- Joined
- Jun 18, 2005
- Posts
- 136
Hopefully this is the appropriate place to tell the story of my trip from Cincinnati to Melbourne last Thursday (25 April 2013).
My friend and I arrived at CVG not long after 1400 for our 1700 flight (AA 2708 to Dallas/Fort Worth).
We had a Dollar rental car to drop off (and pay the $750 one way fee from Fort Lauderdale!). The transfer was quick and efficient. We were the only two passengers on the shuttle bus to the airport.
Check in was relatively straightforward other than some repacking of my companion's bag that was slight (3 lb) over the weight limit.
The airport was fairly quiet so we spent the time relaxing in the departure lounge and using the free wifi. The wifi seemed to slow down as more people arrived at the departure lounge.
As boarding time approached, it was announced that the plane would be delayed for about 30 minutes. I had read a newspaper report that delays of 30 minutes or more were common on USA flights due to cutbacks in the number of aircraft controllers.
I knew we would be on a small plane (Embraer ERJ 145). A AA employee came around and placed "Valet" tags on several people's carry on bags; ours included. It seemed an efficient process; the bags were dropped at the end of the aero bridge before we boarded and collected in the same manner after we arrived at DFW. The flight departed CVG 32 minutes late and arrived at DFW 27 minutes behind time. The ERJ 145 gave a good view of the trip across Kentucky, Arkansas and into Texas.
Because there was some time at DFW, we took the automated people mover the "long way around" between terminals.
Our flight to LAX was a Boeing 757 on AA 2493. We were told there would be a delay but were confident of our connection at LAX. We were towards the end of the boarding queue and upon boarding my companion found all the overhead lockers were occupied. One above our seats was occupied by some clothing and we asked the passenger if we could move it to make room for our case; the answer was a firm "no"!
As a result, my companion had to check her bag to LAX. She was carrying it because it contained some personal valuables and was rather upset that it had to be carried separately.
We departed DFW 37 minutes late but were only 18 down when we arrived at LAX.
Here it was the fun started! My companion hurried to the baggage claim. This meant exiting the secure part of the terminal. I followed behind after finding that there was a special shuttle from Gate 44 to our Qantas flight, QF94.
I caught up with my companion at the baggage carousel and it was some time before the bags started appearing. Time was ticking away.
Thankfully, the bag turned up and the security person allowed us to "jump" the queue because of the limited time. A full security inspection was required and this took several minutes.
We ran to gate 44 and, thankfully, the shuttle was waiting and departed soon after. The ride across the airport in the shuttle bus seemed quite lengthy. We knew we would be OK because there were several others booked on the same flight. As we passed across the tarmac, we saw our plane being towed into position at its gate. It was after 2300 and our plane was due out at 2330.
There were no signs where the shuttle bus dropped us and it took some time to determine that we needed to go to gate 134. There were no signs but we followed our noses (there were several of us) and finally made it to gate 134 only to be told that the plane was delayed due to a "late arrival". QF 94 finally departed at 0053 (83 minutes late). When we got going, the captain told us to expect a good flight. We arrived at Tullamarine at 0848 (only 18 minutes down).
Passing through immigration took no time with the electronic passports!
But customs where the fun began!
I estimated there were more than 1000 people in the luggage hall and was dismayed to see only two staff were on duty at the customers barrier! The line snaked around the luggage hall, almost back to the duty free shops! It was a very frustrating time with so many people having arrived, tired, after overnight flights from different locations. We are constantly told of the parlous state of the nation's finances but one would presume that the cost of the provision of adequate staffing resources at Tullamarine would be more than offset by the good impression of an arrival in Australia. Waiting in line for more than half an hour seems hardly a good way to create an initially good impression of Australia?
Paul in Melbourne
My friend and I arrived at CVG not long after 1400 for our 1700 flight (AA 2708 to Dallas/Fort Worth).
We had a Dollar rental car to drop off (and pay the $750 one way fee from Fort Lauderdale!). The transfer was quick and efficient. We were the only two passengers on the shuttle bus to the airport.
Check in was relatively straightforward other than some repacking of my companion's bag that was slight (3 lb) over the weight limit.
The airport was fairly quiet so we spent the time relaxing in the departure lounge and using the free wifi. The wifi seemed to slow down as more people arrived at the departure lounge.
As boarding time approached, it was announced that the plane would be delayed for about 30 minutes. I had read a newspaper report that delays of 30 minutes or more were common on USA flights due to cutbacks in the number of aircraft controllers.
I knew we would be on a small plane (Embraer ERJ 145). A AA employee came around and placed "Valet" tags on several people's carry on bags; ours included. It seemed an efficient process; the bags were dropped at the end of the aero bridge before we boarded and collected in the same manner after we arrived at DFW. The flight departed CVG 32 minutes late and arrived at DFW 27 minutes behind time. The ERJ 145 gave a good view of the trip across Kentucky, Arkansas and into Texas.
Because there was some time at DFW, we took the automated people mover the "long way around" between terminals.
Our flight to LAX was a Boeing 757 on AA 2493. We were told there would be a delay but were confident of our connection at LAX. We were towards the end of the boarding queue and upon boarding my companion found all the overhead lockers were occupied. One above our seats was occupied by some clothing and we asked the passenger if we could move it to make room for our case; the answer was a firm "no"!
As a result, my companion had to check her bag to LAX. She was carrying it because it contained some personal valuables and was rather upset that it had to be carried separately.
We departed DFW 37 minutes late but were only 18 down when we arrived at LAX.
Here it was the fun started! My companion hurried to the baggage claim. This meant exiting the secure part of the terminal. I followed behind after finding that there was a special shuttle from Gate 44 to our Qantas flight, QF94.
I caught up with my companion at the baggage carousel and it was some time before the bags started appearing. Time was ticking away.
Thankfully, the bag turned up and the security person allowed us to "jump" the queue because of the limited time. A full security inspection was required and this took several minutes.
We ran to gate 44 and, thankfully, the shuttle was waiting and departed soon after. The ride across the airport in the shuttle bus seemed quite lengthy. We knew we would be OK because there were several others booked on the same flight. As we passed across the tarmac, we saw our plane being towed into position at its gate. It was after 2300 and our plane was due out at 2330.
There were no signs where the shuttle bus dropped us and it took some time to determine that we needed to go to gate 134. There were no signs but we followed our noses (there were several of us) and finally made it to gate 134 only to be told that the plane was delayed due to a "late arrival". QF 94 finally departed at 0053 (83 minutes late). When we got going, the captain told us to expect a good flight. We arrived at Tullamarine at 0848 (only 18 minutes down).
Passing through immigration took no time with the electronic passports!
But customs where the fun began!
I estimated there were more than 1000 people in the luggage hall and was dismayed to see only two staff were on duty at the customers barrier! The line snaked around the luggage hall, almost back to the duty free shops! It was a very frustrating time with so many people having arrived, tired, after overnight flights from different locations. We are constantly told of the parlous state of the nation's finances but one would presume that the cost of the provision of adequate staffing resources at Tullamarine would be more than offset by the good impression of an arrival in Australia. Waiting in line for more than half an hour seems hardly a good way to create an initially good impression of Australia?
Paul in Melbourne
