Sponsored flight by EK
Sunday, June 04, 2006
01-03 June
Manila
PHILIPPINES
There were only 4 passengers, myself included, who were listed for the flight to Manila last Thursday. So when I arrived at the airport 3 hours before the flight, I was shocked to see a lot of crew and staff with their children waiting to be checked in. I was afraid I did not stand a chance because their staff numbers were much lower than mine. Good thing I had requested for Emirates tickets so I could alternatively go via Dubai.
QR's flight leaves at 2345H while EK leaves at 2315H. The staff at the check-in counter asked us to come back by 2300H to know if we'd be boarded. By then however, it would be too late for me to go via EK if ever I was not awarded a seat on QR because counters close 45 minutes before the flight. At 2220H, the QR staff at the counter told me that all economy seats were taken but 17 business class seats were available. He said there was a chance that QR would upgrade economy class passengers to accommodate the waitlisted staff. Chance lang. And we still had to wait until 2300H to know. EK's manager, on the other hand, advised me that he could board me on the DOH-DXB flight but said that DXB-MNL had 45 waitlisted passengers. My chance to fly to MNL was slim. It was 2230H already and I had to make a decision. Fast. QR or EK? I was blessed to have chosen EK! I arrived in Manila at 1630H the following day.
Vidson and I met Kitty Cat and Bert for dinner at Gerry's Grill. Sarrrraaaap! Hehe. After we've finished everything--sisig, pakbet, bulalo, tahong and pusit--konting kwentuhan ulet and then we gave them a demo of our 3g phones and Smart's 3g techonology. Promo yon ni Vidson para sa mahal nyang company. Hehe. Vidson and I watched the Da Vinci Code later.
The following morning, I prepared early for the main event--Esha's Christening. Actually, this was the real reason why I had to go home. Ninet moved the date so Donald and I could attend. Kakahiya naman kung di pa rin kami punta. Hehehe. In the original schedule, Donald could not go because he was in Sydney. As for me, andito naman nun yung nanay ko. :)
I originally planned to go to the binyag with Darwin but unfortunately, he could not wake up early because he was puyat from SAS' poker session held at Jolly's place the previous night. Haay. So I went with Donald and Mafe and we just met Darwin at the reception. We stayed there until around 1400H only because my flight back to Doha was at 1525H. Darwin took me to the airport but at 1425H (an hour before the flight leaves), the airport manager told me that all seats were taken. The only chance I had was on a jumpseat which she said was even too late for me to request. The captain had already given the jumpseat approvals earlier. Malas yata.
Buti na lang, there was Emirates to the rescue! (I'm actually starting to love Emirates more than Qatar Airways! Oops...joke lang.) Though I waited for almost 4 hours, the waiting was not in vain for they gave me a comfortable regular economy seat (as compared to the jumpseat I would have had in QR had I checked in earlier.) Yehey! The 9-hr flight to Dubai was exhausting. Although, I wonder if it truly was...or am I just getting old? Oh, well. I was unable to sleep during the flight so I did a movie marathon of Nanny Mc Phee, Failure to Launch and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I almost missed the flight from DXB to DOH because I fell asleep (without being able to check-in) at the airport's lounge. Swerte pa rin kasi nagising ako just in time for boarding.
Manila
PHILIPPINES
There were only 4 passengers, myself included, who were listed for the flight to Manila last Thursday. So when I arrived at the airport 3 hours before the flight, I was shocked to see a lot of crew and staff with their children waiting to be checked in. I was afraid I did not stand a chance because their staff numbers were much lower than mine. Good thing I had requested for Emirates tickets so I could alternatively go via Dubai.
QR's flight leaves at 2345H while EK leaves at 2315H. The staff at the check-in counter asked us to come back by 2300H to know if we'd be boarded. By then however, it would be too late for me to go via EK if ever I was not awarded a seat on QR because counters close 45 minutes before the flight. At 2220H, the QR staff at the counter told me that all economy seats were taken but 17 business class seats were available. He said there was a chance that QR would upgrade economy class passengers to accommodate the waitlisted staff. Chance lang. And we still had to wait until 2300H to know. EK's manager, on the other hand, advised me that he could board me on the DOH-DXB flight but said that DXB-MNL had 45 waitlisted passengers. My chance to fly to MNL was slim. It was 2230H already and I had to make a decision. Fast. QR or EK? I was blessed to have chosen EK! I arrived in Manila at 1630H the following day.
Vidson and I met Kitty Cat and Bert for dinner at Gerry's Grill. Sarrrraaaap! Hehe. After we've finished everything--sisig, pakbet, bulalo, tahong and pusit--konting kwentuhan ulet and then we gave them a demo of our 3g phones and Smart's 3g techonology. Promo yon ni Vidson para sa mahal nyang company. Hehe. Vidson and I watched the Da Vinci Code later.
The following morning, I prepared early for the main event--Esha's Christening. Actually, this was the real reason why I had to go home. Ninet moved the date so Donald and I could attend. Kakahiya naman kung di pa rin kami punta. Hehehe. In the original schedule, Donald could not go because he was in Sydney. As for me, andito naman nun yung nanay ko. :)
I originally planned to go to the binyag with Darwin but unfortunately, he could not wake up early because he was puyat from SAS' poker session held at Jolly's place the previous night. Haay. So I went with Donald and Mafe and we just met Darwin at the reception. We stayed there until around 1400H only because my flight back to Doha was at 1525H. Darwin took me to the airport but at 1425H (an hour before the flight leaves), the airport manager told me that all seats were taken. The only chance I had was on a jumpseat which she said was even too late for me to request. The captain had already given the jumpseat approvals earlier. Malas yata.
Buti na lang, there was Emirates to the rescue! (I'm actually starting to love Emirates more than Qatar Airways! Oops...joke lang.) Though I waited for almost 4 hours, the waiting was not in vain for they gave me a comfortable regular economy seat (as compared to the jumpseat I would have had in QR had I checked in earlier.) Yehey! The 9-hr flight to Dubai was exhausting. Although, I wonder if it truly was...or am I just getting old? Oh, well. I was unable to sleep during the flight so I did a movie marathon of Nanny Mc Phee, Failure to Launch and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I almost missed the flight from DXB to DOH because I fell asleep (without being able to check-in) at the airport's lounge. Swerte pa rin kasi nagising ako just in time for boarding.
