Come Fly With Me

I couldn’t help but hear “Ol’ Blue Eyes” crooning that number in my head, yesterday. For the first time in over fifteen years I flew — and boy, are my arms tired!

Of course, the uniforms the cabin crew wore helped with that nostalgic feeling: at first I thought I had mistakenly stumbled onto the set of the tv show Pan Am — skinny skirts, a scarf around their necks and pill box hats on their heads.

Seriously, though… I am attending the United Church’s 41st General Council as a Commissioner, and the three of us travelling from the Sault did so by air.

I’d forgotten how convenient air travel is.

Yes, our connecting flight could have been earlier — depart Sault at 0845, take the flight to Ottawa at 1310. There were two other, sooner flights to Ottawa; I suspect, since I was travelling with a Youth delegate, that was the earliest they could book two seats together.

Still, a few hours in the Porter lounge at Billy Bishop Airport is not a hardship. Beverages and snacks are free.

In fact, flying Porter was quite nice. (Obviously, I haven’t flown since 1995, this was my first trip with Porter.) The staff was friendly and helpful. Being offered a ‘breakfast’ (muffin and fruit cup) was a nice, unexpected touch. The coffee was quite nice.

Best of all, my luggage arrived safe and sound in Ottawa.

The same cannot be said for the third member of our Sault contingent, whose flight was booked on Air Canada. We’re not sure where his luggage ended up, but no doubt it had a nice trip.

Whatever airline one flies, air travel is just so quick.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t flown all that often; in total I’ve probably only flown a half-dozen or so times. I’ve just not been able to afford it. But I’ve always loved it.

Usually my trips, whether business or pleasure, have been by car. Even renting a vehicle has, in the past, been cheaper than flying to Toronto. But there’s no comparison at all between spending 8 hours on the road and 90 minutes in the air. (The 60-minute hop to Ottawa didn’t seem to take any time at all.)

Of course, one is at the mercy of the airlines and the terminal staff, and there can be some inconveniences… a flight that should have departed nearly an hour before ours, Saturday, was delayed by weather; luggage goes missing; some airlines break guitars, etc.

A screaming baby can make a puddle-jump flight seem transatlantic in duration.

I love driving, but… if I could I would fly wherever I was going and rent a vehicle when I got there. Sixteen hours behind the wheel just getting to and from one’s weekend destination really is absurd.

We encountered some minor turbulence on both legs of the flight — more so between Toronto and Ottawa. I wouldn’t describe it as “rough, though. It was more like being on an amusement ride — like the two or three small dips between the main drops on a rollercoaster.

In fact, a family with four children were on the plane with us, the kids sitting in the two rows immediately behind me. They whooped with every dip and yaw, as if they were on a ride.

Nearby passengers found themselves laughing along with the kids.

I did give thought, briefly, to the inevitable “what-if” scenario. While I can’t say for sure how I would react, I couldn’t find any reason to worry.

If the “what-of” happens, there’s precious little anyone can do about it. Worrying about it will neither prevent it from happening nor make it better if it does.

I figure if it does happen I’ll just hang on, go for the ride, and hope it works out.

But, two take-offs and landings later, I am reminded just how lucky we are to have this convenient and quick method of travel available to us.

Our flights home next Saturday are booked on Air Canada, so I can compare the service between the two rival airlines.

And, since I am returning home, mis-directed luggage won’t be as big a deal.

But… that’s just my opinion.