How small things can become big problems
It amazes me just how quickly some non attentive moments or loss of focus can profoundly impact your next few hours or worse.
Air travel brings with it some story, adventure, mishap, drama or at least a nugget of narrative to be shared with a laugh later with friends and family. Here’s mine…
Air Travel – The do’s and dont’s we get to discover
Air travel, for the uninitiated or those who are not frequent flyers, comes with its own set of do’s and dont’s. Having logged so many air miles I learned a thing or two about what to do…and what not to do.
One of my biggest don’t do’s occurred when I was working for a large cruise line and had just landed a position as Fleet Cruise Director. It was a somewhat nebulous position that involved my accompanying new Cruise Director’s to their ships. The assignment I was on this time was escorting a brand new CD to a vessel based in Vancouver, Canada.
It was a short hop from Seattle to Vancouver on one of those puddle jumpers that whirred in a vibrational screeching complaint as it climbed to altitude. The guy I was taking with me was not a good air traveler. In fact, his sweaty silence and white knuckles was making me nervous. I wondered to myself how on earth his stress levels would manage all the flying he would need to do in his career.
Bumpy flight with a nervous traveler
This was one flight where I could not wait to land. A wobbly bit of turbulence offered just south west of Vancouver at 8 000 feet was a reminder from the sky gods that we really should not be up there and should continue that exit from the clouds asap. Simultaneously, the new CD was reminded he should go to the bathroom. As he staggered off, I took a look out the window and relaxed as I enjoyed some beautiful Canadian greenery interspersed with shimmering reflective water beneath. The guy got back, whiter then the napkin at the side of my tray. I asked if he was ok. He tried to flash a PR smile but it failed miserably.
Landing on the runway was a curious orchestration of machine against physics, the small prop struggling against the windy gusts to the left. We got down and my colleague seemed to recover to some normality by the time we got into the air terminal.
The luggage carousel lottery
Once we were in the baggage claim it was the sport of watching an empty, non-moving carousel whilst people jostled for prime position to snatch their bags.
I usually stand back from the melee but previous travel had taught me to get in the throng only for the reason that I needed to keep an eye out for someone snatching the wrong – namely my, luggage.
I had previously spent three hours in a terminal looking for non arrived luggage, filled out the lost baggage form only to find my luggage at customs because someone had accidentally taken it and did not have a corresponding luggage ticket. Nice of them to bring it back to the carousel – not!
The short burst of siren and jerky start-up soon had the carousel displaying the first items of luggage. I tell you, I am constantly amazed at the array of luggage that jerks its way around, ancient looking suitcases tied with rope, cardboard boxes with tape. When I see what happens to my Samsonite case, I am staggered these items survived.
Murphy’s law decided to play this day. No luggage for my colleague or myself. Everyone else had left and we were standing in eternal hope watching a few lonely cases rumble by, each rotation appearing through the plastic stripped curtain – just an encore that was identical to the last – no new additions. No baggage belonging to us. Blah!
The Air Travel Saga Gets More Intense
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Dead time in an air terminal can either be excruciating or fun. I guess it depends on your outlook. For me, it’s usually interesting. I find ways to amuse myself. If I’m traveling alone, I read, surf the web on my laptop or go look in the shops. Simple stuff, really.
Or I just sit and watch people – one of my favorite pastimes. I see their weary faces and feel their pain as they stagger off some arduous international leg of air travel agony.
I love to imagine their stories and what world travel they are doing, where they’re going. Today, I decided to watch people whilst my work colleague frantically searched for suitcases we already knew would only be coming on the next flight from Seattle. A customs guy was walking with a great looking beagle.
The dog handler let me pet the dog. I’m not sure they would normally allow that but he didn’t seem to mind. They eventually headed off and left me to my thoughts – mainly about my colleagues nervous disposition with air travel and how he may perform on stage.
About 10 minutes had passed after my encounter with the Beagle and his handler.
“I am going to take your laptop and x-ray it and I will swab the keys. If you have used a drug within the last 6 months, we’ll pick it up”
The mistake that cost
The nudge was at my backside. I thought it was a passenger passing by with a suitcase. In annoyance I turned around to see my furry friend again. Except he was now barking at me, rounding me and still nudging my backside. Next I am surrounded by five border officials and asked where my baggage is. I say I cannot find it as yet and then I hear “Rob…our bags are here!”
My colleague seemed oblivious to my new situation. I am told to select my luggage and then led to another more private area of the airport. I did not get a chance to tell my colleague that I was going elsewhere.
The Canadian border guy was hostile. I bristled. Air travel is stressful enough without this.He was rude and arrogant and slammed me with questions. I tried to explain what I was doing in Canada and it was business, that I was a Cruise Director bringing a new cruise director to a ship. This official just retorted that they have found lawyers and doctors carrying drugs.
The weird thing about being under official spotlight is that your mind works overtime. As the saga continued and they swabbed my bags and my person, I rewound the events at Seattle airport that had seemed innocuous but a little strange as well.
My mind started playing tricks on me
Rewind 4 hours and I was standing outside the terminal at Seattle talking to an attractive off-duty stewardess who seemed very friendly and chatty. We spoke about life and what she and I did as careers.
It was a great conversation. The strange part came with the goodbye. She suddenly said she had to go, hugged me, kissed me on the cheek and patted my ass. Odd…considering that I had known her for about 20 minutes.
Now, as I stood at customs in Canada, under the accusatory glare of a rude border guard, I could feel my heart rate start to quicken. Did she slip something in my back pocket? Did she distract me enough to have an accomplice plant something in my bag?
My cool demeanor was unraveling inside. I started to feel anxious. I no longer had the indignant confidence that I had felt prior to these thoughts. I watched as they went through my luggage and computer bag. The guard looked annoyed that he had found nothing suspicious. But he was not done.
“I am going to take your laptop and x-ray it and I will swab the keys. If you have used a drug within the last 6 months, we’ll pick it up”.
I shrugged with pretend nonchalance. “Sure…whatever”
My response further 
irritated this guy. “If we find any traces of narcotics you’re in deep shit” The thin veil of semi-professionalism had obviously sapped from him.
He came back and thrust my laptop at me.
“All ok?” I asked “Can I go?”
He turned his back. His colleague answered the affirmative. I was free to go. End of the saga.
The cool Vancouver air was resuscitating. I enjoyed a sense of freedom that I never appreciated before. It was an elation, really. The threat of what had just happened had elevated my sense of vulnerability. How easy can it be to get in trouble?
Very easy. I shuddered to think what would have happened if I had been duped and distracted by a pretty face and had obliviously carried narcotics. My career would have been over. I could have been sent to prison. My life as I knew it could have been ruined. Two simple mistakes that could have led to a world of pain. Travel , and air travel particularly can be hazardous.
I found the freshman CD on board the vessel by the time I arrived at the port. He had made it okay. I felt annoyed with myself for failing to successfully bring him to a ship and show him around. But that was heaps better than being shown around a prison, I guess.
Two things I warn people about now:
1. NEVER pet or pay attention to a detection dog
2. NEVER be so distracted by an interesting stranger that you really could doubt your bag was not tampered with.
Observe these tips and you will not have to endure the air travel saga I did.