Start of our vacation... not quite smooth...

It has been rather rainy in Beijing the whole week, up till the very moment when our plane was supposed to take off from Beijing Capital International Airport. We had already expected that there could be delays due to the bad weather. But to our surprise, there was no calls for delays.

So we boarded the plane on time, fastened our seat belts as gently reminded by the air crew a million times, and waited quietly (abeit patiently) for the plane to take off in a what we felt was a sauna cabin. After what seemed like a very long wait, I checked my clock. Oh, it was already 25 minutes passed the departure time. We got no announcements from the crew until an overweight passenger raised the question (most likely because he couldn't handle the heat anymore). THEN, an announcement came over the broadcasting system that the air-conditioning on the plane was faulty and they were scrambling to repair it.

Not a good start, I thought. After another 10 or so minutes of waiting, I saw the ground crew unloading our bags onto carriages.

"Where are our bags going?!" I exclaimed at Olof.

Then THE announcement came.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, due to a technical fault, we need to change to another plane. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused."

After an hour's wait, so there was a technical fault and this piece of old scrap metal couldn't take off.

Without telling us where we'll be taken next, the crew rounded all of us up onto the airport ground bus and whizzed us to one of the waiting areas in this huge maze of airport gates. Without asking, the crew were not obliged to tell you how long you have to wait and information as such. It IRRITATED me to the core. IRRITATE... IRRITATING... IRRITATION... Simply IRRITATING... Ok, I am rumbling on now... You can see despite more than 10 hours later, I am still irritated. Back to the story...

After another hour's waiting, finally we were asked to go onboard again. I began to wonder if we will be boarding the SAME plane. It was almost impossible to tell, given all planes of the same kind are like birds of the same family - they all look alike. All we can do was to hope that they have the slightest moral to not risk our, as well as their, lives. Another half hour after going onboard, the plane finally lifted itself into the dark skies.

I can't help but to salute this Olympics 2008 Official Airline partner for its IMPECCABLE and UNBEATABLE service attitute. I don't consider myself as someone who travels often and yet I met with last night's circumstances. I pity those who are their frequent flyers. Perhaps it was only necessary to offer ACCEPTABLE service during those few months, thereafter die hard old habits can't wait to kick in again.

A first class international airport deserves a first class airline. Right now, without a doubt, it is a TOTAL mismatch.