I finally made it to Melbourne this weekend, just a little later than planned …
Friday started with a trip to the hairdresser for pre-flight coif and colour. Given the fact that this was the first time I’d coloured my hair, I was a little disappointed that the supposed ‘chocolate’ colour turned out the same colour as my hair. Even I can’t notice the difference.
Tweet #2: Here's a photo. Bet you can tell I've just been to the hairdresser. pic.twitter.com/hBRmPGWbgJ
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Quick dash home to grab the bags and kiss the kids, then off to airport. Here’s the story as it unfolded on Twitter:
Tweet #3: So excited to be at airport on my way to Melbourne to see my daughter! Yay! Yippee!
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Tweet #4: We're boarding! Yay! And there's a cute little 3yo next to me.
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Tweet #4: Oh dear! Technical hitch. Oxygen not working. What a pathetic reason to delay the flight. Who needs oxygen?
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Tweet #5: Oh lucky! Problem is minor and will be fixed in 10 minutes. #noworries #luckyibroughtabook
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Tweet #6: Uh oh! Problem is bigger than the minor technical hitch they thought it was. We'll be here for half an hour …
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Tweet #7: It's the freakin' captain again. They're still working on it … But we're allowed to turn our electrical devices on. #ohjoy
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Tweet #8: Plane is broken and not going anywhere. We must disembark. #thanksfortellingussooner
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Determined to remain upbeat, I found a silver lining:
Tweet #9: Back in the terminus #silverlining #atleastitsfriday pic.twitter.com/FjBL4OzBcy
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
I also took some holiday snaps:
Of Sky News
And the NewsLink shop
And the Australian Way store
And made friends with fellow non-passengers:
Jodie, Ben, Me, Steve
My upbeat mood was getting harder to maintain:
#12: Flight rescheduled A-BLOODY-GAIN.
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
So, I went in search of another silver lining:
And found it
Day became night and I began to feel like Tom Hanks in the movie ‘The Terminal’:
All the other planes were taking off
And the cleaners were moving in
So I settled in for the night
Then, after 6 1/2 hours, the flight was cancelled:
And that was that.
We were told to return the following morning. I fleetingly pondered joining the 200 other passengers queuing at the airline service desk and ranting and raving at the staff, but I couldn’t be bothered. So I went home and phoned the airline. They sounded relieved that I was being pleasant (courtesy of the silver linings), and happily rebooked me on their partner airline for the next day. They also changed my return flight so I could still spend two days with my daughter.
On Saturday, I got up and did it all over again:
Tweet #13: Back at airport waiting for flight for second day in a row, even sitting in same chair #DejaVu pic.twitter.com/dWI5KrrNMl
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 31, 2014
It felt like ‘Groundhog Day’. Even as we boarded, I was too frightened to get my hopes up:
I was actually making secret plans to hijack the plane if it didn’t take off …
Tweet #14: boarded! pic.twitter.com/gedupGyHTt
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 31, 2014
This time, I made it. My gorgeous daughter and I were finally reunited, only about 20 hours later than planned:
Reunited at last!
We’ve had a lovely weekend together. As she’s about to start exams, I stocked her fridge and freezer:
More cooking than I’ve done in a long while …
Better stocked than my freezer at home
We even had a visit to radiology, but nothing serious. My job is done and I can fly home again. Let’s hope tonight’s flight takes off as scheduled. However, if tonight’s news features a story about a red-haired middle-aged lady who’s been locked up for assaulting airline staff, you’ll know who it is and why …
chuckle, chuckle, chuckle… but i’m only laughing because it’s you, and not me… 😉
You’ve gotta laugh. I’m laughing too. Now …
You are a funny woman Louise, and a good mum. I used to come to Perth when we were living in Melbourne to stock up my daughter’s freezer too xx
I’ve been in more grocery shops and done more cooking in the past two days than I’ve done at home in the past six months!
Clever, clever post, Louise. Made me feel it probably wasn’t as horrible as I know it must have been. Poor you and poor Isabelle who was waiting for you.
