On the flyway to hell...

So, one of our Product Managers was over from Canada to give us some training on one of our products, and then also to tour some key Customers to do demonstrations of the new version of the thing.

The whole organisation of the Customer visits had gone south a couple of times, and therefore I had to fly to Griefswald on Monday, and then to Vienna on Tuesday, in order to cover some of the visits that got double booked. Then I got a phone call on Tuesday to ask if I could also fly to Antwerp on Wednesday to cover the meetings there, because the Product Manager came down with a fever...so I agreed. And that's where all the problems started.

First of all we had the whole problem with me getting there, as I had to fly back to Frankfurt to pick up another module (needed 2, and only had 1 with me) on Tuesday night, so I couldn't fly direclty from Vienna to Antwerp. The meetings were supposed to start at 10am on Wednesday morning.

Originally I had thought that I could fly from Frankfurt to Antwerp, but then I rememberred that I would have the 2 modules with me that would weigh 20kg in total, and I couldn't carry them on. But, to drive would take 5hrs, and would mean getting up at 4am... :(

Eventually we decided to push the meetings back an hour or so, and that I would fly, and see what I could do about the modules. I really didn't want to check them in, as they are worth around €60k+, and kinda fragile (though less fragile than the previous version).

I managed to book a flight that left Frankfurt at 09:00 and arrived in Brussels at 10:00, and we could then drive the 30min to the Customer. I knew that I would have some issues at the airpot with the modules, so I arrived at the airport around 1:45 early to make sure I didn't miss the plane.

Firstly I tried checking in using the Quick Check-in machines, as this is completely automated, and I could then try and smuggle the 20kg bag with the 2 modules in it onto the plane. But the machine didn't work. So off to the Service Counter.

Before you get to the Service Counter, they have an X-Ray machine to scan all baggage to check in. One of the workers asked me if I had bags to check and I said "We will see..." but they took my bag from me and said that it was way to heavy to carry on, and I would have to check it...bugger.
Now at the Service Counter I tried to convince the girl to let me carry the modules on, or at least carry them to the plane and give them to someone there in order to avoid them being thrown, but it didn't work. So, we checked them in with a fragile sticker and one of the baggage guys carried them personally down to the baggage area rather than putting them on the conveyor belt. Now I had to check myself in...

Firstly the girl tried with my United card, and then with my credit card, but couldn't find me in the system. We eventually found me in the list of passengers, and she printed out my boarding card. She then said to me that my card had printed as though I had a paper ticket, and I wouldn't be able to get onto the plane with it unless I had the paper ticket...which I didn't have...because I had booked an e-ticket.
A few phone calls later, and the girl told me that I didn't have an e-ticket, and that I had to pick up my paper ticket from the ticket counter. So off I head to the ticket counter and ask the lady there if she has a ticket for me. She asks me where I am heading, to which I respond "Brussels", and she says that they are always e-tickets, but she would look. A lot of searching later, and we haven't found any paper ticket for me...

Luckily the travel company we use has a counter at the airport, and luckily I know where it is, so I head over there. The girl at that counter tells me that I had booked the ticket, but that they hadn't issued it yet (boarding is less than 15min away now...so why wouldn't they have issued the bastard?!?!?). She issues the ticket, and back to the Service Counter for checkin I go.

Now I have myself all checked in, and boarding starts in about 10 min, and I still have to clear security and make it to the farthest away gate in the A gates at the airport...

Naturally the queue for security is all the way backed up to the ladies who check your tickets, but I patiently wait in line (not like a lot of others who sook about this that and the other and get escorted through). I eventually make it to the scanners and proceed to take my jacket off, my jumper off, my belt off, and even my shoes off (always have problems with them). All I have left now is my shirt, socks, and pants, and I proceed through the scanner...BEEP! WTF?!?!?!? Obviously I look confused, and the security lady looks confused, and then tells me that they have a random beep generator in the machine, and I must have got done by that...but they still have to search me anyway...and of course find nothing other than my raw animal magnetism...RAWR!!!

Anyway, I grab all my stuff and run to the gate, and then have to stand around for 10min because they decided to board late...of course.

Flying is starting to lose it's appeal slowly but surely.

Tschüß,
'Brush