‘This is your captain speaking, we’re going to have an extended flight from Melbourne to Perth today to avoid the ash cloud…. it’s going to be a record….yes ….we’ll be flying for….7 hours’, the voice enthused.
Judging by the collective groan from everyone already fastened in their seats, it was just as well he was locked in an impenetrable cockpit.
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Thanks to kevindooley
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‘So if you’d like to call your family and friends to let them know, we’re going to sit here for 10 minutes so you can do that’.
During the flurry of activity around me I found myself pondering about 911, and what it must have been like, to have been on one of those planes, when everyone was calling home knowing their fate was unavoidable. A very sobering thought brought home even more by the heartfelt conversations going on all around me. Perhaps some were thinking about the lingering ash cloud.
Surprisingly after the initial shock most of my fellow passengers were okay, stating that they were simply happy to be on a plane and heading home.
Just after 3pm we settled in and employed a range of personal strategies to see out the time.
Most of us began what could only be described as the ultimate mega movie marathon. Beginning with those we’d always wanted to see and ending with those that, in any other given circumstance we never would.
Another common strategy was to extend the life of the lunch tray as there would be no other meal until we landed at 10pm. The small bread roll became a course in itself, so too the apple. I even noticed several people sucking the plastic coffee stirrer for extended periods, but I think that rather than trying to draw out any hidden sustenance, they were smokers simply trying not to climb up the softly curved wall.
Watching the drunk at the end of the row was entertaining for about 10 minutes, followed by another 10 minutes of being thankful that you weren’t the one sitting next to him, especially when he thought we were going to Sydney.
Amid all this there was one bonus though, a bonus that almost, almost made it all worthwhile.
‘If you’d like to look out the left hand side we’ll be passing over Ayres Rock in a minute’, the pilot informed us half way through the flight.
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| Thanks to RBerteig |
After a while the couple seated over from me both got out of their seats and offered me the window, which in itself felt like a miracle.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched people smother the window when city lights start to appear, leaving me lamenting my online seat choice. If only you could invoke the online seat gods mid flight.
I’m pretty sure the middle aged lady sitting next to the drunk would agree with me, along with the small Italian lady rapidly disappearing from view behind an oversized youth of the nation.
The view was brilliant. It took me a while to realise that the glow emanating from the rock was due to the setting sun, and not a set of powerful floodlights, just beautiful. There are very few times in my life that I’ve yelled out ‘that’s amazing’ but this was one of them, I literally couldn’t hold it back. Thankfully the dull drone of the engines slighly muffled my rapture.
4,500km, 7 hours, 3 ½ movies, 3 dinner bread rolls and 2 apples later we touched down and I pondered:
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Why did I pick a ‘who dun it’ for my last movie? If I’d chosen a Hollywood rom-com I could pretty much guess the ending.
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How interesting that even at the end of the extended journey everyone was still chatting happily. I’ve never been on a plane when the passengers chatted so much and then bid each other farewell.
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I pondered whether this was because we’d avoided the ash cloud, that we were just relieved to be home, or maybe something happened as we flew over The Rock. Either way wouldn’t it be wonderful if this attitude extended to other trips, particularly the long Perth to London or LA legs.
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If only those 911 flights could have had the same outcome.
7 Comments
Great piece. Loved it.
Thanks Chris, really nice to hear what people think. Have such a backlog of things to write about I think I need to shut the world out and write for a month just to catch up…but where would the fun be it that hey? 🙂
It’s a good sort of problem to have. Better that than having a month to write and nothing to write about.
Very good point. I just need my brain to stop spinning for a while 🙂
I really enjoyed reading this. Was laughing at your description mid flight about being entertained. Was also counting myself thankful that it wasn’t me on the plane.
Thanks heaps BIQ. Yep I kept trying to rescue the lady next to the drunk guy by talking to her, but he’d just lean forward and join in 🙂 In the end she just smiled that it was okay.
Poor woman!