airport meetings.

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Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 12:45 pm

i`ve arranged to meet a lad from abidjan (ivory coast). he`s going to be there because i`m gonna give him a few mobile phones.....
( Laughing

)

what time would it be best to waste his time. 2200- 0000h?

my arrival will be chopped.

just wondering how many hours i could waste....

drew.

Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 12:51 pm

Depends on the airport. Some close at 2200 / midnightish, so there's a chance your lad can get stranded there with no buses etc if you can get him to hang around late enough.

Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 1:00 pm

There's a thought that boggles the Western mind; an airport closing for the night?

Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 1:12 pm

^^ And taxis & buses that don't run at night?

Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 1:13 pm

Maybe you mean the American mind?
I've been to many dozens of European airports that close at midnight or earlier, it's very common, usually the regional ones, although some major European airports close early too.
Even major airports can close to passenger traffic, while the cargo jets take over the less used night time slots.

Edit: Bearkat, just seen your reply. As an example, I was at Belfast city last week, the last flight left at 10pm, and the last bus to the city centre left at 2150. It's more common than you might think.

Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 2:04 pm

cheers guys, i`m going for a late one! 2155h
shame i couldnt get on the original flight, because i was carrying too many mobiles + cash.....
Very Happy

Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 2:22 pm

^^ Something you might want to consider is choosing a flight plan with a layover somewhere. That's always a nice way to run into some unexpected situations that MIGHT cause you to miss your connection at a time that there are no other flights to that city. Luckily, you can probably find a connection to a different city down the road a couple hundred miles or so.

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 7:53 am

the lay over idea i considered. i could get into a spot of bother..

afterall, i`m travelling with 10,000 GBP, a laptop, and 4 phones.
(wouldnt be supprised if the french detained me!)

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 8:04 am

^^^ You don't need to be detained. That might raise an eyebrow with your lad. My advice is to keep it simple.

People miss connecting flights all the time. You can just tell him that you went to the wrong terminal.

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 8:05 am

^^ I use the detentions to make it their fault that you were detained. Missing a connection makes you in fault.

Edit: My detentions always occur because customs is wondering why I am traveling with so much money and take a while to look into it. I thought I mentioned that in this thread but just checked and saw I didn't. I would definitely do what SOOI said instead of a random detainment, but I like to yell at them for not warning me of the dangers of traveling with so much cash. Then I tell them they have to come meet me at my new city.

The customs situation, and subsequently being let go with the cash from customs, sets the hook a bit deeper.

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 10:50 am

Have you worked out the real flight you are supposed to be on ?

Lads usually have mobile phones so it's best to look up a real flight so that you can supply accurate details, or with a simple call to the airport you could be busted before you start.

I usually start by looking up the destination airport for arrivals and once I have selected a suitable flight, then go to that airline's site to draw up a ticket if that's needed.

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 1:08 pm

@gomerpyle,
dont think a ticket is needed, i`ve been baiting this guy for ages, its a very straight bait. i only got shirty with him once....
he wanted me to fly without a passport (i was applying at the time.) what a knob!
i`ve had my jabs, i`ve got electronic visa, all i have to do
-sort out flight,
print of email confirmation.....
(i wanted to see what he looks like by him sending me picture of him with my name -as he would greet me at the airport)
he lost my original picture, no wonder he couldnt find me.

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 2:26 pm

I've gone with the conventional wisdom and booked the last flight from Rome. During the summer months those flights are always delayed due to weather so a 10 PM flight does not arrive until midnight or 1AM. I'm always detained in Rome because of the excessive currency in my luggage. Darn. I've also gone in the middle of the day when the airport was the busiest and got on the next flight when I did not see my lad and his sign. Having the lad deal with a busy airport is good, but the detention in Rome will have the lad at the airport a minimum of two times.