Come fly with me, come fly with me, come fly :)

I must admit, flying to/from/within Africa has to be ranked as a life experience everyone must experience (or perhaps stay clear of?). As I had mentioned in a previous post, the trip there for me started with the checkin counter person asking me if I had a doctor's certificate from Ethiopian airlines to fly. A cast on a foot? That injury is so commonplace, when I flew Air Canada and United to Denver in 2008 with the same foot in a cast, there was no mention of any such nonsense. The attendant informed me that this was Ethiopian policy and I must respect that. When Gebu was kind enough to call to arrange a wheelchair, there was no mention of such a ridiculous policy. When I arrived in Nairobi, I was met by a gentleman who wheeled me to the visa office. We traversed the tarmac for about 10 minutes, then arrived at a set of double doors locked with a chain and padlock. There was a notice just inside about what number to call to get the doors open ... I thought ALL doors were fire exits. I guess if there were an emergency, one simply calls that number to get the doors open. About 10 minutes later someone opened the door and we were off to get the visa. That went well and the attendants helped me secure a ride into town as the Fairmont van did not show. The Sweet Thing had a real mess on her hands with Air Canada when she arrived at the airport in Ottawa. When I had first flown to Addis, my ticket ended up in the name of Abbey Michael, not Michael Abbey. It was issued by Safeway travel in Addis so I attributed the name mixup to what they thought my name was. When I got to the airport on August 7, there was a kefuffle and an agent ended up ensuring that I would have no problems. She was very helpful. So when ST gets there they think her name is Kronick Sandy; I purchased the ticket on Orbitz after entering her name as a traveller as one is used to doing with airfare ticket purchase sites. As it turns out, when the ticket was cut, the name was not in the standard format which is "Last Name" then a comma or slash, then the "First Name". The comma was missing so they understood her to be Kronick Sandy. The same agent happened to be on duty and fixed everything up but for a while it did not look good. They even spoke to Orbitz directly and one of their suggestions was to re-purchase and travel the next day. I will get ST to fill in the gory details. So I get to Kenyata airport Saturday about 4PM for the return trip to Addis. There is a huge lineup to get into the airport due to the first round of security screening. I jump the queue with assistance from a baggage handler, and clear that checkpoint. They xray the crutches while I sit on a chair awaiting my baggage. That first handler was happy to accept a 50 shilling tip. Then a second handler assists me getting to an Ethiopian airlines agent whose computer as it turns out just went offline. They invite me to sit somewhere while I wait for the agent beside me to finish with a client. The second handler refuses a tip. With visions of the wheelchair/certificate mess from a week ago, I decline the invitation and stand their waiting. About 10 minutes later, I am checked in then told to proceed to customs. I did not want to mention the wheelchair. At customs I stood in a very short line with the crew checkpoint beside me. A few people who were not crew went to that wicket. Then I figured it out and used it when it became free. The agent asked where my yellow embarkation form was ... what form? Nobody gave me one. She worked on her terminal for a bit then let me proceed. I had on my knapsack with the larger bag already checked. I proceeded to the elevator which as it turns out did not work! I was then confronted with an escalator or 3 sets of stairs. An escalator is fine until one has to negotiate the end of the line in crutches; it happens pretty fast and even with no crutches the disembarkation can be interesting. So the stairs it was. I rested on the second landing to wipe the sweat from my brow. Finally upstairs, I looked at my ticket to find the gate I was supposed to be at eventually. It was 9, not far from where I was so I headed that way. I was very hot so stopped to take off my jacket and balance on 1 foot from time-to-time while I did the work. When I got to gate 9, Emirates was loading a plane so I knew I was too early. Then the hunt for a place to sit down began and that was a treat. I stood supporting myself with the crutches for a few minutes hoping someone on one of the very very few seats would offer me a spot. Nothing. I waited a few more minutes, then decided to look back towards where I arrived when I finished the 54 stairs. I found a chair where a gentleman had been nice enough to store his duty-free bag and asked if I could sit there. He gladly removed his stuff and down I sat, some 20 minutes post stair-54. When Ethiopian personnel appeared at gate 9 about 5:20, I hobbled over there. They announced flight 800 and a line formed at the gate. I went to the back of a 30-40 person line, advanced a few feet here, a few feet there, then when it became my turn to check-in I asked the attendant if she would be so kind as to arrange a wheelchair at the other end. No problem ... all taken care of. Security again was very interested in xraying my crutches, then I could not figure out which way to turn; each security point services 2 gates. Turn right or left? As I was wondering, a Belgian passenger appeared with the same quandary. We were finally told to turn right and assemble in a set of chairs and wait for further announcements. And wait we did ... for about 40 minutes with no sign of any Ethiopian equipment to fly us to Addis. Finally, a jet taxied into the area of gate 9, parked about 100 metres from the gate, and unloaded. As the passengers climbed the 34 stairs from the tarmac to the terminal, there were another set of double doors locked with guess what? Someone opened the padlock and they passed through. Then the doors were re-locked. A while later they pre-boarded a few people with babies and people with mobility disabilities ... all except yours truly. The guy apologized for "missing" me when the plane started loading. A number of passengers commented on how the stairs not to mention the walk to the jet were not easy for the guy on crutches. I climbed the 21 stairs to the jet and seated myself in 33J. The flight was quicker than I thought and then the fun began in Addis. The jet was not at a gate so there was a bus. They helped me with my bag then we got off the bus at the terminal. There was 1 wheelchair guy there and there were 2 of us needing assistance. I let the elderly woman have the guy, and climbed 32 stairs then they realized I needed assistance. They found another wheelchair but, oops, nobody to push it. So this one guy pushes 2 wheelchairs which is not an easy task. He takes me first through customs then parks me at the baggage carousel. He then returns for the other lady. I sat and sat and sat and sat as the bags came off and managed to re-position myself when mine appeared so I could snag it. I then sat and sat and sat and sat and sat then finally got up, hoisted my big bag onto the wheelchair and pushed most of the way to exit the secure area while getting my bags scanned again. A guy helped me through the xray and I tipped him 9 birr which is all I had left. Habtamu the driver met me and naturally, the walk to his vehicle was long. There is a parking area right at the bottom of the ramp but it is in the crew and employee parking area so I had to walk further. So here's the summary of my trip from Nairobi to Addis: Number of wheelchairs (needed/provided): 2/1 Number of stairs climbed or descended: 141 Distance walked in terminal in Nairobi: 200 metres Distance walked to get to jet: 100 metres Distance walked in terminal in Addis: 100 metres I keep my sanity sometimes down here with the following 3 words ... Welcome to Africa. Details on ST's debacle(s) to follow.