Airport Watch

Irish Times journalist John Moran on a vexed journey to Havana, in Cuba.

"I decide not to sleep because of my early flight from Dublin to Havana via Paris. The Paris bit is a pain, because six hours out of Dublin you are farther from Cuba than when you started. But it has to be done.

"At Dublin Airport there are two small queues at check-in, but a problem at the top of our standard, non-business queue holds us up. After 30 minutes most of us switch to the business line, and we move along nicely until our check-in lady moves over to assist her colleague with the standard-queue problem. After a further delay we get through.

"In the departure lounge we are told that, on its way over, our aircraft waited for late passengers in Paris. Our connecting time for our flight to Havana is already short. Now there will be a mad dash.

"At Charles de Gaulle the long queue moves slowly at the security check. Everyone is sweating, as the flight to Cuba is due to take off. We finally get through. The aircraft is still there. Another queue awaits us, where staff check boarding cards. I'm looked at suspiciously, and something is scribbled on my card. No sleep, queueing, waiting, queueing, waiting and now this weird writing thing. Whatever next?

"And guess what? I am told the squiggles mean I have been upgraded. In a flash I'm upstairs, near the pilots' cabin, ordering champagne and fillet of grouper, and my legs are in space. Now it's time for some well-earned Zs.

All of this luxury - and none of those whingeing economy-class types to contend with.

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© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times