Air Santo Domingo and the trip home
Faz and Arlene headed home today.
The couple has been using their CIBC Visa for quite some time and had accumulated a significant number of Aeroplan miles. On Faz's suggestion, the couple decided to use some of those points for this trip's flight package. As a reward for their diligent use of the aforementioned credit card and loyalty program, Air Canada routed the couple to different destinations in the Dominican Republic, separated by a complete day of driving in a third-world country or a 1.5 hour flight, at a cost of $90USD.
Luckily enough, when Faz and Arlene were heading down to the Dominican Republic, there were some very nice ticket agents who helped arrange the flight so that Faz could fly on the same plane as Arlene, to the same destination. Unfortunately the couple would still have to fly from different cities on their way home. This made for an interesting day for both Faz and Arlene, who left each other's company today at 6:30AM Dominican time.
The couple decided that Faz should fly between Puerto Plata (where the couple was) and Punta Cana (where Faz needed to be to get home) instead of making the day long drive to avoid the risk of not getting to the airport at Punta Cana on time. The airline that Faz took between the two cities was called Air Santo Domingo.
Air Santo Domingo (ASD) isn't just any airline, this airline has a section of the airport at both Puerto Plata and Punta Cana. While this means something significant at all major North American airports, it doesn't mean a thing in the Dominican. Gate security in the ASD section of the airport was quite potent, with one guard and a x-ray machine which looked to be over 20 years old. The metal detector that the airline used was directly in front of the entrance, and most people seemed to walk around it instead of through it. This wouldn't normally concern Faz, who thinks "the x-ray shield on the x-ray machine is for wussies" but when one particular person was asked to open his bag to reveal the contents. This well-groomed gentleman had a handgun.
Taken aback, Faz thought "I hate Aeroplan" over and over. The gentleman was kindly asked to surrender the clip of his gun and gate security handed it to the luggage guy, who put it with the luggage. For duration of the flight, the gentleman sat at the back of the plane and kept talked to himself, causing Faz to make a song about how much he hates Aeroplan. In fact, Faz hopes to produce his song with Celine Dion, once she falls out of love with Air Canada. As far as the trip home is concerned, Faz made it to Punta Cana safely.
Arlene had an entirely different day, thanks to her plan of action. Countless times she said "I'll be fine if I get to the airport early", hoping to be at the airport no less than 180 minutes before the flight was supposed to take off. Unfortunately, Arlene got the time wrong and had to wait a little longer than she anticipated. Arlene enjoyed her time at the airport and hopes to one day vacation at it again.
As their trip to the Dominican is over, Faz and Arlene will only be updating their website 2-3 times a week for the foreseeable future.
The couple has been using their CIBC Visa for quite some time and had accumulated a significant number of Aeroplan miles. On Faz's suggestion, the couple decided to use some of those points for this trip's flight package. As a reward for their diligent use of the aforementioned credit card and loyalty program, Air Canada routed the couple to different destinations in the Dominican Republic, separated by a complete day of driving in a third-world country or a 1.5 hour flight, at a cost of $90USD.
Luckily enough, when Faz and Arlene were heading down to the Dominican Republic, there were some very nice ticket agents who helped arrange the flight so that Faz could fly on the same plane as Arlene, to the same destination. Unfortunately the couple would still have to fly from different cities on their way home. This made for an interesting day for both Faz and Arlene, who left each other's company today at 6:30AM Dominican time.
The couple decided that Faz should fly between Puerto Plata (where the couple was) and Punta Cana (where Faz needed to be to get home) instead of making the day long drive to avoid the risk of not getting to the airport at Punta Cana on time. The airline that Faz took between the two cities was called Air Santo Domingo.
Air Santo Domingo (ASD) isn't just any airline, this airline has a section of the airport at both Puerto Plata and Punta Cana. While this means something significant at all major North American airports, it doesn't mean a thing in the Dominican. Gate security in the ASD section of the airport was quite potent, with one guard and a x-ray machine which looked to be over 20 years old. The metal detector that the airline used was directly in front of the entrance, and most people seemed to walk around it instead of through it. This wouldn't normally concern Faz, who thinks "the x-ray shield on the x-ray machine is for wussies" but when one particular person was asked to open his bag to reveal the contents. This well-groomed gentleman had a handgun.
Taken aback, Faz thought "I hate Aeroplan" over and over. The gentleman was kindly asked to surrender the clip of his gun and gate security handed it to the luggage guy, who put it with the luggage. For duration of the flight, the gentleman sat at the back of the plane and kept talked to himself, causing Faz to make a song about how much he hates Aeroplan. In fact, Faz hopes to produce his song with Celine Dion, once she falls out of love with Air Canada. As far as the trip home is concerned, Faz made it to Punta Cana safely.
Arlene had an entirely different day, thanks to her plan of action. Countless times she said "I'll be fine if I get to the airport early", hoping to be at the airport no less than 180 minutes before the flight was supposed to take off. Unfortunately, Arlene got the time wrong and had to wait a little longer than she anticipated. Arlene enjoyed her time at the airport and hopes to one day vacation at it again.
As their trip to the Dominican is over, Faz and Arlene will only be updating their website 2-3 times a week for the foreseeable future.
posted by Editor at
12/11/2004 10:46:00 PM
