Well, I arrived in Japan yesterday (30th October) on an Air France flight... and it was a relief to finally get here. The day had been a nightmare - travelling to Glasgow Airport at 3am in the pouring rain in a taxi was not fun. My plane to Paris (which went vie Cardiff in Wales) was half an hour late in leaving. At Glasgow the Fly Be counter-assistant couldn't give me a boarding card for my Air France flight, so I had the worries of that hanging over me.
Arriving in Cardiff 10minutes behind schedule and it took me forever to find the Terminal 2E Air France desk for my flight... only to be told that there was a Cabin Crew strike and the flights were disrupted. I was given a stand-by ticket. My day was getting worse and worse!
Frustrated and in France I hunted for help and someone who could tell me what to do. Some people were helpful, some were downright rude! Yes, Air France counter clerk at the Terminal 2E gates 51-69. In the end a very nice man (a supervisor I think) got me a boarding card and told me to get on the plane. I thanked him, and with my stress-levels going through the roof ran like a frightened rabbit! (See... fat guys CAN run when we have to!)
Thanks to the cabin crew strike the plane (Airbus A380 Super Jumbo) was an hour late in taking off. I think maybe 75% of the passengers had been given standby tickets and it took forever to load us all on. the young Japanese man sitting next to me only found out he was allowed on 5 minutes before he boarded.
This is a shocking thing to happen... airlines should NOT be at the mercy of their crews, and the passengers MUST NOT suffer as a result.
The plane was comfortable enough with plenty of leg room, but the cabin crew (well, some of them) were less than friendly. This strike also had an effect on the meals served. There were no choices: we all got cold dinners of chicken and pasta, some kind of veg and petite pan. No Japanese food at all. Breakfast appeared to be a cup noodle... woo-hoo!
I will never fly with Air France again!
well, I am here anyway, so during my three week holiday I can keep an eye out for Showa buildings, cars and other items of interest.
More soon... ^_^
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