Three Most Unforgettable Flights

Leaving my job at the Medical Center, I plunged into a new career on the foreign field. I had never anticipated the stories I’d have to share just getting to my assignments and back.

Here are brief accounts of the three most unforgettable flights during the first four years.

Most Amazingly Unique

Eight months after the career change, I marveled at this first flight to a foreign assignment. What a contrast with the retired school bus that transported us from Los Angeles, through Mexico to Belize and back months earlier.

I remembered that hot, dry journey, as I sat in the jump-seat directly behind the pilot of Eastern Airlines’ L-1011 jet. Resuming the itinerary, we’d taken off from Cairo in the early-morning hours.

Just as the plane’s nose started through the thick layer of clouds, the co-pilot said, “Watch this, Dannie. You’re never going to see anything more beautiful than this.”

I glanced all around the aircraft’s encircling windshield but saw only clouds. All at once it happened. The sunrise suddenly turned the clouds into sparkling puffs of brilliant gold. I stared in rapt silence at the magnificent panorama.

The flight had been commissioned by Eastern Airlines to carry a team of fifteen medical professionals to assist in the horrible famine in Ethiopia. The two crews of that unique Eastern flight and our medical team made up the complete passenger list.

Having spent hours each of three pre-departure days stuffing relief supplies into the aircraft’s cans of the cargo hold; packing the cases of baby formula into the overhead compartments; and buckling cases of supplies into the economy seats, only First Class seating remained. No one complained.

Another extraordinary feature of this unique flight included the opportunity to sit in the cockpit for a time. After the magnificent sight of the golden clouds, I listened to each member of the cockpit crew enlighten me as to what went on with all the myriads of dials and gauges. Truly an amazingly unique flight.

Most Memorably Outrageous

In late-December of 1986, I boarded the cheapest international flight ever known from Marseilles, France to the capital of Burkina Faso. Settling into the worn seat, I looked for a spot in the seat back pocket to stuff my book.

Absentmindedly, I lifted a rectangular plastic container out of the pocket just in front of me. I planned to shift it so my book’d fit next to it. When I heard my seatmate burst out laughing, I looked over to see her holding a similar container.

“Do you know what this is?” she said, moving the closed container up and down. I glanced at it but said nothing before Anne-Lise filled me in. “It’s our…uh…in-flight meal.”

Noticing the temperature of the container, I said, “I guess it’s a sandwich and salad; it’s cold.”

Still laughing she said, “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? It’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes covered in gravy.”

“I wonder if you just let the flight attendant know when you’d like to eat it, so she can warm it up?”

Nope. She encouraged us just to eat it anytime we got hungry. Only the most primitive galley existed on this aircraft—no warming equipment.

The cabin did offer climate-control, for which all of us gave thanks since the flight took us over the Sahara Desert. However, the constant drip of condensation hit my head and shoulders for the duration of the trip, which did diminish my enthusiasm for the feature a tad.

What clapping and cheering filled the cabin as the flight landed. Although the airline maintained a perfect safety record, Le Point ceased operating a few years later.

Most Profoundly Embarrassing

In May 1988, after completing a fact-finding mission that had taken us all over Israel, we headed for the airport. Once we’d written up our findings, the booklet would be distributed to our mailing list and handed out during a four-month speaking tour in the United States. We’d enjoyed a tremendously hectic, but incredibly fruitful five weeks.

Then, we arrived at the security checkpoint in the departure area. All reverie over our success evaporated. “Why did you purchase an open ticket when you booked your flight to Israel?” said the security men and women repeatedly as we passed through the numerous checkpoints, hoping to not miss our flight.

Over and over, we explained our every move during the past five weeks spent in Israel. The officials demanded the Hotel and youth hostel receipts. Unfortunately, they had separated us for the questioning, so only one of us had the required proof–not me.

I watched as the male security guard opened my luggage, spreading every item out on a table. Was I ever thankful I’d insisted we do the laundry one last time before leaving the youth hostel. Hard enough to have those unmentionables on display; at least, they were clean. Don’t picture a private room off in a corner somewhere. The table had been placed in the line of passengers on their way to the departure lounge.

When the security checks finally ended, the time was well past our scheduled departure. I fought to regain my composure, tears streaming down both cheeks. I felt like a criminal and was convinced everyone watching me being escorted by the uniformed official had the same impression.

The agents assured us that our plane had not departed. In the haste to process our papers at the ticket counter, the lady neglected to take our $20 airport tax. Okay, well, that’s one positive thing about this experience at the airport, right?

All eyes shot darts through us as we made our way to the assigned seats. Not only had we been the cause of their forty-five-minute delay in departure, but we’d been labeled as passengers to watch carefully. Even our carry-on had been tagged with a bright-red terrorist alert sticker.

I had mixed emotions as the plane lifted off that day. On the one hand, I felt utterly humiliated, embarrassed to the core. On the other hand, I felt secure. No wonder Israel has such a good safety record for air travelers.

I loved Israel and would return whenever possible, but one thing I’d learned quite well: Never, no never travel to Israel on an open-ended ticket.

These three most unforgettable flights proved to be only a few among many adventures. Learning to be flexible, and to hold all things normal lightly, makes living such an unpredictable life a more enjoyable challenge.

Do you have any unusual airline adventures you’d like to share? I love to hear the experiences of others.