ALI'S ADVENTURES

‘Tis better to travel....

Introduction
Ali has been the UK project manager with the InterComm project, almost from the start of the project. When complete, InterComm will provide revolutionary satellite communications on a global scale. Ali has recently returned from a two day meeting in Milan. Here, she found out that that, for the American sponsors, managing the UK element of the project also includes Ireland. Ali has now become the project manager for the Irish element of the project, in addition to her normal work. 

Ali is now beginning to realise how global project management really is. Ali is also finding that she has to use her project management skills in a variety of unusual situations.

Dublin
Ali needs to conclude the meeting soon, because she has to be on site, near Helsinki, tomorrow morning for a demonstration and final acceptance of a key European relay station. Ali has not been to Finland before, and is looking forward to the visit. The wintry conditions would also provide a change to the persistent rain in Ireland.

It is clear that the negotiations are not going to be completed quickly, additional meetings and demonstrations are already being discussed. During a break in the discussions, Ali is told that there may be a problem getting to the airport because striking taxi drivers are picketing some of the government buildings. 

The problem distracts Ali whilst the call centre negotiations are taking place. She is glad when it is agreed to have an early lunch. Ali is just about to eat, when she is informed that there is another potential problem with her journey. Striking teachers are holding a protest march around the education ministry offices, causing traffic chaos there and in the surrounding streets. 

During lunch, Ali discusses the problems with her Irish colleagues, although they seem to be quietly resigned to the strikes and think that the traffic problems will resolve themselves, in time to go home that evening. This does not help Ali, so she starts to assess the some of the valid options available to her:

• Taxies are not available, due to the strike

• The roads around central Dublin are in chaos, due to the strikes and protest marches

•  Busses are being delayed, due to the strikes and protest marches

• Hire cars and limousines are either fully booked, or could not get to her in time

•  The nearest train station is about 5 km from the airport. Some trains are also on  strike 

• There is nowhere nearby to safely land a helicopter

Clearly there does not appear to be any realistic solution at the moment. Ali is nearing despair, to the point of considering cycling the 12 miles to the airport. Then one of the team members, Tara, suggests that her parents may be able to give her a lift to the airport, if she can get to Malahide train station. Ali considers the offer, recalling that Malahide station is on the outskirts of Dublin, towards the airport, and will probably be relatively free of the city centre traffic chaos. If Ali can catch a train or the DART to the station, she should be able to make her flight. Ali accepts the offer, leaving Tara to make the arrangements.

Ali manages to hurry along the remaining part of the negotiations. Although she has been delegated an extra task of arranging the series of additional meetings and demonstrations at various call centre locations, around Ireland. When the meeting concludes just after lunch, Ali looks for Tara, to check the arrangements. But, Tara cannot be found, so Ali leaves her a note and rushes to catch the train. 

To the Airport
After battling her way through the crowds and traffic of O’Connell Street, Ali eventually gets to the station. Here she finds that most trains are cancelled, due to the strike. However, a few DART trains are running. Ali fights her way onto the crowded platform and waits another 20 minutes for the train. The train arrives, packed to capacity, with very few people getting off. Somehow, Ali scrambles on board, being squeezed in just about every way possible. In the train, there is a high pitched cacophony, caused by mobile phones ringing, personal stereos and children screaming. Almost deafened, Ali overhears someone remarking, in a surprised voice, that the train is only slightly more crowded than normal considering the strikes. At the passing stations, fellow passengers are pushing and pulling her as they get on and off the train. As the train gets closer to Malahide, more passengers start to get off, and Ali is at last able to breath properly.

 Nearing Malahide, Ali receives a message from Tara on her mobile phone. The message is somewhat garbled, but it appears that the arrangements have been made, although the details are lost in static. Once she gets to Malahide, Ali waits by the entrance for her lift to find her. After a few minutes, there is no one around, except for a little old man, dressed in full horse riding livery. He is wandering around looking increasingly agitated. After a while, he spots Ali and wanders up to her saying ‘You wouldn’t be Ali, the friend of Tara’s, would you?’

The accent is so broad and the statement so casual that Ali nearly misses the question. Hurriedly, Ali replies, and it is confirmed that Declan will give her a lift to the airport. Declan strides off to the car park mumbling things about horse power and travel routes. When she gets to the car park Ali cannot see Declan. Soon Declan comes along again driving a horse and cart. Astounded, Ali calls to Declan, to find out what is happening. Declan replies that this is the only transport he has available. Besides they can use some of the bridleways and paths, to avoid the traffic and as a short cut. Resigned, to the journey, Ali reluctantly clambers aboard, but is determined to make the most of the journey.

Ali has a regal view of the area as she is driven by Declan in the buggy. It is slower than expected and Ali is not quite sure where she is. However the GPS system in her mobile phone tells her they are indeed heading towards the Airport. Ali then makes a few phone calls and hears a rumour that some of the flights, from Dublin, are being delayed. However, Ali cannot contact the airport, or the airline. When it starts to rain, Declan casually hands her a large umbrella, to hold over them, while he drives the buggy and Ali continues to make phone calls.

