We were on the last Czech Airlines flight: everything went OK. On arrival applause and the moving message from the pilot
Czechs are not as expansive as we or Latin peoples in general. However, I must say that in the evening of [...]
SkyTeam
PRG
Czechs are not as expansive as we or Latin peoples in general. However, I have to say. on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 26, a speech or ceremony at the airport I expected. Instead, at the Gate D50 of Terminal 2 at Paris's Charles De Gaulle Airport., there was only a large crush of people equipped with cameras and cell phones, huddled against the glass windows overlooking the aircraft apron. waiting for Czech Airlines' A320 to make its arrival.
In this article:
By and by, the plane would operate the second Paris-Prague of the day, which would put an end to the Czech carrier's 101-year history, The fifth oldest existing (until Saturday) person in the world.
I will say right away that there was a happy ending. Everything went smoothly. Everything OK, I should say, given the initials of the airline, hence the flight number OK 767.
No, because the night before, a friend with a fear of flying had told me, "buth, I on a last flight of a company I don't know if I would get on it, it would taste like a bad luck thing."
Instead, we all arrived safely in Prague and Under roaring applause from those on board, albeit about 45 minutes behind schedule.
Before boarding, the most moving thing was. the celebratory T-shirt of a 10-year-old boy who was there with his mom. When I asked where he had gotten the T-shirt, the parent replied that a friend had printed it for him especially for the occasion.
On board people were taking photos or videos with their cell phones. Then, Around 9 p.m., takeoff. Plane packed. At every announcement by the cabin crew and the captain, first in Czech and then in English, I would play the video on my cell phone. But it was always just business as usual. The staff went out of their way to serve drinks and dishes (hot, even in Economy) that were pre-ordered and paid for on the airline's website before departure.
Finally, 75 minutes after takeoff, the commander announced the descent to Prague, the lights dimmed, the carts as well until we put the wheels on the track and the 150-odd people on board erupted in thunderous applause.
When I really thought it was all going to end there, as we were taxiing at deliberate snail speed toward the arrival gate, the cabin chief took the microphone and finally thanked the passengers on board and "all those who in these nearly 101 years of history have given us their trust. Our story ends here, but we hope that whenever you get on a plane in the future, your flights will always be OK." Down applause.
The commander, moments later, made a more articulate speech, recalling how "CSA before and Czech Airlines after were an important piece of our country's history for much of the twentieth century and part of the new millennium." And how the company has gone through "delicate moments such as the separation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, then global alarm related to terrorism, and finally a pandemic," concluding how it has been an honor for him to "consider this company as my home" and "an honor to take you tonight, too, for the last time, to your destination."
More applause, like those that two rows of company employees placed on either side of the disembarkation bridge dedicated to all passengers. In short, if we had left Paris somewhat quietly, the arrival and disembarkation were tear-jerking.
