FZ 143 – When I’m Scared I Sleep

I love flying airlines I’ve never flown before. To add to my (nerdy) excitement, this was also my first flight both originating and ending in the Middle East!

I decided to book a ticket from DXB – AMM (the beginning of my middle east tour) because tickets only cost about $100 USD each, including luggage. It was much cheaper to do it this way instead of flying straight from the U.S. to Amman, and plus I got to spend a few days in Dubai.

Trying a new airline can be a bit tricky, especially in another country where you don’t know how the policies are enforced. I learned the hard way when flying EasyJet that one carryon does not mean a suitcase and a small purse that can go under your seat… Instead it simply means, one overall piece.
With this in mind, my dad and I dashed to the airport to make sure we got there at least 2.5 hours before our flight (just like our e-mail had explicitly said). Our first mistake was trying to take the metro there, because it stopped at Terminals 1 & 3. We assumed we could take a shuttle or possibly walk to Terminal 2.

WRONG.

There is no free shuttle.  Terminal 2 is actually like 20 minutes away from the other terminals, and is apparently ‘the budget terminal.’ We ended up taking a pricey taxi, complete with extra airport fees because we felt we were so rushed to get there in time. Also, I’m not sure we even had another option. We got there and walked up to an empty counter, with no lines and plenty of time to kill.
Terminal 2 in itself did seem a lot less luxurious than the terminal we landed in (don’t remember if it was 1 or 3), but there was free WiFi so I didn’t complain. I joined a group of 5 or so foreigners all sharing the only 2 outlets that seemed to work in entire gate area.

I don’t remember hearing them announce that my plane was ready to board, but I took the long line at the gate as a cue that were ready to go. We took a shuttle bus to our plane, and waited for what seemed like an eternity, while staring at the plane. I think I was one of maybe two women on the bus, and the men were getting pretty impatient and were trash talking FlyDubai the entire time. Frankly, it kind of scared me. When the gates finally opened, it was a mad dash to the plane.

The plane in itself was pretty nice; everyone was equipped with personal TVs (my fave)!  I also noticed that all the Flight Attendant’s were men – something that I don’t see very often. I had a window seat and moments after I sat down two creepy men sat down in the seats next to me. They were staring at me and I felt like they were talking about me, and part of me felt pretty threatened because I was cornered up against the window. I told myself I was being paranoid and closed my eyes and tried to sleep… Next thing I knew we were landing in Amman, Jordan.

I’m pretty sure that’s the worst actual Flight Story yet?  Not even remembering a thing? I guess I was just really tired…and kudos to the pilots for a great smooth flight!