Odfjell nr 3 - 2005.indd

Travelling on the jobTo Whom It May ConcernBy Jan BjerkanOdfjell Quarterly has through variouschannels gotten hold of this “travelreport” from Senior Surveyor Mr. JanBjerkan of the Ship Management departmentin Bergen, who on his wayhome from a business trip in the FarEast encountered some slight problems.We leave the words to Jan, to illustratethe exciting and enviable concept oftravelling on the job.I just want to convey my dreadful experienceleaving China on my way home inJuly this year.I arrived at the airport in Dalian at05:50, 2.5 hours prior to departure, andqueued up at the China Southern deskto pick up my tickets as agreed with ourtravel agency. After the attendant hadworked on her PC for some time I wassent to the check-in counter to pickup the ticket. After queuing therefor some time the attendant lookedup her computer to confirm that therewas no ticket, so I was sent back to theprevious desk. After some more queuingthere I was told that KLM hadnot paid the ticket, hence itcould not be issued.I then called the TravelAgency’s international callcentre and met a helpfulIndian voice (on a badline), who provided mewith a PTA number. Thenback queuing again. Whenit was my turn, I was toldthat they could not see thenumber on their PC so it hadto be faxed to their townoffice which would open10 minutes after my flight’s scheduleddeparture. This was of course nonsenseand I therefore asked to buy a new ticketfor the first leg to Shanghai. I filledin a detailed “application form” anda ticket was issued. However, this wasto be paid cash in local currency, CNY1,640. I was on the way out of the countryand was, of course, not in possessionof that amount. There were two ATMmachines at the airport terminal, one ateach end of the big building complex.The first was out of service and the seconddid not accept any of my cards.Well, I went back queuing up to hearif there were any alternatives, and was26 ODFJELL Quarterly October 2005told there was a bank inside the internationaldeparture area. I went to theinternational check-in/security control/immigration to explain my problembut to no avail: Under no circumstanceswas I allowed to pass! Back at the ChinaSouthern desk for (possible) help, I waslucky to meet a new attendant and shewas so kind to follow me back to the internationalcheck-in/security control/immigration.Also she was denied access,but after having called in a higher rankingperson we were finally let through.Fortunately, I stillhad 200 Euros Icould change.Yuippi, I hadcash!Then I hurried back to the ticket officeto get my ticket, further to check-in, andfinally I caught the flight just in time.At that point I was wet all over fromsweating, the local temperature beingaround 32 degrees C, but I managed, atleast partly, to dry up during the flightto Shanghai. Puh...Upon arrival in Shanghai I had to pickup my luggage and proceed to internationaldeparture, to contact the KLMagent in order to get the ticket for therest of my journey. First I queued upthere for a while, whereby I was sent tothe check-in counter. After some morequeuing I was sent back to the ticketcounter, and following even more queuingthere I was told that the ticket hadto be picked up at the China Southerndesk. At the China Southern desk, aftermore waiting in line, I showed them myitinerary and asked for the ticket. Then Iwas told: “May be big problem, sir. Youshould have picked up the ticket at theairport in Dalian.”.At this moment I was about to give up.I was totally wet again from sweating,having pushed the luggage trolleyseveral miles already in temperaturesaround 30C. What to do? Find a hotel,take a cold shower and change clothes?No, I had been travelling and workingcontinuously for 52 days, visiting fivecountries through 12 flight legs. I wantedto get home!I therefore decided to go back tothe KLM desk and have one moretry. Result: I had to buy a new ticket(CNY 9,502), and, thank the Almighty,I managed to use my frequentflier points to pay foran upgrade. At the checkinI was told I had 46 kgof luggage which meant16 kg overweight. I triedto explain that I was aPlatinum Elite member,which should entitle meto 20 kg extra, but soonrealized that rationalreasoning here was of nouse. Accordingly I paid up forthe overweight (another CNY 3,350)and continued through security, immigration,customs, more security andmanaged to board the plane as thevery last passenger. Obviously withouthaving time to buy a new shirt or anythingelse for those back home, and noteven getting a chance to have a quicksmoke since 05:50.Imagine, all this before 12:15 hrs.I sincerely hope that, in the very nearfuture, the involved parties in the travelindustry will carefully review both theirprocedures and customer care policies.Regards,Jan Bjerkan