EI844 ORK-AMS 31 JAN 11 (ECONOMY)
Posted: 05 Feb 2011, 01:10
The reason? Aer Lingus had instituted new rosters for cabin crew which were in dispute with the union. Given that their union was the same as mine when I was working I didn’t hold out much hope for a resolution since, as far as I was concerned they had done nothing for me and my co-workers during my 32 years employment even during some very hairy moments at times! 
I was right! In the absence of any resolution, staff started to be removed from the payroll - first of all in single figures and then by their tens and twenties to the extent that soon the number was hitting the hundreds. At first I wasn’t worried. OK, there were some cancellations but they were from Dublin so no problem but as the dispute escalated it started to hit Cork and which were the flights affected? Yup! the Amsterdam ones. OK, LHR did have the occasional cancellation but it was the late night flight that didn’t connect to any flights that day. Amsterdam was the only other route that had more than one flight and so was targetted. Aer Lingus decided that they would hire aircraft from other airlines most notably from Ryanair so I was left wondering if I was going to be flying Ryanaer Lingus.
Fast forward to the week before my flight and the Aer Lingus website showed that each day an AMS flight was cancelled alternating between the early and late flight. I examined the pattern and determined that on my date of departure it was to be the late flight - and I was booked on it.
Respite came on the day before my flight. The Aer Lingus website showed an on time departure; OLCI was possible and most importantly, the RTE news website said that passengers had been contacted some days beforehand and had been accommodated on alternative flights. Phew! OLCI was done and even though it was some time after it opened I still scored SEQ1 and also what I consider to be my official seat, 6A since 1-5 are not released till the day of travel
The following day I headed for Cork Airport, got my boarding pass from the kiosk, skimmed through security and headed towards gate 5 which was my allocated gate. In situ was an Air Berlin plane. “Grand”, thinks I to myself although I was expecting an Aer Lingus plane since a flight from Malaga had arrived and was going nowhere. Wrong! The flight from LHR was coming in an hour late and this plane had been press-ganged into service for that route - no doubt to accommodate connections. We’d have to wait for the incoming LHR flight and that would mean a delay. D*mn! Well perhaps not. At our gate was an Air Berlin plane which is not normally seen in Cork. Woo Hoo! Except that the minute I arrived it pushed back empty and headed for God knows where. Ah, well! How about a G&T in the bar. Fine!
So there was honey lamb nicely ensconced in the bar in Cork airport with a G&T in front of her (albeit Gordon’s gin since the alternative is Cork Dry Gin which is pure gut-rot
) when all of a sudden an Aer Lingus plane arrives and, more importantly taxies to her gate. Wayhay! The flight is called and we board. The doors close some ten minutes ahead of schedule and we take off exactly on time. The flight is uneventful. I have a second G&T and read my book which, while it is a re-read, enchants me and soon we are in Amsterdam and I take a train to Centraal Station.
I try to locate my hotel which is said to be opposite the Centraal Station but it takes me nearly as long as the flight over! (Memo to self - print off your reservation). It doesn’t have a bar but there is one next door.
Amsterdam here I come!
