Fear of Flying?
I never really took to travelling, and particularly flying - not that I'm scared of it, of course. If I have to travel though, it's by ground transport wherever I can. If I have to go out of town, it's National Express or the lottery pick-a-price for a train. But this time I'm off to the States, so I've got no choice - I can't afford for my journey to take weeks.
So I'm sitting in the plane on the runway and guess what - it's been delayed. They announced a little while back that there was a technical problem with the undercarriage - the landing sensor or something. I didn't really understand, but what I do know is I'd rather be on the ground than up in the air, so I'm relishing my last few minutes of calm, before take-off. Not that I'm afraid of flying.
Just when you want a little peace and quiet, a little time to yourself. The book you always wanted to read but never got around to starting. The newest album from your favourite band that you just downloaded onto your iPod. This is the ideal opportunity - the 'me time' starts here. So it's earphones in for a little background music, book in hand, assume the comfort position, and...
... There's a nudge from the guy in the window seat. He's trying to get my attention; I think he wants to use the toilet already. Keep the peace, smile - it's a long journey. Up you get. It's no problem, really. So I'm standing in the aisle and waiting. And waiting. And eventually he gets back, and sits down and I begin to get the feeling that he's about as keen on the impending flight as I am. He can't seem to relax, and in truth, even with my iPod and my book, nor can I. As each minute ticks by, with stewards clomping purposefully up and down the aisle, I feel my nerves rising. Perhaps chatting will help.
This guy seems nice enough, polite, generous in sharing his snacks, magazines, mints etc. If you're looking for somebody to take your mind off things, he's your man. I knew all about his upbringing before the flight had taken off; by mid flight I knew most of his family members and their funny little quirks - even those who lived the other side of the world. Now, we're well into the long flight. My new best friend is still going strong and only coming up for air every now and then - but I'll admit, he's taken my mind off the whole stress of being in the air. Then we got talking about work and the reason why we were both on the flight - and don't ask me why, but this really stuck with me.
Earlier that same day, he'd gone into his office not far from the airport, as usual. But when he arrived, he'd found his boss pacing the room, up and down - quite lost in thought. He looked troubled, that's for sure, so my travelling companion had quizzed him - what's the problem?
His boss looked almost desperate. "I don't suppose you have your passport with you, do you?", he'd asked. My friend replied that he hadn't. Then, without realising what the passport was needed for, added that he lived very close by and he could be back with it within a few minutes, if that was any help. Boy, in retrospect, for this nervous flyer, wasn't that a case of 'engaging mouth before brain'!!
It turned out the boss had just got off the telephone with a major customer who wanted the consignment the driver had just collected, hand-delivered to NEW YORK. Today. Yes, you heard me New York, USA today! This major client was a financial institution based across the pond and our guy was to hand deliver the consignment by 17:00hrs New York time. How interesting, I thought! How amazing they were even prepared to attempt it!
Anyway, by that time it was far too late to admit to a fear of flying (well, I wouldn't admit to it, IF I had it, either). So within half an hour he was home and back out the door again clutching his passport and the urgent documents, and heading for the airport. He boarded our flight with seconds to spare, still holding those documents which he was going to hand deliver. They needed to be signed for; he had to witness the signature, make a copy of the documents, leave the duplicates with the customer and head back to the airport within 3 hours, to get the next flight back to London. What a job! And nervous though he was, it was easy to see why he'd got the job - he was taking his responsibility very seriously indeed.
I asked him how he was going to achieve all this in such a short window. We were only due to land at 13:15 hours local time and it can take hours to get through immigration and then he would have to get into Manhattan in the height of the business day. I thought it would be a real challenge. But even though he'd never actually been to America before, let alone New York, he was confident. He seemed well briefed - he knew where he was going and how he was going to get there, and he was even expecting to find a few minutes to grab a pastrami-on-rye and a coffee before jumping back on the plane. He was cool and calm about the whole thing and I must admit I was a little taken aback.
As it goes, we did land on time. As soon as they announced "cabin crew, doors to manual", he jumped up and he was away with a cheery, "Call me sometime and I'll tell you how I got on". With that, he flipped one of his business cards in my direction and then vanished - just like that. I never saw him again, so he must have made it through immigration in record time.
It took me a while to get to baggage reclaim and even then my smaller case came out last. I actually thought it may be lost (these things do happen these days) but I was very glad when it turned up as it contained the product samples I needed for my presentation the next day. My company had hired a driver to pick me up - nice. But as I was coming through the airport, he called me and told me he was running a little late. He gave me the option to take a taxi or wait. I decided to wait as I knew it was a stretch limo and I'd never been in one before. I took the opportunity to grab a coffee and perched on a stool in Starbucks. It had Wi-fi, so to kill some time I browsed the web and looked up my travelling companion's business. I typed in www.customsclearanceuk.com to see what he was all about. His company looked impressive, very professional; the website was clean and easy to read, not cluttered or messy. A leader in their field, they specialised in customs clearance within the import/export industry and they offered bespoke services to all - I guess they were as good as their word, given my encounter today. I sent my friend an email urging him to keep in touch and to let me know how he got on. To my surprise a reply bounced back within a few minutes. He only had a Blackberry! I was still at the airport and he'd already made his delivery and was back in the cab on his way back to the airport. Clearly, the boy done good. I replied quickly, directing him to the food court for his last-minute pastrami-on-rye. I half thought we might run into each other before I left the airport but my driver showed up and I was on the road within a few short minutes.
17th Apr 2008
