I decided to bring my son a treat when I flew out to Edmonton recently to visit. I brought him two fresh and delicious Baie de Chaleur lobster. I was supposed to only have a six and a half hour trip, all told, but of course, my trip took me FIFTEEN and a half hours. Was I worried about that lobster, sitting in the cargo section in Montreal alone, for over seven hours? You bet! Was I worried about having to throw over $50 worth of lobster and packaging into the GARBAGE? YOU BET! I am a frugalista, after all. I missed my connection in Montreal, because my flight was late leaving. This happens to me ALL the time. Worry is another word for FEAR! FEAR is what I experience every time I fly out of my little hometown airport. As it turns out, my FEAR is or my FEARS are...usually justified.
My AC Aeroplan ticket, from the time I purchased it in February, was changed NO LESS than FOUR times, due to time changes, plane changes (thank you MacDonald Douglas!) and a complete REBOOKING, because my original flight simply ceased to exist. When I knew at the airport before departure, that I had ALREADY missed my connection in Montreal, the ticketing agent WOULD not reschedule me, saying Aeroplan had to do it. I stepped away from the counter and called Aeroplan, where their agent informed me that indeed, she DID have to reschedule me. Well, back I went to the counter, where I handed over my phone, having told Aeroplan to tell AIR CANADA what to do. He did, and she did it, and I got rescheduled, albeit with a layover of over seven hours in Montreal, instead of an hour and a half. FRUSTRATION! I froze on the four hour flight to Edmonton because the air conditioning wasn’t working properly. The lights on my side of the plane didn’t work so I could NOT read my book. I couldn’t use the flashlight on my phone, because my battery was low and I hadn’t brought my solar charger. FRUSTRATION! I couldn’t access in-flight entertainment because I hadn’t brought my IPAD, nor had I downloaded the AC Rouge app for movies. Reason? I was NOT supposed to fly AC Rouge. FRUSTRATION! I couldn’t sleep because the young baby right across the aisle from me, cried on and off during the ENTIRE flight. He also cried NON-STOP the entire LAST hour of the flight; he was inconsolable. I was TOO at that point, and would have gladly CRIED and SCREAMED as well, if I thought I could get away with it. This flight was turning into THE longest flight of my life. How do you spell FRUSTRATION???? That little fella' was only expressing what I could NOT. Poor little soul, he wasn’t much older than my granddaughter.
ENOUGH of the negative. I was able to fly almost clear across the country without a seat mate, so I had lots of extra room. FUN! My AC Altitude 50K status allowed me to check three suitcases free of charge. FUN! That same status allowed me to spend seven hours in the Maple Leaf Lounge, eating, drinking, chatting, reading, and sleeping, ALL free of charge as well. FUN! FUN! FUN!
That same status gave me priority boarding, so I was one of the first seated on that four hour flight to Edmonton. I immediately noticed that the male flight attendant who was checking the overhead bins, had his zipper UNzippered, shall I say. It was pretty hard not to notice, seeing as everyone’s waist was at MY eye level. No w*a*y was I telling him that he was flying low, so I leaned across the aisle, and asked the father of the crying baby, (who hadn’t started crying yet... the baby that is, NOT the father!) ... would HE please tell the flight attendant that the latter’s BARN DOOR was open? Well, the father smiled, then laughingly said he would do it. However, the father kept looking at me conspiratorially and chuckling, so that when he finally called the young man over to discreetly tell him, I think the flight attendant was aware, because his hands were suddenly crossed in front of him, hiding his zipper. I by then had collapsed into fits of laughter, which I tried to hide by bending over and hiding under my seat. It was just too FUNNY!!!
In the space of less than twenty fours, and on the SAME day, I was able to see my granddaughter on her FIRST birthday at my home in NB, say goodbye to her and her parents as they headed home to NS, then fly almost to the other end of the country, and hug my son and daughter-in-law, just before midnight! FANTASTIC!!! Cost of my ticket? $152! FABULOUS!!!
MILLE MERCI AEROPLAN, AIR CANADA ET AC ALTITUDE 50K
pour cette belle aventure!
PS: Thanks to great packaging by McLeans Fish Shop, the lobster remained fresh and delectable.
PPS: The return trip was done in less than half my traveling time on the outbound, but ... my two suitcases decided to stay in Montréal a little longer. Not a big deal!
