Missed Flight To Mount Isa... Very P***ed Off!

Whenever I go away, to a meeting, out to lunch, dinner etc, I always insist on being early because I can't stand people leaving me hanging around, so therefore don't expect for people to have to wait for me... But if I am doing a show I always insist on being VERY ealry to cover any unexpected delays, mishaps etc... today was no exception! Myself and my soundman Des were all set to go to do a show in MT Isa, a town in the outback of nowhere. We were at the airport on time, booked in on one of those ticket kiosks and then stood inline to check in our baggage. The queue was very, very long, and in fact probably one of the longest queues I have ever waited in at an airport...

Anyway, after 45 minutes of waitng in the queue we eventually got to the ticket desk to check our bags in, only to be told that our flight had now been closed and was leaving after 10 minutes... I asked why were weren't able to still get on t if there was still 10minutes to go, but the ticketdesk girl just didn't want to know! I explained that we had been standing in the queue for 45 minutes, that we had already checked in and that nobody from the ticket desk had called us forward to jump the queue but she didn't want to know, I was a little p*ssed off as you could imagine! We were then sent to another ticket desk where we were told that we wouldn't be on a flight until 3:35pm, which got us into MT Isa by 6:15pm (our show was at 7:30pm), and when I asked why nobody had put a call out over the address system for myself and my soundman the man on the desk said that they don't do it anymore due to privacy policies!!! I accepted that because who was I to tell this man that I didn't believe a single word that he had just said!!!

Anyway, we had to pay an extra $44 each, and wait around in the airport for another 6 hours! It takes a lot to grind my gears and so it didn't take me too long to calm back down once we had walked away from the tikcte desk... UNTIL, we started hearing peoples names being called out over the inhouse system to 'hurry up' and board their planes because the plane was boarded and waiting to leave... this went on every now and again for the extra 6 hours that we were made to wait... So I suggest that qantas shouldn't really lie to passengers whilst the passengers are still hanging around the airport hearing all these calls for other passengers!!! Anyway, 6 hours later we board our plane, the plane is delayed due to a mechanical error and then we eventually take off, and then arrive at Mt Isa at 6:35pm, the venue sends somebody to pick us up, take us to the venue, set up, go to our hotel room, got showered and changed and then got to the venue at 7:45pm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The show actually went well considering the mind set that I was in after all the problems, BUT... hurdles are put in front of us to jump, and things aren't always easy to come by.

So, the moral of the story for qantas is: DON'T LIE TO PASSENGERS WHEN THE PASSENGERS ARE STILL AT THE AIRPORT JUST TO COVER UP YOUR OWN ERRORS OR DISSERVICE... Is this a dig at qantas? not really, it's a dig at any airline or other company that are supposedly there to look after their 'paying passengers'!!

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.
George S. Patton