Leaving on a Jet Plane.......or not

Hello! Cindy here. Here is a story for you:


Once upon a time there was a young couple named Cindy and Brett. They wanted to teach in Korea. They applied for many jobs and had many difficulties to overcome, but finally after many months they were on their way.

On the day of their flight, they woke up at 4am, and Cindy's parents drove them to the airport. The check in for the Air Canada flight went very smoothly. Cindy and Brett were very happy. They passed through customs and security without any problems. Cindy and Brett did a happy dance. Their flight boarded on time and took off smoothly. Cindy and Brett celebrated. Despite the old and crabby flight attendants, who wore chunky shoes and gave people one-eyed stinky faces, Cindy and Brett were very content and were enjoying their in flight movies and drinks.

Eight hours later, the captain of Cindy and Brett's flight made an announcement. They were flying over Alaska. The captain wanted Cindy and Brett to know it was beautiful there, and sunny there....and warm there.......and.....they....would.....be .....landing.....THERE. WHAT? The captain then said “Blah blah blah blah TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.....blah blah blah blah....MALFUNCTION.......blah blah blah LANDING IN ALASKA.....blah.....HAVE A NICE DAY. Cindy and Brett were sad for the delay, but were certain they would soon be on their way again. Cindy had a migrain and hoped the old stinky flight attendant would bring her some Tylenol, but the old stinky flight attendant only made old stinky faces at her from the other side of the plane. Hmmm, most unpleasant.

Cindy and Brett and their fellow travelers were then divided into nationalities, finger printed, photographed, and locked in a room for five hours. The old stinky flight attendants stayed on the plane. Cindy thinks they were having drinks and dancing. Cindy and Brett were not even allowed to use the bathroom without being escorted. When water was delivered to the locked room of passengers, it was like dropping a chocolate bar on the floor of a kindergarten room....MASS CHAOS. It reminded Cindy of the footage she had seen of rice being delivered to third world countries.

The Alaska Airport then decided that the people from Cindy and Brett's flight could wander the airport for their last 3 hours (that makes for a total of 8 hours).

It was then announced that at 9:30 Alaskan time, Cindy and Brett and the other passengers would be flying to Vancouver. The flight would land at about 2:30 am. They would spend the night and fly out again the next day. When the announcement was made in English, everything was quiet. When the announcement was made in Korean, an angry mob rushed the poor girl who had to translate the message. Shouting began. Tension rose. Cindy and Brett were very uncomfortable.

At 8:30, people began boarding the flight to Vancouver. Cindy and Brett being the patient people they are, decided to wait until the angry mob had boarded, they had a seat afterall so there was no rush. Much to their surprise, the lady who checked their passport as they boarded then said it was OPEN SEATING. It was a smaller plane, with an angry mob, and open seating. VERY UNPLEASANT. Many passengers had loaded up the seats beside them with their bags, and refused to move them when asked by another passenger who NEEDED to sit there.

2:30 am (5:30 by Cindy and Brett's watch) they landed in Vancouver. Cindy and Brett ran. They knew that the time they would get to bed was directly related to how fast they could run and how many other passengers they could beat to the line for the hotel vouchers. They quickly collected all of their heavy bags and rushed through customs and ran as fast as their tired, grouchy legs could carry them to the voucher line. The voucher line was being served by 3 Air Canada employees who moved at the pace of an elderly turtle on sleeping pills. Cindy and Brett were about 25th in line and watched all the other slower runners pile up behind them. In their heads they thought that all their time in the gym finally payed off. When finally at the front of the line they were given a hotel voucher and told that they would be flying Singapore Air to Seoul the next day, and that Air Canada had also rebooked the connecting flight they had with Air Korea that would take Cindy and Brett to their city, Daegu. HOWEVER, Air Canada's ticket printer was not working and everyone would be given all their tickets the next day when they visited an Air Canada desk.

4:30 bedtime. 8:00 wake up time. Cindy and Brett head back to the airport. Found the Air Canada Desk. The Air Canada employees had no idea what Cindy and Brett were talking about. Two employees later, someone checked the computer. Cindy and Brett were given tickets to Singapore Air, BUT there was a mix up with the connecting flight. Air Canada forgot to confirm it. Cindy and Brett did not have tickets. The manager told Cindy and Brett he did not know what Cindy and Brett would do when stranded in Seoul, and he did not care because he had other customers to deal with. Cindy and Brett were unhappy. Cindy and Brett vowed to never fly Air Canada again. Cindy and Brett went to the Singapore Air desk and checked in and told the Singapore Air lady they were happy to not be dealing with Air Canada anymore. The Singapore Air lady replied “Oh yes, they are TERRIBLE”.

It was a very nice ride with Singapore Air.

Cindy and Brett took a bus from Seoul to Daegu, It was a five hour ride and they slept the whole way.

Cindy and Brett now happily live in Daegu. They are enjoying the experience. And they will never ever fly Air Canada again.