I once had to reschedule a flight to Canberra because the Minister of Health was officially opening the agency for which I worked as CEO and she had rescheduled the opening giving 24 hours notice – a nightmare in itself as we had to let everyone know about the changes. I left home that night to catch the red-eye from Perth to Melbourne, with just enough time to get to a meeting at 9. a.m.. The plane had been struck by lightning on it’s trip across the Nullabor, so it had to be thoroughly checked before take off. We were air-borne just before 4 a.m. with the airline insisting there was enough time to get to Canberra. In Melbourne we waited on a twelve seater plane they’d put on especially for us. After half-an-hour sitting strapped into our seats, they told us to get off again. There was an enormous puddle under the little plane – brake fluid that had leaked! Because my return flight was from Canberra I decided to go on the next plane, and got to Canberra in time for lunch with colleagues who filled me in about the meeting I’d missed. I flew home that evening, feeling I’d had quite an adventure.
Twitter and blogging had not even been imagined in those days, but I’m very sure I would never have been able to write such an interesting, funny post about a delayed plane or two.
I’m sure you would, Maureen! You tell a delightful tale!
Your story is a beauty—all that hassle, and overnight, and you didn’t even make it … I hope the lunch was pretty special!
At least it was a long weekend and I could rearrange my plans relatively easily so it all worked out in the end. And they had enough very angry people without me joining the bandwagon!
Everyone was really helpful afterwards (mind you, I won’t be flying that airline again!) and the only extra fee was the taxi fare home on Friday. The airport car parking, the hotel, and the hire car in Melbourne didn’t charge for the extra night, which was heartwarming.
I loved loved your holiday snaps, so glad you got to spend extra time with your beautiful daughter. I would want a refund from the hairdressers, maybe have some highlights next time. Hope to catch up again in the very near future xxx
Glad you enjoyed the pics, Rae! The weekend worked out well in the end, but I’m not too sure about having my hair coloured again …
We will have to catch up again soon. I wonder if Amanda is planning another afternoon tea …
Another one for the annals of your life, Lousie, alongside Cradle Mountain From Hell…
I can remember being stuck at Tullamarine for hours and hours one night waiting to go home. The airline gave us all McDonalds vouchers. Marvellous. Then another time we were late getting onto a plane from Sydney to Perth, and with very strong headwinds expected, the flight was predicted to take nearly six hours. On that occasion they allowed everyone free access to all the Foxtel channels as recompense. As such, I became acquainted with the movie All That Jazz, which is Bob Fosse loosely dramatising his own life. I came in about halfway through it; it was so bizarre I had to watch all of it again after I got home, and now it’s one of my favourite films.
Actually, I’d love a buck for all the times I’ve been to Tullamarine…
I’ll have to watch that movie—I’ve heard others say it’s very good. Your story is more proof that every cloud has a silver lining …
Been there, done that, hated the airline, loved the airline, let it all go and had a wonderful time. Love your showing how the frustration builds. But all in all it was worth it for you and in the end,that’s what counts.
Yes, we got there in the end and I had a lovely time with my daughter. I won’t be flying with that airline again—they did this to me once before and on that occasion I was travelling with the four kids and sans husband. They cancelled the flight that time, too, but at least they put us on another airline so we got there the same day only about six hours later. Twice bitten now, so that’s it.
Love it! I adore posts like these. Your daughter is so cute! What a great mum your are doing all that cooking. The first flight sounded like an absolute nightmare from hell. I think my blood pressure would have blown the top of my head off!
I pick and choose my battles these days, Pinky. There are some things worth getting upset about, things that you can change. But I knew that no amount of huffing and puffing was going to make an aeroplane magically appear. Mind you, I do my share of huffing and puffing, and often about things that other people seem to be able to let go …
Great post Louise! What a delightfully warm person and terrific mother you are! I just loved the bit where you made friends with “fellow non-passengers.” p.s. sort of thing I’d do. 🙂
We had to make the most of a very frustrating situation! As I said to Pinky above—I do my fair share of huffing and puffing, don’t worry, but there was no point on Friday—it wasn’t going to change anything …