EI 803 FCO-ORK 21st Nov 2008
Posted: 29 Nov 2008, 01:27The curse of the 8:25pm flight.
Those of you who have followed honey lamb's ramblings (the written as well as the actual) will recall that last July she caught a flight due to leave ORK at 8:25pm for LHR which got her into the said airport at 3:30am the following morning. She should therefore have been forewarned when her flight from Rome back to Cork was scheduled for 8:25pm [:0] Oh, it wasn't as cataclysmic as July's flight but it had its moments.
A perfectly satisfactory stay in Rome had been preceded by excellent flights from Cork to Dublin on Ryanair and thence to Rome on Aer Lingus (who only fly 3 days a week to Rome from Cork). We won't mention the fact that, having to overnight at DUB, the staff at the Hilton, Dublin Airport failed to tell her where their hotel shuttle pick-up was and that after waiting at the regular hotel shuttle stop for 45 minutes she was obliged to take a taxi. We won't tell either of how she booked the 5:30am shuttle for the morning and then requested a wake-up call at 'a quarter to five' (her exact words) nor how the wake-up call did not occur and that when she complained at check-out, discovered that it had been logged for 5:45am. We won't even moan about the fact that the hotel staff tried to make out that it was she who had given the incorrect information regardless of the fact that she would not have asked for such a call 15 minutes after she was due to leave the hotel. No, we will simply put these fact in a letter of complaint to the hotel manager and continue this narrative in the first person singular!
So, having tramped the streets of Rome, been blessed by the Pope and generally had a thumping good time I settled myself on the Leonardo Express to take me back to Fiumincino and my flight home. My calculations told me my inbound flight should have left ORK so a quick text message to Aer John requested confirmation of this. The reply was 'No'! Ah well it was still early enough but a second text some 30 minutes later elicited the same response and a rather snippy message that he was not prepared to spend the evening huddled over the web site. One snippy message deserves another but after that skirmish the dust settled and a regular supply of information, or more accurately - non-information, followed.
On arrival at FCO the flight was showing an hour's delay. Check-in was just opening and so I was quickly dealt with and sent on my way, although the agent didn't seem to want to inform us of the delay. It didn't matter since shortly afterwards a two hour delay was posted and the text messages confirmed that the flight still had not left. There was little enough to do and I wasn't prepared to go through security until I knew it was on its way as I feared a cancellation. Finally a text came saying that the flight had left at 6:20pm, nearly 3 hours late.
After that I was able to go airside, do some shopping. I would have dearly loved a glass of wine or a G&T but I was driving home from the airport and so decided against it and tried to get an alcohol-free beer. No such animal in Rome. I finally got something to suit me, sat down and then received a text message from Aer Lingus apologising for the delay and advising me to get refreshment vouchers from the handling agent....who could not be found. We soon found out however that on production of our boarding pass it was stamped and we were entitled to a sandwich and soft drink. The sandwich was a pre-cooked breaded chicken fillet in a bun which was heated in a grill and the soft drink option was Coke or Fanta neither of which I drink. To be honest I took two bites of the sandwich and left it. The chicken was only partially warmed and as it had been pre-cooked and chilled I felt I could almost hear the salmonella bacteria multiplying!
The inbound flight finally arrived and was quickly turned around. By this stage everyone was tired and bored rigid so the minute the gate agents appeared everyone stood up ready for the off. It was actually a very light load so boarding was quickly completed and finally some two and a half hours late we took off. The guy in front of me had reclined his seat immediately on boarding but was made to put it in the upright position for take off. He reclined it again almost immediately and promptly fell asleep. Judging by the fumes wafting over the seat he had spent the waiting time in the bar!
Flying time was three hours thanks to a strong headwind and the flight was uneventful, nay even boring. At long last the lights of Cork city came into view and just before 1:00am we touched down to a deserted airport. Immediately everyone jumped up anxious to be on their ways home - everyone except Sleeping Beauty in the seat in front, who incidentally had kept his seat reclined for landing. It wasn't his fault. He was dead to the world but the cabin crew failed to spot it. In fact he was so sound asleep that even the bump of touchdown, the force of braking and the sound of everyone gathering their belongings failed to wake him. Amid the chaos of people springing into action, overhead bins being opened and hand luggage being yanked out he slept blissfully on, snoring gently [|)] That was the last I saw of him!
I had no checked bags so it was a quick step the passport control where a disgruntled immigration officer was waiting for us and no doubt longing for his bed. We were quickly nodded through and for me it was straight out to the car and a drive through deserted roads till I reached home and at 2:00am sank thankfully into bed. Bliss!