A very efficient airport experience

We were initially rushing into the airport after the taxi had dropped us off, but quickly realized that rushing was not needed. There was only a single other traveler with us at the check-in counter. We quickly repacked some of our bags to make them ready to be handled roughly by luggage handlers. Checkin was smooth. We were the only ones going through security at the time we went, so that was super smooth as well. Some slight delay we experienced at the passport control because staff had to finish a personal phone call first before stamping our passports.

At the departure gate, it seemed like there were only going to be 20 people on this flight. I was already thinking that such a low load factor could definitely be a reason for the high prices. About 80min before scheduled departure boarding started and some almost 20 people went onto the tarmac to walk toward the plane. We had no intention to spend the next hour sitting in the plane, so we were just chilling and working a bit from the departure gate. Some 70min before departure they did final call for boarding!

I interrupted my work session to walk over to the staff member who said final call on the intercom. He looked like he was wondering if we're deaf. "Don't you hear the various boarding calls??". Well, yeah, but I'm tall and prefer to minimize my time in cramped seats, I responded. That didn't seem to be an acceptable answer, and he said we will have to board immediately.

So, off we went to pack together the office setup, and walked onto the tarmac some 65min before scheduled departure. As we go closer to the plane, it became apparent that a lot of staff members had been waiting for us, and we were ushered onboard. The flight was packed! There was barely a free seat. That's when things started to make sense for me. The aircraft had apparently flown in from Johannesburg, making this flight a so called fifth freedom flight, where airlines can offer flights connecting two countries that are not their home turf as part of a larger itinerary going back to their home territory.

So, the plane flew from Rwanda to South Africa, then took on new people there, went to Lusaka, some of them left in Lusaka, and others stayed on the flight. There were only 20 additional people boarding in Lusaka, which explains why our departure gate was so empty. But meanwhile there were 150 people from Johannesburg patiently waiting onboard.

At 60min before the scheduled departure we took off into the sunset. I was quite happy with the seat spacing as I had few issues with my knees. They didn't bump into the seat in front of me, but when we got our meals my knees were not allowing the tray to come down all the way, meaning it as a bit shaky all along. Speaking of meal. We received a full dinner on the flight (we had pre-ordered vegetarian meals), and they did two runs with the beverage cart that also carried alcoholic drinks. All included in our fare. Those days in Europe are long gone 😅Read more