Gentle reader, it seems I spoke way too soon......
Lulled into a false sense of security by actually boarding my flight back to Sydney, you can imagine my surprise when, within minutes of take off, there's an odd vibration and the plane doesn't seem to be climbing to cruising altitude........
And then the lovely Australian Captain announces that there was a run-in with a flock of large birds shortly after take off. They were going through some computer engine checks and would get back to us......
Hmmmmm. And here I had already put on the fluffy pj's ready for the sleep I was going to have on the flight back........
30 minutes and 2 beers later, they've decided that they will return to Johannesburg but needed to dump some fuel. Another 30 minutes later and we're back in J'burg folks.
But there is a silver lining. Because my ticket was upgraded to business, I've been shuttled off to the Intercontinental where dinner & b'fast are courtesy of Qantas.
I was going to sign off by saying that the next blog you'll see from me will hopefully be from the safe confines of my house in Brisbane. But that would be premature the way my luck's been running. So I'll just say that I'm about to order Room Service, a bloody HUGE bottle of fine South African Pinotage and wait for the universe to unfold.
Personally I think this is Africa's way of telling me I really should find a way to stay. It certainly doesn't seem to be in any great rush to see me leave her shores........
Ah, Mother Africa. A fickle but wise lady I'm sure ;)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
The (travel) Gods Must be Crazy
Gentle reader, if I never set foot in an airport again it will be way too soon....... It would appear that the universe has decided that my bad travel luck is not finished on this trip.
Yesterday I got an email from Kulula airlines stating that my flight back to J'burg had been cancelled, and I'd been rebooked on a flight leaving C'town at 3pm (with a connecting international flight out of J'burg at 5pm). So an hour was spent on the phone getting them to rebook me on an earlier flight out of Capetown.
But it all worked out and I made it Johannesburg by noon today - plenty of time for my 5.30pm flight back to Oz.
Lulled into a false sense of well being, I check in for my flight with South African Airways (SAA). And guess what gentle reader? No booking was to be found on the system!
Yes, it turns out that when I had to rebook my flight home because of the original SAA muck up, they accidentally cancelled my booking out of the system.
Well by this stage my sense of patience with SAA was long gone and I had been mucked around enough. I calmly suggested they fix it. Quickly. And they wholeheartedly agreed - I could catch the same flight back to Australia on Thursday night and all I had to do was pay for 2 night's accommodation in Johannesburg.
And if you're guessing that that particular comment was the straw that broke the camel's back, then you'd be spot on gentle reader.
Having reached the absolute limit of my patience with SAA, I promptly burst into tears at the check-in counter and simultaneously managed to have a hypo because I hadn't eaten for approximately 6 hours whilst I was working through the difficulties with SAA.
The good news is that tears from a very upset and unwell blonde lady is bad for business at a very public ticketing sales counter. For the first time in 3 hours of standing and getting blank stairs from unhelfpul staff, I got scurried in to the back room to lie down and have some tea & biscuits whilst a representative rushed off to find a manager.
Said manager appears moments later, I explain the situation - pointing out that the responsibility for the muck around lay squarely with SAA - and that I'd like to be home as planned and as booked. I suggested he go off and fix it and I would sit and have a cup of tea and wait for my BGL's to stabilise. He promptly agreed.
Less than 30 minutes later, said manager is back by my side with a business class ticket to Sydney in his hand, departing on the flight I had originally booked. Excess baggage charges had been waived and my baggage had already been checked through to Brisbane. All I had to do was avail myself of the SAA Cycaad lounge and relax until my flight was called.
Now I've never been one of those women who enjoys making public scenes or crying in front of other people, but in this case I think it might have been the impetus required to move things along quicker than a patient and calm reiteration of facts - which had been getting me nowwhere for just under 3 hours.
So here I am, blogging from the business lounge at J'burg airport, with my hypo stablisied and having enjoyed a lovely hot shower and massage.
My spirits have also been restored with the help of a soothing tranquiliser, a strong gin and I'm hoping for an uneventful and restful flight back to Sydney.
Of course, I've yet to board the flight so I don't want to count my chickens. The way my luck has been running anything could happen in the next hour before the flight boards...........
Stay tuned gentle reader, and please keep your collective fingers crossed that I actually make it back to Australia.
xxxxxx
Yesterday I got an email from Kulula airlines stating that my flight back to J'burg had been cancelled, and I'd been rebooked on a flight leaving C'town at 3pm (with a connecting international flight out of J'burg at 5pm). So an hour was spent on the phone getting them to rebook me on an earlier flight out of Capetown.
But it all worked out and I made it Johannesburg by noon today - plenty of time for my 5.30pm flight back to Oz.
Lulled into a false sense of well being, I check in for my flight with South African Airways (SAA). And guess what gentle reader? No booking was to be found on the system!
Yes, it turns out that when I had to rebook my flight home because of the original SAA muck up, they accidentally cancelled my booking out of the system.
Well by this stage my sense of patience with SAA was long gone and I had been mucked around enough. I calmly suggested they fix it. Quickly. And they wholeheartedly agreed - I could catch the same flight back to Australia on Thursday night and all I had to do was pay for 2 night's accommodation in Johannesburg.
And if you're guessing that that particular comment was the straw that broke the camel's back, then you'd be spot on gentle reader.
Having reached the absolute limit of my patience with SAA, I promptly burst into tears at the check-in counter and simultaneously managed to have a hypo because I hadn't eaten for approximately 6 hours whilst I was working through the difficulties with SAA.
The good news is that tears from a very upset and unwell blonde lady is bad for business at a very public ticketing sales counter. For the first time in 3 hours of standing and getting blank stairs from unhelfpul staff, I got scurried in to the back room to lie down and have some tea & biscuits whilst a representative rushed off to find a manager.
Said manager appears moments later, I explain the situation - pointing out that the responsibility for the muck around lay squarely with SAA - and that I'd like to be home as planned and as booked. I suggested he go off and fix it and I would sit and have a cup of tea and wait for my BGL's to stabilise. He promptly agreed.
Less than 30 minutes later, said manager is back by my side with a business class ticket to Sydney in his hand, departing on the flight I had originally booked. Excess baggage charges had been waived and my baggage had already been checked through to Brisbane. All I had to do was avail myself of the SAA Cycaad lounge and relax until my flight was called.
Now I've never been one of those women who enjoys making public scenes or crying in front of other people, but in this case I think it might have been the impetus required to move things along quicker than a patient and calm reiteration of facts - which had been getting me nowwhere for just under 3 hours.
So here I am, blogging from the business lounge at J'burg airport, with my hypo stablisied and having enjoyed a lovely hot shower and massage.
My spirits have also been restored with the help of a soothing tranquiliser, a strong gin and I'm hoping for an uneventful and restful flight back to Sydney.
Of course, I've yet to board the flight so I don't want to count my chickens. The way my luck has been running anything could happen in the next hour before the flight boards...........
Stay tuned gentle reader, and please keep your collective fingers crossed that I actually make it back to Australia.
xxxxxx
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