Gaza

Continued....

Monday 20th June

The airbridge was unmanned and equipment was in the way. It took about 5 minutes or so to get it moved and then we were on stand.

My bag was only checked as far as ORD so I had to collect it. I got down to the baggage hall at just after 04:30 and waited.And waited. And waited. Eventually at about 05:25 the bags started coming off. I suspect the baggage handlers didn't start until 05:00. I took my bag to AA First Class check-in and the agenst just said "Wow! That's some itinerary." She then offered to check my bags all the way to HKG. I was a bit wary but I was getting throughly sick of having to remove watches, boots, belt, etc everytime I went through security.The TSA get a lot of stick on these boards but at every airport I found them pleasant and understanding. I decided to go with the option.I could have checked the bags as far as SJU and reclaimed there but I would have had to check them SJU-MIA-LAX as there was no time to collect them at MIA.

I went back to the ORD AC and tried to get a shower. Both rooms were occupied and they put me on the list. About 40 mins before depature they called my name while I was typing the update (hence why I cut it short) so I decided to have a quck freshen up.

The AC was right beside the departure gate so I did not have far to walk.

I boarded the 757 on time and took my seat - 5A. This was much better than the bulkheads on previous flights. We pushed back about 15 minutes late due to other aircraft passing behind us. We were then held at take-off much to the Captains annoyance. We finally departed about 25 minutes late.

This crew were more formal than on previous flights but no less efficient.
The breakfast service was good with a choice of pancakes or omlette. I
choose the pancakes which came with a spicy chorizo sausage.

Later in the flight I had my first beer of the day. I then noticed that some
other pax ordered beers. It seemed I was the trigger!

We arrived in San Juan abot 15 minutes late. This was no issue as I had
plenty of time until my next flight to MIA.

The Admirals Club in SJU was quiet and I used the opportunity to chat to
Sheena. The desk agents provided the lounge telephone number and after
texting it to Sheena the agents transferred her to courtesy phone. Much
cheaper than mobile roaming rates!

A glance at the departures board showed my SJU-MIA flight was due to depart 10 minutes late. I had about an hour at MIA before my flight to LAX so I was not too concern. I went along to the gate on time and they hjad already began boarding. I took my now dreaded bulkhead seat and waited for boarding to complete. It was then that things started to go a bit wrong. (phillipas - I'm blaming it on you.You jinxed me )

The Captain announced that MIA was in the midst of thunderstorms and was
closed. ATC were holding us on the ground for an hour as there was no point
in taking off only to hold or divert. I began to get a bit worried. I only
had 60 mins to make my flight to LAX and an hour delay would destroy that.
There was a later flight but it meant a much tighter connection to CX at
LAX. Also, there was no gaurentee we would get out of MIA on time if there
were more T-storms.

Almost exactly an hour after scheduled departure the doors were closed. But
things still conspired against me. The ground crew had gone missing and there was no one to pushback the aircraft! After a further delay of 15 mins we finally pushed back.

Shortly after take off the Captain said we had been given a direct routing
to MIA and we should be on stand at 18:20. 10 minutes after the departure of
my flight to LAX.

We began making our final approach at around 18:00 and I felt there was a
chance I could make it. After landing we taxied around came to a halt on a
large concrete area. And then the engines were switched off. My heart sank
when the Capt said our gate had been occupied and we faced a 45 minute wait for it to become free. He said he would issue an update at 19:00! Not only would I miss my booked flight to LAX I may miss the next, and last, one as well!

I then began planning different options. Most of which involved rerouting
via a more direct route to AKL. Just then the Capt announced we had a new
gate and would be starting the engines. We moved off and once the door was
open I ran out. It was now 18:25. The departure boards showed my flight
departing at 18:20. I decided to give it a go. I think we arrived in "D" and
I had to get to "A". What a nightmare. I don't think I could have had
further to go. After about 5 mins of light jogging I saw a sign saying "A -
17 mins"! They cannot be serious. They need shuttles for those sort of
distances.

