Our 3:40 flight turned into a 4:30 flight and then a 5:30 flight . Spouse and I boarded and walked back and then back and then back some more. I fly fairly often but not enough to know how many rows make up a plane.
Did we have the dreaded last row with its non reclining seats and the too-close keisters of fellow passengers waiting for the loo?
Saved.. We were the next to last.
We took our seats, both of us happy. We had been separated - my husband had the aisle - but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After a full week together, 24/7, we could handle a little break in the conversation.
I had scored a window seat. Sweet.
Until I heard the voice behind me. If I could have turned around to stare, I'm sure I would have seen 1940s child star, Margaret O'Brien. It was the same voice - Margaret had probably at one point been drilled by the director to "speak up for the camera!" Whatever the advice, it had taken. Hers was a voice of piercing diction able to be heard over the clang,clang, clang of the trolley in "Meet Me in St. Louis" and now it was behind me in all its glory.
"
Fortunately, later between the roar of the engines and a conscientious parent, it faded into white noise.
One thing I don't believe I've seen before:
When we we were preparing for take -off, I looked up to see a mist spraying into the cabin from the air vents. Someone with a less trusting nature could have had some darker explanations - mass mind meld, poison gas - but since no one else seemed concerned, I went back to my book.
After about an hour the crew began the chip and soda patrol. We hadn't eaten since an early lunch so a small bag of anything was sounding pretty good.
I put down my tray table and look what I found.
Somehow the paltry ONE 6 x 6 semi-dry hand wipe I was given didn't cut it and neither did the water from my water bottle and the scrubbing with the rest of my tissues. I dug deeper in my bag and came up with a clean paper towel.
Interesting that I was able to check my email and update my blog while thousands of feet in the air but couldn't get a tray table that wasn't a oblong Petri dish of disease.
I would happily forgo the technical advances for some good old soap and water.
Ugh. I would have asked if the steward(ess) could bring some wet paper towels and then followed that up with a bacterial wipe. Did you have to pay extra for the Wi-fi or is this now part of the travel?
ReplyDeleteWi-fi was free and when I asked for something to clean the tray all I received was that one tiny wipe.
DeleteYetch! We all just suck it up, don't we. And just a few weeks ago the Korean VP of Korea Air (I believe) stopped the plane on the tarmac and made the crew chief apologize for her dirty tray. Then fired him. Or something like that.
ReplyDeleteSometimes a trip can be a tremendous challenge. Often airplanes fly 5 or 6 routes a day and are not cleaned in between flights.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up. From now on, every time I fly, I'll have paper towels in my handbag.
ReplyDelete@Joanne; I believe it was the daughter of a Korean VP and when he heard of it, he made her apologise for her behaviour.
ReplyDeleteSomeone wasn't doing their job. I would have complained. So did you ever find out what the mist was? Dust? :)
ReplyDeleteThe picture didn't really show the mist, but it reminded me of the mist some outdoor restaurants spray on hot summer days to cool the area down.
DeleteMaybe moisture to hydrate the over-dry cabin . . . ?
Oh, ugh. That tray table is nasty!
ReplyDeleteI hope you had some gin with that tonic water. Sounds like you needed it. :)
I've seen that "mist" before -- I think it's just something about humidity and the air conditioning.
I don't fly commercial so that mist would have given me the willies, then the filthy tray would have done me in. Another reason not to fly but my biggest reason is just plain fear. Not logical I know but small planes are no problem for me.
ReplyDeleteI now carry Wet Wipes when I travel. They come in very handy and would have done the job for that tray, too, I think. Glad you're back home, though, after a pretty grueling return trip. :-)
ReplyDeleteMy goodness! You're right about some good old soap and water. Glad you're safely back at home!
ReplyDeleteSOS pads. Comet.
ReplyDeleteGross!