When we think of overseas holidays, descriptors like adventure, memorable, and exciting come to mind. Often, the nervous anticipation of the unknown meets the eager expectation born of previous journeys. Both move through the hallways of our minds like participants in a Year 9 school dance lesson: awkward and doubting self confidence treading on the toes of Mills-and-Boone-like fantasy! So we waltzed up to the Emirates check in counter at Perth Terminal 1…
The use of Qantas Staff Travel on Emirates is always a little mysterious. Will we get Business or Economy? Will we sit together or apart? Will we even get on?! A call earlier in the day to a former Emirates pilot mate with access to the EK passenger booking data (and lifetime staff travel with First Class upgrades!!) had given me a strong Business expectation from Perth, but an Economy to nothing chance from Dubai to London. Time to claim ‘favourite’ status from The Almighty!
The (very) young girl at the desk beckoned us over, and upon me saying the word “staff” became all thumbs.
“How’s it looking for Business?” I asked. “We are upgradable.”
“I’ve only been doing this four months and I’ve never done Business Class.”
She tore up the Economy boarding passes.
She then proceeded to tag our bags DXB. Just in case you were wondering, that’s not the code for London Gatwick. “Shouldn’t you tag that Gatwick Standby?” I queried. “Or are you saying we’ll have to go through immigration at Dubai and check in again for Gatwick? We’ll miss our flight if we do that!”
Her thumbs fumbled at the baggage receipts.
“I think I’ll go and ask my supervisor.”
Soon enough we were standing at another counter with a gentleman who’s silver hair and deft handling of boarding passes and passports flooded us with confident relief. Until he lost Wendy’s passport.
“Lord, what are you trying to tell us?!”
Twenty minutes, three staff and two incredulous would-be travellers later, it was found under the printer that sits under the counter, right at the back in the dark, seen only by the light of a mobile phone.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?”
(Psalms 27:1) Cool, thanks. But maybe with less pressure next time… please?
So, Business was great: the seats, the service, the food. They have a lounge bar, complete with barman and snacks!
“That scotch is 18 years old? On the rocks, please. No, just a single!”
“The New Zealand pinot noir with dinner, please, but after I’ve finished the Champagne!”
“Real port, from the banks of the Duoro in Portugal? Nice!”
Sleep was sweet laying flat. “Thank you God for staff travel. Any chance of a miracle out of Dubai?!”
Wendy’s Pad
So we met up at the bar…
Cosmopolitan cocktail. She’d never made one, I’d never tasted one!
We had to hold for an hour over Dubai due to bad weather, low cloud, heavy rain and thunderstorms. Doesn’t happen often in the sandpit, I was told. It meant that we had just on an hour to get our boarding passes sorted for Gatwick. The place was mayhem. A contingent of Chinese took up the whole length of the Connections counter. I lined up in the Business queue as it was empty and had to wait 15 mins, only to be told that there was no way we could get on our flight because we hadn’t been checked onto it in Perth and it was now less than 1 hour before departure. “Impossible!”
We went straight to the gate…more prayer.
Passengers were being processed into the boarding lounge when we arrived, and two Emirates staff were off to one side huddling over a computer terminal. I told them our predicament, that Perth had messed things up, our bags were tagged LGW STBY, and was there any chance of making the flight?
Big, friendly smiles from the nicest Emirates ladies…in the world! And within 10 mins, two Business boarding passes!! Apparently the weather had caused flights to divert to other airports and loads of people wouldn’t make this flight! Humbled again by His grace and favour.
Another breakfast, more lay flat sleep, an everlasting glass of Burgundy wine (that I had to cap way too early coz I had to drive after landing), and a great view of our cruising river, the Rhine, from 38000ft over Germany. And 41 days still to go!
Prost!
European Adventures 