Friday, October 29, 2010

The best laid plans

Some would say it’s Murphy’s Law – whoever the hell Murphy was – but he has a lot to answer for!

You may remember an earlier mention of our ‘carefully chosen airline’ and our ‘carefully chosen seats’, well… that appears now to be a bit of a misnomer!

Just hours away from departure, I get online to check in and for the fourth time confirm our ‘carefully chosen seats’.  Once on, I discover that we have been seated somewhere else entirely, in what appears to be back in a bulkhead seat with the aforementioned too-short-bassinette.

Clearly the universe was playing some sort of cruel joke.  There was nothing else for it but to ring up our ‘carefully chosen airline’ again and find out what was going on.

Yes, Brian, our helpful sales consultant on the end of the phone, can confirm we have been allocated different seats. Apparently, Brian tells us, that some kind, thoughtful gentleman in Bangkok noticed that we were flying with an infant and moved us back to a too-short-bassinette seat.

Bangkok?  BANGKOK?  What in God’s name has Bangkok got to do with this?  Brian is a little unclear at this point!

Within minutes Brian realises that he has a deranged, stressed-out, tired, soon-to-be passenger on the end of his line.  He quickly admits that our ‘carefully chosen airline’ had stuffed up! He attempts to make some amends by immediately alerting every Emirates staff member (from baggage handlers to check in staff, from Bangkok to Dubai) of their administrative error and that within hours they had better sort something out.  Easier said than done considering our seats had already been taken and the flight was full, with most passengers having checked in already.


By nature, I am a positive and optimistic type…if worse comes to worse we remain in our body-paralysing, DVT-causing, fixed armrests bulkhead seats with the too-short-bassinette thumbing it’s nose at us for 16 hours and 15 minutes.

It could be worse…we could have twins!

2 comments:

  1. Hope the airline has sorted out something better for you all- considering that they made a HUGE ERROR - changing seats WITHOUT COMMUNICATING to the client. I would be spitting nails, so, well done to you to be so calm?!?!? Maybe the air steward/hostess (whatever they are called) are now on a roster to help you on the flight by babysitting, walking the short one...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hope 'Bwyan' came through!!!! Would be very funny if Peta Ann is the air hostie helping out with the short one!!! She would love those duties and perform them happily!!! Good luck with it all - hope the holiday is fabulous and makes the journey there worthwhile!!!! Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy!!!!

    ReplyDelete