I decided to keep going. At 18:40 I arrived at the gate. It was unmanned but
the aircraft was still there. I went to the desk and spoke to the agent. He
checked my BP and said follow me. We went down the ramp to find the aircraft door was already closed. He knocked on the door and too my relief then opened it for me.

I sat in my seat absolutley knackered. I was also very hot and sweaty. The
crew were great. They told me to relax and take my time and get freshened up although we had began pushback. They brought me water and a warm towel.

The 767-300 has an International Business Class seat. It is a little old
fashioned with manual adjustment but the pitch is good and the recline is
more than acceptable.

For the first time I lost out due to FEBO. This means meal orders are taken
from the front on even number flights and from the back on odd number
flights. I was in the front row on an odd number flight. By the time they
got to me I had the choice of veggie pasta or seafood risoto. I missed out
on fillet steak and took the seafood. It wasn't bad but not good either. I
finished up with the ubiquitos ice cream sundae.

After a couple of beers and a few glasses of wine the stresses and strains took there toll and I fell in to a very sound sleep. I woke up 20 minutes out of LAX feeling a lot better.

On arrival at LAX I had to transfer to the Tom Bradley International
Terminal. There is no airside transfer so I had to go outside and along the
pavement. Although I had my BP I went to the empty check-in and picked up my lounge invite.

My biggest concern now was whether my bag would reach HKG at the same time as me. It had been check-in at ORD all the way to HKG. There was plenty of time for it to make the transfer at SJU there was not a snowballs chance in hell that it would have made the transfer at MIA.

I asked the Cathay loung rep if they could check with AA if my bag was on
the later flight. She punched a few buttons and said they had already
received it from AA. I was very skeptical about this.

The flight was called and I made my way to the gate. They had not commenced boarding and kept us waiting for about 10 minutes. The flight was very full with a large contingent of "Lions Club" (what is that??) Delegates heading off somewhere and also a huge bunch of kids were identical polo shirts with some message. There was a similar group at the QF boarding gate.

This was my first ever CX flight and I had high expectations after comments
on FT. I had bagged one of the best seats (86K) on the uper deck. The seat looked comfortable and once I had settled in I began to explore its features. We pushed back on time at 23:55 and began taxing out. We then came to a stop for a time. Eventually the 2nd Officer emerged from the flightdeck and went downstairs. The Capt announced we were having a minor tech problem but hoped to be on the way shortly. At about 00:35 the engines powered up again and we were on our way. We had to taxi for quite a while as we were using the longest runway.

By now I was feeling very tired again. Just after boarding I had changed in to my BA FIRST jammies and was ready for sleep. We began the take-off roll and after what seemed like a very long run we lifted off. Wemust have only been about 100 feet of the ground and I had my legrest up and seat tilted back in to the sleep position. I was probably asleep before we were through 10,000 feeet!

I don't normally sleep well on planes but I seemed to mange ok on CX. The seat is one of the "flat but tilted" type but was quite comfortable. I manged to sleep on and off for about 9 hours. I ordered some samwiches and cheese from their all nightt snack menu and decided to play with the AVOD system. This is fantastic. BA must get this fitted.

They woke the cabin up at about 2h 15m before arrivalwhich I thought was a bit early, even for a 13h 55m flight.

Wednesday 22nd June (What happened to Tuesday?? )This was my first time in Hong Kong and I was greeted by overcast skys and rain. We pulled on stand a few minutes late and I quickly deplaned and made my way to Passport Control. I was through in minutes and went to the baggage carousel.

I checked with CX baggage to see if they had had any messages about my bag not making it but they said they had not. The rep waited with me until the last bags came through it was clear that mine was not on board. \

As I type this in The Wing I am waiting to see if it made the later flight from LAX to HKG but I don't hold out much hope. If it does not arrive on that flight it won't get here until tomorrow.That is not much good tome as I leave for BNE and AKL tonight.

I am showered and feeling quite good for my flight to CTS. It is operated by a 3 class 744 but sold as 2.I've managed to blag 1K so will experience CXs First Class Suite.

I'm considering altering my itinerary if the bag does not arrive.I don't relish the prospect of it chasing me around Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.

Next update tonight when I am back in The Wing or The Pier before my flight to BNE (Maybe)!