Flying Mile High Chapter 16 Part 2
#8 of Flying Mile High
21:20. Sydney Time: Joe sat back and relaxed himself as his first officer lined up the G6 to the runway centreline for final approach. Half an hour ago, Joe had been on his laptop checking his e-mail with the WiFi on the plane, when he'd received his latest request from dispatch. He would be picking up a charter passenger and flying him to Cairns on the G6 at 10:30am tomorrow morning. The passenger's full name is Ruth Ruatha, travelling inbound on Air Tangara 617. This was the kangaroo route from London to Sydney with a stopover at Singapore for refuelling.
Joe thought to himself about the irregularity of the passenger's routing. Her company could fly her down to Singapore and connect her with a business jet down to Cairns. That routing was a lot more direct and it could have saved her a lot of time. The Kangaroo routes which fly through Singapore are usually operated by a group of local Singaporean crew. Joe could never understand what made them take their jobs so seriously. When Joe was still a first officer, he'd had to fly with the crew to Singapore on the A330 to act as a replacement pilot. Joe couldn't even breathe without being criticized by the captain in command. For instance, he was scolded for taking off his tie. When the crew landed at their destinations, they never went out. All they do is sleep in their hotel rooms, or sleep at home in Singapore.
After hearing from other pilots that this was normal amongst the Singaporean crew, Joe vowed never to fly with them again. The list of flight crew on the e-mail listed that Janice would be the lone flight attendant on the flight and his co-pilot will be Kyle. Yes, it was the kid who made fun of Gwen being female when they went solo at their old flight school.
"50" "40" "30" "20" "10"
The co-pilot pulled back the throttle and control column, bringing the plane back to Earth with a smooth touchdown. The computer applied the brakes to the wheels as the plane slowed down on the runway. With, the light payload, reverse thrust wasn't needed to decelerate the plane.
"To Go 57 X-Ray, welcome to Sydney. Exit runway when able, contact ground".
"Exit runway when able, contact ground To Go 57 X-Ray. Thank you". Answered Joe to the tower.
"Your name really isn't Terry Tanaka is it?".
The wombat looked at Joe as he turned the plane off the runway.
"No. That's the name of my favourite character from an Anime series I watch. If you really want to know, my name is Marshall Winnings and I really am gay. That bit wasn't a joke".
Joe nodded his head as he tuned the ground frequency into the radio.
"Sydney ground, good evening. Tangara 57..... Correcting To Go 57 X-Ray request taxi to parking at Air Tangara Elite Aviation".
"To Go 57 X-Ray, taxi via outer taxiway to Air Tangara Elite Aviation spot 4".
"Taxi via outer taxiway to Air Tangara Elite Aviation Spot 4 via outer taxiway. To Go 57 X-Ray".
First Officer Winnings advanced the throttles and taxied the plane onto the taxiway exclusive to the airline's business jets and on to the VIP terminal. Joe started the APU and thoughts started running through his head as he realised that he will be proposing to her in ten minutes time. What if she rejects the proposal?. Am I going to chicken out like last time?. After the short taxi from the runway, the first officer followed the hand gestures given by the ground crew before parking the plane at the gate. Joe pulled the two engine cutoff switches and the two engines wound down to rest.
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9 minutes later, Joe sat in the crew van as it took him and the first officer to flight-ops to pick up their cars. The van made a final turn to the domestic terminal, where it was skimming underneath the building past the many parked planes at the gates. The driver slowed the van down and stopped at a gate where an Air Tangara A340 taxied slowly into its parking position.
"Captain, this is where Air Tangara 177 will park. Don't forget to wear your ground crew vest. Good night".
"Go get her tiger!". Teased Terry.
First Officer Winnings slapped Joe's ass as he got off the van as a form of good luck. Joe put on his reflective vest and ran towards the plane.
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Gwen applied the parking brakes while Bob turned off the engine master switches, consequently resulting in the turbines spinning freely before coming to rest. The final leg had been somewhat challenging. A first class passenger committed suicide in the lavatory, leaving him with more paperwork to write up. The chief flight attendant had decided with Bob that all other flight crew may exit the plane while the two of them dealt with the authorities. While the crews were waiting for the doors to open, a ground crew member came on the speakers in the cockpit.
"Good evening Tangara 177, welcome to Sydney. I would like to make a special request....".
There was a pause for approximately 3 seconds.
"I would like to make a special announcement to the passengers".
Bob looked at Gwen who seemed somewhat confused by the ground crew's request but she told Bob to fulfill his need.
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Joe stood impatiently on the tarmac as he waited for a response from the flight crew. He was tapping his feet with anxiety, knowing that he only had one chance in making this right. Joe's ears perked when he heard Gwen's voice through his headset.
"Okay sir, you're going live in 5,4,3,2,1".
Joe smacked himself on the chest to calm himself and spoke his heart out.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Sydney and thank you for flying onboard this Air Tangara flight from Perth to Sydney. It has been an honour to serve you and we hope you have enjoyed the flight with the amount of effort we put in. My name is Captain Joseph Williams.....".
Gwen's eyes lit up when she heard his name. She listened carefully to what he wanted to say.
"And the reason I am making this announcement is because there is someone special that I know who is flying with you today. Your First Officer, Miss Gwen Miles, has been my lover since high school. She is irreplaceable, she is beautiful, she is smart, she is talented but the most important out of all these all these qualities is..... I am madly in love with her. If I were to go any further and increase my love for this woman, I would become mentally insane".
Gwen tried not to cry as she placed a paw on her heart. She looked out of the window side and saw Joe with a radio headset plugged into the plane. He was standing in the centre of a group of ground crew, in the shape of a love heart.
"There's a saying which I'm sure all of you know. 'We as living mortals are never perfect'. But I believe this saying is invalid. Miss Cooper is an example of true perfection. After all these years, I have never found a flaw from this woman. The only regret I have is keeping our relationship a secret within the company. I want the whole world to know how blessed I am to have her in my life".
Gwen gasped when she saw him get down on one knee.
'This can't be true!. I've been waiting for all these years!. Is he going to propose to me?' she thought to herself.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am sure some of you can't see me but I'm down on one knee. I am about to ask.... Miss Gwen Cooper, first officer of Air Tangara flight 177. Will you marry me?".
There was a moment of silence for a good second before Janice made an announcement to the passengers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the doors are now open. Please feel free to make your way out of the aircraft. Otherwise you may stay to find out the fate of these two lovers".
Gwen didn't bother moving her seat back. She jumped over the centre control panel and made a mad dash out of the cockpit. Bob moved his seat back and re-sat himself in the first officer's seat. Bob looked out of the window and saw the two pilots making an inaudible conversation. Then Gwen took the microphone piece of the headset and made a simple announcement to the passengers and crew.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is First Officer Gwen Cooper. I do!".
A loud cheer erupted throughout the entire plane as they witnessed two worlds coming together as one. Bob watched as Gwen took the ring from Joe and slipped it onto her finger. She held it up to the plane and paraded around the aircraft to show the commitment she has just made. The passengers cheered as they saw the diamond ring on her finger, but when she returned to Joe she pulled him towards her and they kissed.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Gwen is now kissing Captain Williams". Announced Bob.