The flight from Madrid to Paris was uneventful.
There were a few tense moments at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris though. The flight was full; in fact it was over-booked, and some of the anxious folk that were waiting to hear whether they are loaded were full-fare passengers! And there is only one Air France flight to OR Tambo per day. My chances of getting on were slim but all standby passengers are allowed to proceed to the boarding gate from the check-in counter, simply because it is such a long way. The guy in charge at the gate then noticed the ‘Staff Rebate’ printed on my ticket. He suggested asking the captain for the jump seat. Wow, what a stroke of luck. Then the wait started; the captain had to be contacted and give (or not) his approval. Eventually word came through: I was on!!
It was not the jump seat in the cockpit that I am used to though. It was a spare cabin crew jump seat which would normally used during take-off and landing. It had one very upright position only. There was no tray table or in-flight entertainment. I did not care; I was on the flight and going home. It was a long night. They brought me food and wine, a blanket and pillow, and there was a curtain that screened me off from the passengers. At some point I lay down on the floor to try and get the stiffness out of my limbs but had to get back onto the seat when it became too cold down there. I went to the loo only twice during the 10.5 hour flight in order to not disturb the Business Class passengers.
My flight arrived on time in the late morning and Roger was there to fetch me. He was rather shocked when he saw me; I now had a serious ‘shiner’.
I feel like a new person today after a shower, a braai, catching up with Roger, and a good night’s sleep. Just what the doctor ordered!
It was a wonderful, interesting trip but it is good to be home!
