What could be simpler: a return ticket sold by American for a roundtrip from the U.S. to Dakar via Madrid?

AA flight numbers all the way, though the MAD-DAK flight is operated by Iberia.

The check-in kiosk prints two boarding passes (one to Dallas, the other to Madrid), then quits. The lady at the desk struggles and fails to get that pesky MAD-DAK boarding pass.

No problem. I'll deal with it at the DFW Admirals Club, where the staff is most friendly and eager to help. They even spend 15 minutes talking with some mucky-muck at Oneworld who's supposed to have access to all the member's systems.

No luck: the only thing to do is get to Madrid, clear immigration and customs, then check in with all its security delights. That's what the Madrid airport's own website says! Except, there's actually a nice lady at an Iberia service desk just where traffic forks to divide transit and arriving passengers. With only one phone call, she manages to snag the elusive boarding pass.

So all's well that ends well, but it does make you wonder: granted that airlines are fiendishly complex, why is this one detail so tangled? The AAngels roll their eyes and say they often see this problem. Like the weather, I say, nobody ever DOES anything about it.

P.S. The prawns on AA36 were excellent; maybe too sweet for some but not for this ice-cream cowboy.