Considering how much I have been flying on my vacation, it was just a matter of time before something would go wrong. Too bad it was on my trip home things didn’t go as planned.
I checked in at the airport at Alice Springs, and after going through security I double-checked my tickets, just to make sure that they were correct. I noticed, that boarding time in Sydney was 0730 which I couldn’t get to fit with the fact that the plane would take off at 1815. So I talked with a guy at their service counter, and after a while he found out that the plane was delayed almost 12 hours, which meant that I would have to stay the night in Sydney before continuing my trip home.
Arriving at Sydney I was taken aside together with a small group who also was planned to go with the flight to London (via Bangkok), we got our luggage and got taken to a hotel (incl. a phone call and dinner voucher). Early next morning we came back to the airport, checked in, got a breakfast voucher and finally we left for London.
The part of the trip before Bangkok was very quiet as the plane wasn’t even half full. I sat next to (with a spare seat between us, we were sitting on H and K) a Danish girl who had also been stranded in Sidney due to the delay. When reaching Bangkok I had to move to another seat (I noticed this already at Alice, but when asking the woman in the check in if it wasn’t possible for me to stay in the same seat for the entire trip as on the way down she didn’t understand what I meant, despite trying explaining in several different ways). I moved to a window seat further back, but I sat behind a very large man, and next to him a similar large woman, which meant that my knees were getting killed. (On top of that I was sitting next to the kitchen, and I suspect that the rows (seat A-C and H-K) were set a little closer together so that they could line up perfectly to form a complete row behind the kitchen together with the D-G part. Let’s just say that my knees and legs weren’t amused).
After watching the first movie (UP, long live VOD!) I went to the toilets, and guess what I saw? The Danish girl was sitting alone on the three seats… So I went over and asked if I could get to sit where I sat before, and she was nice and understanding enough to say yes. Woo! Better room for my legs and a (much) better looking neighbor!
When arriving at London it was 1940, and no more planes would be leaving for Copenhagen, so once again we were sent to a hotel. I was put on a plane at 0655 together with another Danish guy, so we didn’t have more than 6-7 hours at the hotel, including dinner, check in, and sleep. It was hard work getting up – especially knowing that the Danish girl had been put on a plane at 1200-ish.
I set up my alarm on my phone, even though I had ordered a wake-up call, just in case. The phone in the room never rang, so I have never been happier for having my mobile phone. Apparently none of those who had ordered a wake-up call this early (0330…) had received their call, so the reception was getting slightly panicky (it was an automated system). I wonder how many people have missed their plane that morning due to the missing wake-up call?
I finally arrived in Copenhagen 0945 Monday, 22 hours after my scheduled arrival.
All in all Qantas were very helpful at every step of the process of getting home (they have been so for every flight, but this was the only time they encountered unforeseen problems they had to handle). You never had any doubts of what to do next whether you were going to an unknown hotel or getting a new flight from an airport. I am very impressed of their service and am not surprised that they for several years in a row are amongst the top-3 of the world’s best airline companies. They got me 20.000 kms without a single hiccup despite huge delays, but DSB can’t get me from home to work (40 kms) without screwing up and not telling anyone what the problem is and when it’s solved.
After these 4 weeks it was a huge anticlimax to come back home. Luckily I am not getting back to work until Thursday, so I have a couple of days to get my mindset back into the usual routines.
It’ll probably take some time to unpack; it’s now Tuesday and it’s still limited how much I have taken out of my bags. I feel like that the vacation won’t be completely over until the bags have been squared away, and I don’t want the vacation to be over. It was awesome, I already miss it.
Oh, by the way. I am freezing my ass off. It’s fucking cold here!
I saw one of the new A380s in Sydney; when getting around in a bus at the airport we got closer to another one - they are huge!
Zoomed out, comparing the A380 to a jumbo jet, the Boeing 747 (to the right), trying to give a better impression of how big it is as people know how large the 747 is.
The plane I flew in Sydney - Bangkok - London. On the side it says "We're with you all the way Qantas Socceroos". 