slept only in 30 min. to 2 hour bites) and getting a bit punchy. I checked at the Air Canada desk for flight availabilities and was able to get onto a flight to Toronto scheduled to leave 2 hours later. I changed my clothes and cleaned up in the ladies' room before checking my luggage again. Asecurity officer decided (there were no other passengers around and they looked bored) that a dive light in my SCUBA gear bag needed closer inspection. So I unlocked, opened and unpacked half the gear. ARGH! So she made me remove the batteries from the light and I had to spread them throughout the bag. First time that has happened. That light has been through at least 20 security checks without being noticed.
Yuck... I hate Pearson International Airport. Lester B. would not be happy about his name being attached to this attrocity that bills itself as an airport. The worst airport in the world... and I know whereof I speak. I have been through airports of every size and type throughout Canada, the USA, W. Europe, N. Europe, the UK, the Caribbean, S. Africa, the middle East, S.E. Asia, Australia and NZ. And still, Toronto's Pearson International and all its Terminals are the worst. I always try to avoid it whenever possible... to the point that I have changed departure dates to accommodate going straight to or from Ottawa or through Montreal's Dorval Airport.
So you can appreciate how anxious I was to get going if I was willing to endure the passage through Toronto.
Then there is the fact that from Frankfurt to Ottawa I was flying on Air Canada. Why this airline bothers having a schedule or assigned departure gates is beyond my comprehension. Going to the airport to catch a scheduled flight with Air Canada is no different than going without a ticket and taking your chances. In Frankfurt I was told that I would have to be put on 'stand-by' because the flight was fully booked. LIES! I was last to board the plane because they had to wait until the last minute to ensure that there was an available seat for me. The boarding gate was not posted on the monitors so I had to check at the info desk. I got to the gate with lots of time to spare... and 10 minutes later heard the anouncement that our gate had been changed. Did the 5 minute walk to the new gate where I was not permitted to enter the waiting area because I was stand-by. There was no seating on my side of the desk. When I boarded there were at least 20 empty seats and nobody boarded after me. The plane was far from "sold out". In fact, a tall dude switched seats to sit next to me (yes, in an empty seat) because I was at an exit door with more than double the leg room of a regular seat. I boarded about 5 minutes before the flight was scheduled to depart but it was 15 minutes later when the engines fired up and we pulled away from the gate 10 minutes after that... 20 minutes late. Welcome aboard Air Canada... we landed 20 minutes late.
Oh, the story gets better. That was nothing. In fact, I would call that pretty good for Air Canada. We arrived at the NEW (10 years in the making and still under construction) Terminal and deplaned. There was NO signage of any sort just a few bored looking staff in security uniforms sitting or standing near T-junctions, doorways, stairs and escalators presumably to redirect wayward passengers. I followed the crowd along the long unmarked corrodors and up escalators. The moving sidewalks were nowhere to be seen despite the long 5-10 minute walk to the shuttle buses. Then the 15 minute bus ride to the Main Terminal, over and under public roadways. Into the main terminal where the signage is only moderately better than non-existant. I cleared through immigration... another sore spot. As usual everyone spreads out to stand in a queue and wait. I was queued up when I happened to look down the long line of kiosks to my left where I thought I spotted a couple of immigration officers without line-ups. So I ventured down to see for myself and, lo and behold, 3 officers chatting amongst themselves, not calling down to the 6 or 7 line-ups of people to speed them through the process... and actually leaning back in the kiosks to avoid being seen. When I stepped up to the window the officer gave me a disdainful look as though I had my bleeding nerve to interupt the conversation. He glanced at my passport, scanned it and looked again at my visa stamps inside. One of them caused him to look at me with one raised eyebrow before closing it and sending me through... I am guessing it was S. Africa.
I collected my luggage which had a few new scrapes, another missing zipper tab and a lot of brown, grassy fibre embedded in it. Then off to Customs where I passed through the 'nothing to declare' exit. Hell hath no furry like an airline going down in financial flames.
