Airport sitting...
31 August 2024 | Faa'a International Airport, Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
William Ennis | Hot, muggy
Blog 31 August 2024
Airport sitting...
I departed Raiatea on time and with no particular issues. I had to drive back to the boat and ensure that the messenger lines that we use to replace our expensive mast halyards had survived the mast removal and replacement. It's an example of the total trust that I have in Conni's competence. Dealing with halyards is a "Conni job". I don't know how she does it and don't ever check that it's done correctly: it's Conni! They were fine but I ran some more tape on them anyway. I suppose that we'd have had to remove the mast again if they had been gone, so it was "mission critical" as they say.
I had (note verb tense) a flight last night from Papeete (Faa'a International Airport to LAX), but Air Tahiti Nui cancelled it: unscheduled maintenance, they said. I can hardly argue with that: Better on the ground than in the air someplace over the South Pacific! Still, they offered no help for any of the 200+ stranded customers. I texted Conni and she found a place nearby that was absolutely delightful. Great room, wonderful host, and reasonably priced. We were both concerned that I'd have another night on the damned airport floor. Been there, done that.
The short drive there was still US$20 each way, but cheaper than a taxi. We had a hotel for a layover here once and paid US$75 for a 3-minute ride! Ingrid, my host, brought me a Hinano beer, and a sliced papaya out of her yard as a greeting. How nice is that?
I was on the phone for several hours, trying to get a flight back to LAX, and from there back to Anchorage. I finally got an Air Tahiti Nui person who got me a flight tonight to LAX and a non-stop from there, to Anchorage. I've got to negotiate with Tahiti Nui about the room and transport costs, but it won't break us. For some reason, ATN couldn't provide a seat, but after a nice conversation with an Alaska Airlines peron, I've got something livable for that 5-hour flight.
Perhaps Air Tahiti Nui does things that way here, but I found them totally clueless about customer service. In my experience, they should have had a person here, ensuring passengers that they'd have a flight as soon as possible and that they'd help with missed connecting flights. Nope. Counters closed, and there were no staffers in sight.
I arrived at the airport here at 10AM and will depart tonight at 8:30, arrive in LAX at 7:10AM, the fly out at 9:30PM or something. Damn! If I can stow the gear someplace, I'll go to a museum or something. Long waits at airports are getting stale.
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