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January 12th 2003 If you have read any of my previous diary entries you will see that I am no stranger to experiencing difficulties at airports and on aeroplanes. I have missed flights, been sat in terrible seats and I often forget to pack important things. So why should I expect this journey back to the USA to be any different from the rest? I did the final checks that I always do before leaving for the airport. We, being my parents and I, were leaving at 6:30 a.m which should give us plenty of time to reach Manchester airport in order to catch the 10:30 flight to Chicago. I chanted the age old mantra " Passport, Tickets, Money...Passport, Tickets, Money" and checked several times to make sure they were in my handbag, and then checked my handbag was with me too. Satisfied with that I checked I had my house keys as these were the important item that I had left the last time I made this journey. Quite satisfied that I was ready, we set off on the road to Manchester. The morning was cold and icy so I had a blanket over me in the back of the car. As I was rubbing my hands together to try and keep warm I realised that I didn't have my wedding and engagement rings. I flashbacked to where they could be and remember taking them off to put on some hand cream shortly before we left the house. Well, I immediately burst into tears as these were my lucky charms when I fly and I felt as though part of me was missing. We had to go back. Of course, once this decision was made we had just gone past a junction on the motorway and the next one was 10 miles away. That journey back seemed to take an absolute age, even though my Dad was doing at least 90 m.p.h. The thing was I really was not certain if the rings were still in my bedroom where I thought I had left them. I couldn't remember. We got back to the house and I hurried in and up to my room. Yes! They were there. Thank the Lord! So it was off back to Manchester Airport. We would be late for the suggested check-in time but should easily make it to get on the flight. In fact we did great time and were only 15 minutes later than the suggested check-in time of 2 hours before the flight. However, by the time I had made it through the American Airlines interrogation and lengthy queue for the check-in desks there was only 20 minutes left until boarding time. So I then had to say goodbye to my parents which is always an emotional time for me. This time I would be away for 6 or 7 months which is probably the longest I have been away without a visit. Again I went through security in tears. I'm sure they see it lots of times. The flight was quite good. It was actually very good but I don't like to praise American Airlines too much. They still need to get individual video screens which all other transatlantic flight operators offer (BA being one). They also need to remember to turn the seat belt sign off so that people can get up to go to the loo without being reprimanded by the matronly air hostesses.......sorry, flight attendants. They also need to use a bigger plane. A 767 doesn't allow you to get up and try and prevent DVT. BA encourage you to move around the plane, and they use a jumbo jet. The fact that BA do not offer a direct service from Manchester does not really require mentioning at this time. The flight arrived half an hour early and the customs man was surprisingly quick. So all that was left was the luggage to collect. I was surprised to see one of my cases coming off immediately. It was a brand new glittery silver Carlton wheely case that I had just got the weekend before. The case I brought over with me got smashed up at Heathrow airport. Fortunately Carlton have a 5 year guarantee and although its not covered for airport damage they are very accommodating and will swap them anyway. I had seen this silver shiny case in the window so thought I would have a change from the bright lilac cases I got as a wedding present. I struggled to get it off the belt. It was quite a bit heavier as I had purchased quite a few new items of clothing whilst in the UK and it also had some bulky winter clothing in there as Kevin had warned me that the weather was extremely cold in Chicago. As I was waiting for my other case I noticed a lady walking around with a small beagle dog and letting it sniff everyone's luggage. The dog seemed a bit small for a drug/explosive sniffer dog but I thought maybe they had a limited budget. The dog stopped at the gentleman next to me and barked at his luggage. The woman asked the man if he had any food in his baggage to which he replied "A banana". The dog was looking for food! My other case came quite quickly so I set off to hand in my customs form. Now, its been a year since the UK was confirmed a 'Foot and Mouth' free zone but you are still required to confess if you have been staying at a farm or B&B in England. Does a week in the Lake District in a cottage constitute as the same thing? Anyway, my husband always tells me to ' admit nowt'. So that's what I did. But the customs man told me to go to a security area where my luggage was screened again. Of course I had to load and unload the cases myself with no help from the burly looking security men. Fortunately, I didn't get pulled over, but I wouldn't have minded if I was being screened for bombs or drugs but again they were looking for food! But all my anger subsided when I saw my husband waiting for me and we headed back to our apartment an hour's cab ride away. When we got into the apartment we put down the luggage and I asked my husband if he liked my new suitcase. He said "Yes" and then hesitated before he said "But its not yours!" Closer inspection confirmed this. The tag on it had a girl's address from Huddersfield, England. Oh my God! What had I done? I could not believe that I had been incredibly stupid not once, but twice in one day! How could I have not picked up my own case which had my initials on it and a Union Jack luggage tag. I think I was just so excited that my silver case was coming off first that it didn't even cross my mind that somebody else had got the same case as me. So I was straight on the phone to the airport who told me to bring the case back and then they could check if they still had mine. What if the other girl did the same thing and now has my case? Or what if she is waiting around and reporting her case as lost. They didn't ask for any details on the phone so it was off back to the airport. Another $30 fare. When we got there, it took ten minutes to explain to the girl at lost luggage what had happened. One day someone is just going to take the time to actually listen to what I am saying rather than thinking they know what I'm going to say. She looked on the computer for my case and said it had not been left and had probably been picked up by the girl who's case I had. My husband pointed out that this was surely not possible as the girl was going onto Dallas (according to the luggage tag on the case I had picked up) and it would be a security breach if the case had got through. This prompted the girl to go and ask her supervisor and when she returned she informed that they had my case and it would be coming over from terminal 5 at some point today, but she didn't know when. Well, at least they had found it. We eventually got home at 4p.m, 3 and a half hours later than when I first landed and $90 out of pocket! It seems I always learn something new when I go to the airport. Confirm your return flight and choose a good seat at the same time, check the flight times, remember your house keys and wedding rings and now check the luggage you pick up is yours. Hopefully I will get it right next time.
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Copyright© Gillian Blakey 2002 Allow myself to introduce.........myself |
