Part Bad – Part Good
Dec 21st, 2006 by Don Ray
First the bad: Yesterday evening’s flight to Panama City wound up being canceled. When it taxied to the runway some indicator reported a failure and it returned to the gate. After about 45 minutes the flight was canceled.
Everyone returned to the front desk to get a refund or reschedule for this morning.
Now the good: The airline paid for taxis to take everyone to their houses if they lived in David or to a hotel if they were traveling through David. The airline even paid for the hotel and I think they paid for breakfast. Since I just went home I can’t confirm the breakfast.
I think they did all right. In the US today, the airlines aren’t giving that good of service. Way to go Aero Perlas.
Don Ray, I’m glad it all worked out for you. I guess you can just be grateful that you weren’t in Denver. Can you imagine the logistics of trying to provide for this many stranded people? I, too, applaud Aeroperlas for their provisions for their passengers. The situation in Denver is quite a different matter though. Here are some excerpts from the news story:
DENVER - Nearly 5,000 travelers who mistakenly thought they were beating the Christmas rush struggled to find a hotel room or faced another night on the hard floor at Denver’s snowbound airport Thursday after a blizzard paralyzed the city.
On Wednesday night, airport authorities provided a few hundred cots for the estimated 4,700 stranded travelers and doled out scratchy Red Cross blankets, along with diapers and baby formula. But there wasn’t nearly enough bedding to go around.
Officials organized convoys of 10 buses, led by a snowplow, to take travelers to hotels 25 miles away in downtown Denver, 800 at a time.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061221/ap_on_re_us/snowstorm
So…are you still going to be able to get out to Panama City?
Yes. That would be a real nightmare. All in all I was pleased with how they handled it.
How much does it cost to fly from David to PC? Do you get a price break over the average tourist? Wheres the picture of the planes they use?
It is 30% discount for jubilados and it cost me a little over $50 one way.
WOW thats a great deal! What are some of the other discounts? Do you own your own home? Are the incentives I have read about for Gringos over hyped? Or are they for REAL?
I think in the Link Area of this site there are links to sites describing the Jubilado benefits.
Great..is that Volcano near Boquette worth seeing? Any Hot springs?
Snake Eyes…check out:
Caldera Hot Springs (I’ve heard great things about the springs and hope to visit there in early February. Don’t care if I do look like a cow in my bathing suit!!)
http://www.hablayapanama.com/span/compact/boquete/ecotours/caldera-hot-springs-panama.htm
And hooray for Aeroperlas!! My daughter just made our reservations. My round-trip air fare from P.C. to David was $116. Hers was $150. Being an old lady has a few compensations.
SE you can see the Baru from many areas. I have never gone to the top. That is on my list of things to do. I have never been to the Caldera springs. That is also on my to do list.
Don, I hope you are off on your holiday today. I was just checking to make sure you got away. Have a great trip and let me know when you get back. Merry Christmas, Dick
Thanks for checking in Dick. I am in Panama City. Have a good holiday.
Linda:
Just how old does one have to be to get the discount? Naturally, that question doesn’t mean you have to say how old you are though, I must admit, it will give us a hint.
Is it active? Like Lava Streams? I have never been to a Volcano but I have heard from people who have, say that its hard to get a good view through the clouds, that you have to stay many days to get a good view?
Thanks for the Awesome link Lynda, just what I was looking for.
Tom - You have to have a pensionado card issued by Panama to receive Jubilado discounts. The card has income requirements and no age requirements. If a husband gains Jubilado status for his family then even his young children would have cards.
SE - The volcano is not active and has not been active for hundreds of years.
Tom, here’s a good article about the Pensionado Visa in Panama.
http://www.panama-guide.com/article.php/20040926211734462
As Don Ray mentioned, I don’t think it is so much age as it is one’s proof of an income and the ability to support yourself without taking employment there. I am a retiree and receive Social Security. The age disclosure is no problem.
I was 69 years old in October of this year. However, I’m not sure why I received the discount by Aeroperlas as I do not actually have my Julilado Visa yet. When Beth made the reservation, they just asked her my age and then gave me the discount.
Since I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I just gratefully accepted it.
Social Security ONLY is not a lot of money.
Ah another Libra!
And obviously a young one at that even at the age of 69
Oh, that’s right, Don Ray…You are a Libra too aren’t you?
Thank you, Tom. I credit my young outlook on life with being a freethinker. Now if only my body could keep up. It’s having a battle with gravity. And it’s losing!
So if gravity is losing, does that mean that you are walking on air?
‘Fraid not. It’s not the gravity that’s losing. It’s my body. Gravity always wins. Hands down! HA
Just checking. I figured if you had learned how to walk on air we could sell it to Nike and make a fortune.
Don Ray, I have no need of a “fortune” since my needs and wants are very few. My ideal use of a revolutionary idea like that would be to give it to a young startup company in the Third World so that they might provide meaningful employment for their people. And pay them enough so that they might be able to actually afford to buy the products their company makes.
I’d hate to see it fall into the hands of the likes of a company like Nike.
Hope you are enjoying your stay in Panama City.
I agree. This is an article in today’s Dallas Morning News which has sort of the same sentiments. I read it because Mort was the President of Electronic Data Systems in some of my early years with EDS.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/122406dnbusaltruists.2b1c1b5.html
Hey good for you Lynda…I’m impressed with your CHARITY! I feel the same exact way! If you really want to help the poor create opportunities and NOT hand outs!
Afford to buy Nike products, Linda? The fact is that no one can “afford” to buy their products. They have created an aura that makes young people think that their products are a necessity.
Nevertheless, in places like Malasia people
want to work for Nike, because it is the best job available.
Ah, so Don Ray worked for EDS. Now, I see how he can operate such a successful website. In that case, he might be able to explain why some of his photos are blacked out (actually grayed out). It must be peculiar to my computer since no one else has mentioned it.
Don Ray, thanks a million for this heartwarming article. It’s a real Christmas Story!
SE, So true. Creating opportunities I think is the key. All people need self esteem. Hand outs won’t give them that.
Tom - Photos grayed out? I need more information. maybe a particular photo is not all that good, but if this is a general condition, I don’t see it here.
Also is it on the site proper or in the Photo Album. It shouldn’t make any difference, but some people have had problems accessing the Coppermine photo albums. Usually it was related to a firewall issue.
Hi Don Ray:
The problem WAS on the site proper; a partial to complete blocking of a few photos by a totally opaque grey, but it is all cleared up now. I took particular note, because it first happened on Yannie’s photo. So, I figured…..well, no, I’m sure you wouldn’t do that.
Haha. Well at least it is ok now.