Beware of Early Arrivals

I am sure if statistics are conducted to determine how often a plane arrives ahead of time, the percentage would be quite low at best, if not nil.
With Mother Nature playing her tricks regardless of the season we are in (snow, ice, sand storms, hurricanes or volcano ashes), the probabilities of arriving on time are not always met despite the flight attendants best efforts to have everyone seated and fastened in order to have an “on time departure”.
Keep in mind that the airline will insist the plane was “on time” if the wheels have actually touched the runway at the “estimated time of arrival”.



Let us assume that you got extremely lucky and your flight has even landed fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. Do not get too carried away or enthusiastic, your greeting service might be nowhere to be seen! The person meeting you in order to help process your entry papers is not around. Why should he be? After all, in his 25 years of diligent service, he has never ever experienced the early arrival of a flight! Consequently he explains very naturally and without any feeling of remorse - when you finally meet up with him - flights arriving ahead of schedule are just unheard of.

17th October 2009

i have not been very active on my blog recently, i must admit, i feel very guilty about it. my excuse? putting the last touches to my two up-coming publications: Living in...Qatar and Living in...Abu Dhabi. Living in...Qatar (LIQ) should hit the stores soon, (Incha'Allah) and Living in Abu Dhabi (LIAD) should be coming out before Christmas.... Both will be great presents for the holidays!!!!

i have lots of new articles to post, especially that... the time has come...yes, i will be on the move again!! stay tuned for more!!!

Chronicles of a Traveller - Flight Connections

I used to dread long connections and would always try my best not to exceed 120 minutes between my two flights in order to reach my final destination, especially if the journey was long and involved a different time zone. Indeed, I was being reasonable as my waiting time gave me an excess of thirty minutes. An hour and a half is the imposed transit time by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to ensure that passengers and luggage have enough time for their transfer. Sadly, it seems nowadays that the latter cannot apply anymore. As airports have expanded their physical capacity, the number of passengers passing through has dramatically multiplied. This situation gets quite bad if the connecting airport is also a hub for major destinations! After having experienced the above numerous times, I decided the best idea would be to make a check list and stick to a few crucial points in order to make the journey more pleasant, and put all the odds in my favour. The following has been tested and applies to all passengers whether they have a connecting flight that day or not, or whether the trip is for business or pleasure.

-Have alternative options: When making a reservation, write down on a piece of paper (that you have safely tucked in the pocket of your travelling blazer), what the subsequent departure times are, should something happen. It would be ideal to have accessible (packed in your hand luggage) the up-to-date airline guide of the carrier you are flying, as for some unknown reason, most of the time, the flight attendants cannot give you the answers you are looking for. The airline guides carried on board seem to be a few months behind. They (the flight attendants) will even try to convince you – very seriously, by looking intently at their watches – that you just might make your connection as you will have thirty long minutes after landing! For some reason, they seem to forget that gates close 30 minutes before departure! To put all the odds in your favor, just jot down what other airlines leave from the same terminal, allowing at least an extra one and a half hours in between from your initial connection.

-Try sticking to one terminal and minimize carry-on baggage. Do not assume that you will be saving time if both flights arrive and depart from the same terminal. The newer the terminal is, the more time you should give yourself to make your connection, especially if the escalators(sometimes all of them) are out of order. Yes, unfortunately that does happen. Count on allowing a good three hours, (more if a change is involved). The respectable team of architects and engineers who have incredible modern vision of what a new terminal should look like (and who do a great job) tend to revert back to the good old days when one had to wait for stairs to deplane, as opposed to an air bridge. After all vintage and art deco are very fashionable so why not apply the same to airports? We are assuming here that there is no luggage to check in and only one piece of hand luggage to be carried on board, either a brief case or a handbag. Why? Simply, because for our own security, we have to basically strip. It also seems to me that whenever we are loaded with hand luggage, we tend to attract the eagle eyes of the security vigilantly located at the three check points we have to cross after passing the main security, the x-ray machines and before boarding the plane (that depends on each airport and airline).

- Limit your luggage. If luggage is being checked-in which is mostly the case, try your best to limit the number of pieces unless you do not mind paying the astronomical fee even if the excess of weight amounts to two or three kilograms (4.4lbs-6.6lbs). Either way, this should not greatly influence the time you allow between the two flights as, believe it or not, by the time you reach your new departure gate, surprise, the luggage has already made it, or so you are told (and pray)!

