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Emirates Airbus A380-800 successfully quelled my fears

Roselyne Sachiti : Features Editor

In the past 10 years, I have travelled the length and breadth of the globe fulfilling my duty as a journalist and sometimes just to be with family. From Panama to the United States of America, Australia, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Malaysia, Dubai, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali, Zambia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Namibia just to name a few.I have interacted with cosmopolitan crowds and enjoyed the beauty of these countries

and also had an opportunity to brag about the beauty of Zimbabwean tourist resorts and culture.

From covering international conferences in giant convention centres to strolling some of the most exotic malls admiring and sometimes buying shoes, books and cosmetics; travelling has always been an exhilarating experience.

In all my travels I have always marvelled at the unique commercial passenger planes including the Boeing 777s, Airbus A380s among others.

I have also been intrigued by the diverse meals served on the planes, making friends and losing some on ultra-long haul flights of up to 14 hours.

Travelling has been both a pleasure and displeasure depending on the experience and passengers sitting next to me.

Last week, I was in Copenhagen, Denmark for the Women Deliver Conference when the world woke up to the news that an EgyptAir Flight 804 had disappeared en route from Paris to Cairo.

It was the second time an airplane was involved in an accident while I was thousands of kilometres from home.

The first time, I was in Australia for the International Aids Conference in 2014 when Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine.

Flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was travelling over the conflict-hit region on July 17, 2014 when it disappeared from radar.

A total of 283 passengers, including 80 children, and 15 crew members were on board.

With thousands of kilometres between Copenhagen and Harare and due to fly back home through Dubai in the next few days, fear naturally gripped me and a number of colleagues who were at the conference.

I followed the news closely on CNN, one of the few English television news channels provided at Bella Sky Hotel where I stayed.

I grew more fearful as it was confirmed that the airplane had crashed into the Mediterranean Sea.

This made me rethink the importance of airport security, something many travellers are not so keen to go through at most airports.

As I checked out of the hotel and headed to the airport, I was shivering, literally.

After checking in at the very short Emirates online check in desk in Copenhagen, I proceeded to the security screening point only to be met by a long winding queue with passengers travelling on various airplanes.

Even though it took about 40 minutes for me to reach the security screening point, I did not mind the long wait as this meant all passengers were well screened before departure.

I was left wondering why some impatient travellers complained about the long queues and time taken to carry out the security screening given what had just happened to EgyptAir a few days back.

After the security procedures, I went to the Emirates boarding gates where there were no queues.

On board the Airbus A380-800, everyone looked calm thanks to the warm reception by the Emirates flight attendants at the entrance.

Whether flying first class, business class or economy, the flight attendants welcomed everyone with the warmest smile showing them to their seats and helping stow away luggage in overhead compartments.

The seating was equally good.

Having checked in online I got an aisle seat and was lucky no one else came to fill in the two other seats. That meant I had three seats to myself for the entire six hours to Dubai international airport.

Still a little bit shaky, I shared my fears with one of the flight attendants who gladly took her time to give reasons why I should not worry, also taking me through the emergency routines and why I should enjoy every moment on the Airbus A380-800.

She shared how I would enjoy the over 2500 channels on the ice in-flight entertainment ranging from movies to comedy, sports, documentaries and news among others on the flight.

For those not keen on entertainment, the flight attendant shared, being in the sky should not mean being out of touch with the world, loved ones, business associates and above all work e-mails.

The icing on the cake was the WiFi in-flight service, which offers 10MB free in all classes on all A380 aircraft unlike in many commercial airlines where one has to pay.

With the in-flight ice entertainment, free in-flight WiFi to occupy me, and the time she had devoted to calm me down, I had the most pleasant six-hour flight to Dubai international airport where we landed at 11:59 pm and was whisked to the Copthorne Hotel.

Our connecting flight to Harare was at 9:25 am the following day.

It was a short but comfy sleep and by 7 am we were back in the Emirates shuttle bus to the airport.

Here, we went through the security screening ritual again, but this time the procedure was shorter, even the impatient passengers did not complain.

First, there were up to 10 security screening points at the magnificent Dubai international airport meaning lines were short and passengers did not wait long.

Passengers, even the “stubborn” ones also had enough time to take off their belts, shoes and jackets, check their pockets for coins etc and go through the security screening without fearing missing their flights.

As passengers left the immigration point hundreds of duty free shops and restaurants lined in the airport swallowed them.

This was good therapy as absorbing my mind in the shopping made me forget my fears.

It was easy to disappear in the huge mass of people who were going up and down the airport to their boarding gates.

This was another calming effect as thousands of people from small children to adults and the elderly still chose to travel even after what had happened to air-Egypt.

The final leg of the journey from Dubai to Lusaka then Harare was more pleasant.

When flying, it is always exciting to hear the pilot announce their name. And when that pilot is from your country, you crack a big smile.

This time I had upgraded from economy to business class.

The Emirates business class on the Boeing 777-300ER, which was flown by two Zimbabwean pilots, offered a wide range of entertainment, magazines, fine dining, and enormous leg space, flat-bed seats were more relaxing.

The menu surpassed most offered in a number of hotels.

From fresh, locally sourced ingredients used to prepare meals which are served on Royal Doulton bone china plates with exclusive Robert Welch cutlery to an assortment of wines to match the meals, the journey could have not been more pleasant.

A list of complimentary cocktails, champagne, beers, spirits, and hot and cold drinks on the six-hour flight to Lusaka, made it shorter.

The wine drowned all my fears and by the time I arrived home, I was looking forward to my next journey.

As daunting as flying after a plane crash might be, my journey back from Copenhagen aboard the Emirates airlines successfully quelled those fears.