For the last fifteen years I have flown from Edinburgh airport to almost every destination in the UK. So much so that I consider air travel to be a specialist subject of mine.
"Yesterday though, it all went wrong. I arrived at the airport an hour before my flight to Southampton at 6.45 a.m.; went through security carefully picking our the shortest and quickest moving queue; bought my usual small cappuccino from my usual coffee bar; sat down with my laptop and sorted out a few emails and started on a report while I waited for the gate to be displayed. So far so good. When the gate was displayed I made my way there - gate 17 in the newer section of the airport. I sat by the gate and opened up my laptop and carried on with the report. After a while I checked the status of my flight and saw that it said "Final Call"
"Final Call" meant that I had missed the boarding announcement but no serious harm - you can still board when it shows "final call". When I went to the desk the lady from Servisair took my boarding pass and said "Sorry sir - this is the Norwich flight. The Southampton flight has closed".
"What? Why did you not make any announcements?" I replied
"We did sir - we made several asking for the last passenger to come to desk 17!"
"Ah!"
She then got on the radio to the dispatcher at the plane and ruined my day by getting them to send the bus back to gate 17 just for me. I had just thought I might get a much needed day at home and she spoiled it. Not only spoiled my day at home but guaranteed my ritual humiliation.
The bus turned up and on I got escorted by the lady from Servisair and under a baleful look from the driver that communicated "Spanner!!"
I got the same look from the pilot as I walked to the plane from the bus. Then once on the plane I faced the passengers who had, without exception, managed the relatively simple task of boarding far better than I had. My humiliation was completed by the "Walk of Shame" down the aisle - of course my seat was at the back of the plane because as a frequent flyer I have learned that it is the safest place to be.
My apologies to FlyBE, the passengers, Pilot, Co-pilot, Stewardesses, Dispatch team, Bus driver, Air Traffic Control and anyone who was trying to fly from Southampton to Edinburgh on the delayed inward bound flight.
"Final Call" meant that I had missed the boarding announcement but no serious harm - you can still board when it shows "final call". When I went to the desk the lady from Servisair took my boarding pass and said "Sorry sir - this is the Norwich flight. The Southampton flight has closed".
"What? Why did you not make any announcements?" I replied
"We did sir - we made several asking for the last passenger to come to desk 17!"
"Ah!"
She then got on the radio to the dispatcher at the plane and ruined my day by getting them to send the bus back to gate 17 just for me. I had just thought I might get a much needed day at home and she spoiled it. Not only spoiled my day at home but guaranteed my ritual humiliation.
The bus turned up and on I got escorted by the lady from Servisair and under a baleful look from the driver that communicated "Spanner!!"
I got the same look from the pilot as I walked to the plane from the bus. Then once on the plane I faced the passengers who had, without exception, managed the relatively simple task of boarding far better than I had. My humiliation was completed by the "Walk of Shame" down the aisle - of course my seat was at the back of the plane because as a frequent flyer I have learned that it is the safest place to be.
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