- Be prepared to “remain in your seats, until the bus arrives”. Stairs upon deplaning imply that buses will carry you to the terminal. The ground staff at the bottom of the stairs gets a thrill from shouting from the top of their lungs (very politely I must admit), to go to the very end of the bus in order to allow as many human bodies in as the bus can take. They (the ground staff) also think that the colder the temperature is outside, the more snuggled the passengers should be. I guess they get a little warmth just seeing everyone squashed together?! Of course, you tend to pay very little attention to that, although you make believe you do, by taking micro steps and moving a few millimeters in.

- Take the second escalator. Next, come the state of the art new escalators which amount to about three floors stacked on top of one another. The newer the terminal, the longer the escalators are. This is done to probably let you admire the new surroundings, the shiny steel, and let’s face it, be impressed? Human nature is incredible, as although there might be two escalators, side by side, leading to the same destination, everyone seems to rush to the one which is loaded with people while the other one remains empty.

- Be as charming as you can under the circumstances. If you are still, despite everything, desperately trying to make your connection and think you might miss your flight by a matter of minutes; go to the top of the queue before passing security again, put on your most charming smile. If a man is next or, if it is a woman, just tell her how desperately you need to be reunited with your children. Who knows you might get lucky and make it after all!

- Be ready for more: Do not think for a minute that the end is near, as again new terminals tend to have trains, which are impressively fast and lead to the appropriate gates. Be careful as those can be located at different ends of the airport. If you do not pay attention to this final detail, you will definitely miss that connecting flight! Luckily, a pleasant recorded message will keep reminding you where the trains are heading, making the probability of errors minimal. Keep in mind that you will possibly have to dispose of your delicious latte (should you have had time to stand in the queue and get one) before boarding the flight.

The Early Bird

In general, the best part of catching a very late night flight (anywhere between 2.30am-4.00am) or an extremely early one (5.00am-7.00am) is the less congested roads on the way to the airport. The disadvantages of the above, is the sudden explosion in the number of passengers also travelling during those times, due to airports around the world having become larger in size which in turn increases their capacity to handle an impressive number of flights. Browsing around the duty free shops means finding it hard to maneuver through tight aisles (the newer the terminal, the narrower the aisles seem). Trying to get the attention of a sales lady is no easy matter either and that is certainly not due to the lack of staff around. Making it to the cashier is a true test of one’s patience. So ladies and gentlemen, do not think anymore that late night flights or early morning ones are the best. The truth of the matter is that the good hours to travel, just like the better days to take the plane are, I am afraid, a thing of the past. Those fabulous birds seem to be full (regardless of the price of petrol) at all times… and this to me means globalization!

New Terminals at Departure

It never ceases to amaze me how fascinating airport departure terminals can be. Arrivals are always a different story as we usually are in a hurry to get out as soon as possible.

Someone once said to me "all new airports are alike". It is true to some extent; however, there is always a thrill when entering a terminal for the first time. Yes, most of them are now quite attractive even if the journey to the gate takes a brisk 20 minutes walk and reaching the aircraft takes another 20 minutes by bus (something quite annoying when you expect a modern jet way instead of being cramped, having to stand up while trying to maintain your balance and hold on tightly to all your wonderful purchases which could not fit in your hand luggage).

State of the art architecture, vegetation scattered here and there, services which never existed before, a duty free area (which appears totally irresistible despite the traditional goods - along with the luxury boutiques that you have always seen and wanted to check out but never did) are just part of the picture. Somehow, with that extra time to spare, the temptation to shop is too much to resist. Besides you might find a great bargain, the opportunity of a life time – after all it’s DUTY FREE! Add to that the delight to be able to savor your preferred coffee especially when leaving at the crack of dawn! So, who cares if all new terminals are alike!

Road Trip – Between Germany and Switzerland

European road trips are not only fun but also add a certain sense of adventure as switching between countries (going back and forth) is feasible due to the short distances and the proximity of borders. You can take your pick and choose the type of cuisine you would like for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The borders between Konstanz (Germany) and Switzerland are extremely close. It should not take any more than a few minutes to get through them. It took us thirty nine minutes due to the road construction. It was natural to conclude that the world’s cranes are not all solely distributed between Dubai and Beijing.

These days a lot of people are tempted to fly from one place to another because of the amount of cheap flights there are around. Others love the sense of adventure you get from going on a road trip. The memories you will make doing it and the experience you will have are second to none. There are of course certain problems but one thing the road traveller need not to worry about is where his next meal would come from as the 'Golden Arches' are literally all over - which makes me wonder how the Europeans stay so slim? Ah! The power of America or is it globalization??

