I jinxed myself. I had just praised (and Tweeted) about how pleasant the Prague airport was comparatively. Clean, modern, upscale with cars on display tastefully on the concourse (for you advertisers). Security was a breeze despite the international destinations and I put my shoes right back on, realizing I didn’t need to take them off. 5 flights, countless Uber, Lyft, metro and shuttle rides in the past 2 weeks and aside from a mysterious “maintenance” issue causing us to wait in a hot bus for a new plane in Lisbon, it was smooth sailing.
When the lady at the Vueling front desk suggested checking my bag, I thought twice as I hadn’t had to check it yet. Being a 1st time Vueling customer, she waived the fee and I thought my good traveling luck had continued. Upon arriving in Barcelona, I was blown away by how clean, modern and turnkey the airport was. Impressive. At least until we got to the graveyard that is Baggage.
The scene was eery. A turnstile full of bags left there and no turnstiles operating with fresh bags circulating. Many international travelers sat there with blank looks. To top it off, the WiFi situation was dismal. Two open connections, but no way to connect unless through a rabbit-hole of signing up and sharing personal contact information for a “free gift.” Despite the modern, shiny amenities, we’ve entered into a dark abyss with no exit in sight.
I had heard murmurs the other day of an airline service worker strike in France. With no announcements about what was going on, I wondered if there was a tie-in to the strikes. On my 3rd trip trying to find out from the Spanish staff how to find light in the situation, I found out that the strikes caused cancelled flights, which set off a chain of delays, more labor disputes in places like Barcelona and a short staff of employees to handle bags. Thousands effected, all to probably save a few Euros on wages or benefits.
Days after the “Brexit” decision, Brits working as foreign nationals were worried about keeping their jobs as they’re now not protected by the European Union. As I took a crappy 35 Euro cab ride of which I had been able to avoid thus far thanks to connectivity, I realized that decisions made by a greedy few are felt by many and will inevitably come back around to bite you.
Moral of the story: appearances can be deceiving and shiny things aren’t always the most sound. Decisions made jeopardizing connectivity for the sake of short-term gains for a few will do a whole lot more harm over the course of time than good. With 4 more flights within a tiny window in the next week, here’s to information transparency.
TRUE NORTH TEAM CONSULTING 