Check out this for check in flexibility

My colleagues said I should leave sooner; I knew better – I was never late to catch a plane.

 

In fact I had only ever missed one flight in all my travels – and that I blamed on London traffic.  I recall I was on my way to Munich and it wasn’t actually a trip I wanted to take.  I don’t know whether it was fate or if I managed “fate” and knew I was going to miss that flight – but miss it I did and was thankful I didn’t have to schlepp all the way to southern Germany.

 

When I was about to return to Nairobi from a week in Lagos, I clung onto the last minutes in the office debating this topic and that, confident that I would have plenty of time to zip along the highway to Murtala Mohamad Airport (LOS) with ease.

 

The flight was at 3pm and I reckoned leaving the office at 1pm would give me ample time to negotiate the traffic.  Well, it started off in the right manner.  The road was clear and the vehicles moving.  Then it happened: deadlock.  For no apparent reason, the cars ground to a halt and we were stuck.  So much for my quickly evaporating confidence.

 

The motorcycles around us managed to weave in and out of the cars with acrobatic agility.  They clambered up onto the pavements where they had to and made off into the distant dust. 

 

The clock was ticking.  I was dangerously close to missing my plane.

 

At one point a motor bike went passed complete with a passenger and two suitcases and for more than a split moment I pondered the option of opening the door, hailing a bike and jumping on the back – helmet or no....but as you might imagine that daring prospect soon passed.

 

Snails were moving faster than our car.

I was filled with dread: I was about to miss my 2^nd ever flight.  Even when I went on a drinking binge with Japanese colleagues, got home at 2am, awoke startled at 8am then realised I was going to miss my flight to Singapore, booked the next flight (1 hour later) took a USD200 cab to the airport and snatched the flight – there was no fear of me missing a flight then.

 

We were inching closer and suddenly with no explanation the road opened up and the traffic began to flow like flour from a bag; smoothly and flowingly.

 

My driver zoomed up to the airport drop off and almost threw my luggage at me to help me with momentum on my way to check in.

 

I had arrived at 2.05pm and thought I should be able to blag my way through the check in process.

I ran down the concourse only to find the Kenya Airways ((KQ) check-in – not only closed, but abandoned.  I quizzed the security guys nearby and they instructed me to follow their confusing instructions to the KQ office.  I sped off with my suitcase up stairs, then down stairs, round corners and into what seemed like the very bowels of the airport.  I found the office and blurted out the fact that I was late, it was my fault, but could they get me on soon departing flight to Nairobi.

 

Come with me, the official said – almost matter-of-factly.

We went back to the gate through the warren of offices where he talked to someone on a mobile.

 

“Someone is coming from the gate to check you in.”  I was disbelieving: “Really?”  I sputtered... and was reassured that a rep was on his way.

 

Inside my head, I tapped my fingers, I twiddled my thumbs and got more anxious by the minute.  But lo and behold, he arrived, he quite calmly sat behind the check in desk, signed on and asked for my passport.  He checked me in, gave me my boarding pass and even offered my access to the lounge – being a gold card holder. There was no "tutting", no snide comments about arriving on time in future...he just did his stuff.

 

“I won’t have time for the lounge,” I countered.

“Of course you will.  You go there and relax before your flight – enjoy sir...!”  was his calm reply.

 

It was now 2.30pm.  Remember?  My flight was departing at 3pm....I even challenged him and asked if the flight was delayed – no it wasn’t, he reassured.

 

So I marched off (with many a “thank you” to anyone I met) through customs and security.

 

I caught my flight – which was indeed delayed eventually by about 50 minutes – but I am still amazed that I was able to get check re-opened by an airline rep who was not only away from his station but already at the gate – having to trudge all the way back through security checks to the curb-side of the airport and do the formalities.

 

I caught my flight to Nairobi – for which I was incredibly grateful.

 

This is something that I couldn’t see happening in many other airports – can you?

 

Sometimes, the chaos and human aspect to processes trumps the rigidity of a water-tight procedure.  Things can be done; rules can be broken; processes can be bent – and client delight is the outcome.

 

Having watched airline / airport documentaries and seeing the seething wrath of passengers denied boarding access – when there is actually plenty of time to get them on the flight – I despair at over-zealous control-freaks and I know all the more why I’m loving my time in Africa.