The road traveller need not to worry about where his next meal would come from as the 'Golden Arches' are literally all over - which makes me wonder how the Europeans stay so slim? Ah! The power of America or is it globalization??

When packing to go on a road trip, it is essential to have the following:

-A box of tissues (Kleenex) to take with you at every bathroom stop
-Wet Ones(or the equivalent Purell). It is amazing how often we feel the need to wash our hands
or the equivalent “Purell” -Drinking water (saves you paying anywhere between 5-7 Euros at the hotel)
-Batteries mainly double AA’s (for some reason, there always seem to be a need for them)
-A flash light
-Some apples (they travel well and last)
-A pack of Pretzels (healthier than chips)
-cotton pads
-Q tips
-soap
The last three items do come in handy as hotel soap bars tend to be tiny sometimes. As for the supply of cotton pads and Q tips, there are never enough for some reason.

Leaving the Nest: Jan ‘09

Chronicles… Leaving the Nest

The last time I wrote a piece on the Chronicles of a Traveller was, I believe, 4 months ago. A lot has happened since, in terms of travelling and moving around. All of it I must admit quite useful for my Living in Series" despite the price tag which comes with every move…
This section covers an angle I have not yet tackled. I do not know how I have overlooked this so far, as it has a strong impact on one’s first impressions and reactions when the physical move is in its initial stage. I am obviously referring to the actual trip, leaving what used to be home and heading towards what will be home. There are a series of variables which come into play, something we have absolutely no control over.

The journey to the airport
No matter how prepared one is prior to closing that door for the last time, there always seems to be a certain anxiety mixed with trepidation coupled with excitement and strong emotions while imagining what is going to unfold.

The first phase seldom happens the way it was pictured or imagined. There seems to be that frantic last half hour, prior to leaving the home you have loved so much, where all the travel documents are re-checked for the ‘nth’ time, knowing quite well that all is in order as it has been verified endless times. That, will never change no matter how many times you have moved. Oddly enough, it gives a certain sense of security which lasts only a few seconds, even if at first, you cannot see that all is there. Next is the search for the cell phone, while hating yourself for having chosen the biggest handbag you possess. What on earth were you thinking of?! You exhale when you find it fully charged and congratulate yourself for being so prepared.

Upon reaching the check-in counter at the airport an unconscious, sometimes pre-conceived idea of what will happen, might very much determine and set the tone of the move (although it certainly should not!). We tend to strongly believe that if the following turns out good then the move will definitely start on a positive note. If however things do not go as expected, the level of stress reaches a new crescendo even if trying to convince oneself that the worst is over. From that point on, it has got to get better.

The influential factors:- If the agent is helpful by not charging for excess baggage weight, especially by not making you open your suitcases in front of everyone in order to have each bag weigh exactly what it should,
- if the seat requested is available particularly if hoping desperately to be granted the up-grade so badly needed after having gone through three whole months of sleepless nights in order to reach this stage or if finding out that the plane is not full and that the agent will gladly keep the seat next to you free (in case there is no up-grade on the horizon),
- if the plane is on time as you are so nervous to miss the connecting flight despite having tried to minimize all risks such as leaving for the second leg of the journey from the same terminal, allowing double the amount of time imposed by the International Air and Transport Authority between your two flights as getting to your new destination without your luggage is inconceivable.
- inquiring again if the luggage will automatically be transferred - asking nervously if a second check-in is necessary although your next boarding pass has just been handed to you.

This is only the beginning, as after you have successfully passed that first phase and are settled at the gate, looking constantly at your watch wondering when boarding will start, comes the sudden realization (by being lucky to have thought of leisurely rechecking the departure monitor) that a sudden change of departure gate has occurred. Of course it was not announced. Why should it be? This tends to happen frequently – you, of course, were just oblivious to this minor fact! What comes next is quite a scene as the new departure gate is literally at the other end of the terminal. Gathering your belongings as quickly as possible - which have, by some miracle, spread out having arrived so early - you become this highly insane looking person who seems to have never travelled before. The sweater/coat or scarf is hurriedly and clumsily assembled (of course they will slow down your desperate rush to get to the gate) before trying to break a marathon record and race to the new gate. Meanwhile you’ll desperately stop at each monitor to make sure, yet again, that indeed you are heading in the right direction as you now have strong doubts on the accuracy of the information given. If travelling with children, that task becomes harder - almost impossible to achieve. You might even appear like a lunatic as you are constantly shouting at the children to hurry up, while glancing around making sure no one recognizes you. Ah the joy of moving!