The Joys of flying Paris
Paris holds a certain magic for me, even after flying there week in and week out for the past 12 1/2 years. I am not fond of the layover hotel, can't stand the frigid winter weather or the discomfort of the un-airconditioned restaurants in summer, yet somehow there's nowhere else I'd rather fly to. The flights are eternally late and usually full to boot but I always enjoy the Paris trips.
For some unknown reason, my flights to and from CDG always involve some adventure. There may be a medical emergency, an unforeseen delay or even a bizzarre event in the city, such as a death of a tourist at the hotel, but two things are assured--no two trips are ever the same and no trip is without incident. Those of us that fly only Paris have grown to acdcept the abnormalities as a matter of course and so we have learned to take it all in stride and not flip out; others become disheartened and frustrated, swearing that they'll "never bid Paris again."
Today's flight home was no exception, albeit a rather tame adventure. It began with a phone call at the Hotel Mercure informing us of a 30-minute delay in the departure of our crew bus. We arrive at CDG to find that our aircraft is at a "hard stand" (airline lingo for a remote parking area). This is somewhat of a pain for crewmwmbers who have shopped (e.g. for wine) as we have to clear security then carry our bags down to the connections area, reboard the crew bus then carry our bags up the airstairs to the aircraft. Unfortunately it's not unusual to have a hard stand, so that part we are used to. Few of the non-regulars know the routine and no matter how long you wait for them, they still manage to become separated from the group and get lost. Half the crew aboard the crew bus and 10 minutes later, there was no sign of the others. One of the crewmembers went back in to try to find the others, only to learn that our aircraft was to move to an actual gate--hence the reason the others were told not to reboard the bus.
We manage to round them up anyway and determine that since the plane isn't yet at the gate we should take the bus to it. We get to the plane to find that it is not fully cleaned or catered yet. We pile on up and huddle in the A-zone area waiting for permission to stow our bags, do security checks and set up for boarding. Finally the aircraft taxis in to the gate and after several minutes of inaction the concierge comes onboard to see if we're ready for boarding. We are. So the passengers start sifting on slowly for the next 45 minutes. Boarding seems to take an eternity in Paris. They have been told that the flight is delayed due to the crew bringing the aircraft in to the gate late!!!
We left the gate about an hour and a half late. Short flight plan so only about 45 mins late arriving back in IAH, but still--there was no need for us to have been late at all. Consequence: everyone is beat tired and most passengers with connections missed their flights out of Houston and had to be rebooked on later departures. Another atypical day on the Paris flight.
For some unknown reason, my flights to and from CDG always involve some adventure. There may be a medical emergency, an unforeseen delay or even a bizzarre event in the city, such as a death of a tourist at the hotel, but two things are assured--no two trips are ever the same and no trip is without incident. Those of us that fly only Paris have grown to acdcept the abnormalities as a matter of course and so we have learned to take it all in stride and not flip out; others become disheartened and frustrated, swearing that they'll "never bid Paris again."
Today's flight home was no exception, albeit a rather tame adventure. It began with a phone call at the Hotel Mercure informing us of a 30-minute delay in the departure of our crew bus. We arrive at CDG to find that our aircraft is at a "hard stand" (airline lingo for a remote parking area). This is somewhat of a pain for crewmwmbers who have shopped (e.g. for wine) as we have to clear security then carry our bags down to the connections area, reboard the crew bus then carry our bags up the airstairs to the aircraft. Unfortunately it's not unusual to have a hard stand, so that part we are used to. Few of the non-regulars know the routine and no matter how long you wait for them, they still manage to become separated from the group and get lost. Half the crew aboard the crew bus and 10 minutes later, there was no sign of the others. One of the crewmembers went back in to try to find the others, only to learn that our aircraft was to move to an actual gate--hence the reason the others were told not to reboard the bus.
We manage to round them up anyway and determine that since the plane isn't yet at the gate we should take the bus to it. We get to the plane to find that it is not fully cleaned or catered yet. We pile on up and huddle in the A-zone area waiting for permission to stow our bags, do security checks and set up for boarding. Finally the aircraft taxis in to the gate and after several minutes of inaction the concierge comes onboard to see if we're ready for boarding. We are. So the passengers start sifting on slowly for the next 45 minutes. Boarding seems to take an eternity in Paris. They have been told that the flight is delayed due to the crew bringing the aircraft in to the gate late!!!
We left the gate about an hour and a half late. Short flight plan so only about 45 mins late arriving back in IAH, but still--there was no need for us to have been late at all. Consequence: everyone is beat tired and most passengers with connections missed their flights out of Houston and had to be rebooked on later departures. Another atypical day on the Paris flight.
posted by Debs at 8:21 PM
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