I found the check-in desk for connecting flights and re-checked my luggage. While doing this I got into a conversation with the AC staff. They feel grossly underpaid, over-worked, unappreciated and mistreated. No wonder they seem to hate their jobs. They do.
Then on to the departure gates. I found mine with only some difficulty (I am becoming an expert at figuring out airports) and a lot of walking. Not enough or long enough moving sidewalks in this hellish airport. I sat down to wait. It was now 9:00 and boarding was due to begin at 9:35 for a 10:00pm departure. I called Tom and Robin to inform them of my arrival plans but warned Tom that it was an AC flight so be prepared for me to be late. I did not know how late. At 9:45 they announced a slight delay in boarding which would commence in 5-10 minutes. At 9:50 they announced a problem on the plane causing a further delay in boarding which would commence in ~10 minutes. At 9:55 they announced the problem on the plane causing a further delay in boarding which would commence in soon. At 10:05 they announced that boarding would commence with business class and those needing assistance. At 10:10 they announced boarding of rows at the rear. At 10:20 they announced that boarding would stop, the plane was unserviceable, those onboard would be deplaned and we should all proceed immediately to another gate where another plane would be brought from the hangar. Boarding would commence at 10:40 for an 11:00pm departure. Lieas, lies and more lies.
The new gate was a 10-20 minute sprint away depending on your fitness level and how much baggage was being carted. We got to the new gate where we sat and waited, and waited, and waited. I called Tom to tell him to go to bed at 10:45. When that call ended at 10:55 we were still waiting. It was 11:10 when the plane arrived at the gate. There was an announcement. The plane had not been groomed and how did we feel about boarding the ungroomed plane. It took plenty nerve for the brave young man on the PA to do this. If only you could have seen the facial expressions and heard the comments. After about 5-10 seconds of stunned silence while the crowd of exhausted, frustrated and angry passengers tried to fathom the audacity of this query, the shouting began. Some profanity, some disbelief, some threats and then a general plea to just let us on the (bloody, dammed, f***ing, etc.) plane and let's get out of here. They immediately started boarding the plane... quickly. I think the crew was a little frightened at that point. After all, the airport was all but deserted except them and this group of, soon to become an unruly mob of, passengers. The flight took off at about 11:30/35. I don't know because the minute I was buckled into my aisle seat I was out cold. Thirty minutes later I was awoken by a woman's voice asking if I wanted anything to drink. I had water. I had missed the "tiny bag of stale prezels" toss. Dam! And I was so hungry, I would have eaten them too. Just like the rest of the starving passengers. We touched down in Ottawa where we stood waiting for luggage for at least 20 minutes. I got a taxi which I paid for with my last $22. It was after 1:00am when I got to Tom's house. He was waiting up for me. Now that is true friendship.
All that to say... if at all possible... stay out of Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Go through Montreal's Dorval or fly direct. DO NOT fly Air Canada if you can fly almost any other airline. I know all too well where WestJet got the material for their TV ads. I suffer from AADS (Advanced Airline Disappointment Syndrome) and do not wish this condition on any traveller. Change your dates, pay more, fly at 5am but do avoid flying AC, the airline with an imaginary schedule.
So I have been home for a week but only present in the conscious world since Sunday or Monday. The effects of over 50 hours of being in transit and crossing 18 time zones westbound and the equator northbound are still lingering. But the last few days have been almost normal. Still feel sleepy from 3-6 pm and have trouble getting to sleep before 1am but it gets better each day. The weather has been great to excellent (just a couple of rainy days/nights) since my return with unseasonably high temperatures.
I have been job hunting most of the week and visiting with family and friends. And on that note... I must stop here because I am expected at my brother Robin's house for a visit and I want to get there before the office workers start to flood the transit system. More later.
Posted by gailene at May 21, 2004 02:07 PM