Each country has an airline which seems to mirror its finer or less than finer aspects. Delta, American? Pay for food, no blankets or pillows and $6 for a 6 inch screen movie that came out last year – clearly reflecting America’s recessionary times. Korean Air? So much Hello Kitty. And there’s Qatar – each flight begins with a pre-recorded Islamic prayer for safety in travel. After landing in Cairo at sundown during Ramandan I had to wait over an hour for the EgyptAir employees to unload the baggage – they were breaking their fast. Work could wait. This was also the airline who’s passengers began unloading their carry-ons from the overhead before the wheels touched ground. Which reminds me of EthiopianAir – the gentleman next to me took a phone call as we were circling Addis. And by circling I mean circling in the air. Not the ground.
Today? I flew Aeroflot. Once I got over the shock of orange and the babushka flight attendants, I was most interested to see track suits, track suits, track suits all around me. My eyes are still peeled for an oligarch or two. Also worth noting, everyone clapped when we successfully came to a full stop. I appreciate what seemed to be a show of vocational support for the pilot but I couldn’t help but wonder if they were clapping for a different reason altogether.
3 comments:
You are very brave to fly with some of those airlines.
Oh that takes me back to flying Aeroflot in 1990. The women were wearing large frilly dresses . . . so large that they couldn't close the door to the powder room when they went to . . . powder their noses. The screws all over the plane rattled and threatened to come out throughout the flight. And the chair backs flew forward and banged on the seats when we landed. We were definitely relieve to have reached our destination in safety!
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