Travelling along a narrow minor road, they come to a part that has been flooded. Undaunted, Declan rides through the flood, although Ali is a little disconcerted to see the water is almost level with the buggy’s axle. They have just got through the flood, when an off road vehicle hurtles round the corner and screeches to a halt just in front of them. The driver then shouts for Declan to get of the road. However, this is not possible, so the off road vehicle then has to reverse for a while, until a passing place is found. Eventually the driver squeezes past Declan and accelerates away, cursing. A few seconds later there is a long splash followed by a muffled scream from behind. When Declan and Ali look around they see the off road vehicle immersed in the flood, with the water lapping around the spare wheel cover and the driver scrambling out of the sun roof.

Nearing the airport, they are riding along a bridleway running parallel with the main road. Ali is a little surprised to see a lot of traffic heading towards the airport, all stopped. Declan casually explains that the taxi drivers are probably blockading the Airport approach road again. Ali is astounded and wonders whether she will be able to get into the airport in time for her flight.

Dublin Airport
Ali arrives at the crowded departures area. She eventually finds the correct check in desk and is told that her flight has been cancelled, due to a catering dispute. Ali project management skills are tested when she tries to persuade the airline, and other passengers, to fly without any catering. After all the flight is direct, and only three hours. Therefore the crew and passengers are unlikely to starve to death, or die of thirst. But, apparently it was against regulations to fly without a fully equipped galley, in case an emergency causes additional delays. Such as a glutton, or alcoholic, on board, thought Ali. 

The airline can only offer Ali a seat on the next flight to Copenhagen, with another seat on the last flight to Helsinki that day. Although the transfer time is short, only 40 minutes. Ali just has hand luggage, with a Business Class seat near the door. She is confident she can make the transfer on time. After all, Copenhagen is not a big airport…….

Copenhagen
Ali wakes up as the plane touches down at Copenhagen airport, just in time to hear the crew announce that the plane has landed on time. The plane then seems to take a long time taxiing around the snowy airport perimeter, before finding its stand. Ali checks her watch, only 30 minutes before her next flight. She can just make it, if she is quick. As soon as the door opens, Ali is out of the plane, she looks for and finds the Transfer signs. She hurries along, following the signs for a long while. 

Eventually, Ali finds a transfer desk and waits in the short queue to check in. She is unsure if the desk is the correct one, although they should be able to tell her where the correct one is. After a while, Ali realises she is behind a party of Japanese tourists, who have a problem with their flights. Language difficulties are also preventing their swift resolution. In desperation, Ali moves away to find another desk. 

Rounding a corner, Ali finds another desk, empty. Good thinks Ali, she should just make the flight, especially if it is delayed. Ali goes straight to the desk and presents her ticket. The clerk looks at the ticket, then immediately picks up the phone, dials a number and starts talking rapidly, in Danish.

Ali is confident that they are just checking that she can get on the flight, after all she is travelling Business Class, which should have some privileges. After a while, the clerk puts down the phone and informs Ali that she is too late for the flight. The flight will be leaving on time and she is checking in after the 15 minutes time limit for the gate closure. This was the last scheduled flight from Copenhagen airport that night, there will be not be another flight anywhere until the next day. The clerk can only book her on the first flight tomorrow.

Ali wonders what to do. Ali has to get the Helsinki meeting the tomorrow. She had just missed her flight, she must do something otherwise the handover would not be achieved on time. This would cause problems and further delays to the project. But what where her options ? What was the most appropriate action to take ? What should Ali do ?

Enpasse
Ali then considers what other options are available. How else can she get from Copenhagen airport to her Helsinki meeting early the next morning. After thinking for a while, and looking through some literature on the subject. Ali decides she has a number of likely options, which need to be assessed further:

Ali has already been booked on the first flight in the morning to Helsinki, which will get her there too late

• Hire a small private aircraft for a night flight 

• Cross to Malmo in Sweden, and get a night train to Stockholm. Then take an early ferry, or flight, to Helsinki.

• Cross to Malmo in Sweden, hire a car drive and to Stockholm, a road journey of some 400 miles. Then take an early ferry, or flight, to Helsinki.

Ali needs to evaluate the options further. Before she can assess their risks and benefits, she needs to gather more data. So she makes a few phone calls and checks out the internet, with some discouraging results 

• Ali cannot contact any charter aircraft operators. Eventually, she talks to a pilot, in the airport, who informs her that the weather is getting worse, making it impossible for small aircraft to fly safely. 

• Ali contacts the train operator, to find out that the last night train will be leaving in about one hour. Ali is not sure if she will make the train station in time.

• Ali considers the car journey. The route will be difficult, diving over unfamiliar roads in hilly country, at night, and probably in a snow blizzards. Whilst she will get some sleep on the ferry crossing to Helsinki, Ali knows she will be very tired for the meeting the next day. 

Reluctantly, Ali decides that the option with the least risk is to take the first flight in the morning. At least she will be fresh after a night in the airport hotel. She then telephones the site in Helsinki and leaves a message to say she would be late.

Ali did not slept very well that night. As she lay awake, distracted by the noises from the airport and the hotel, she realised that the meeting may not be a good one. Her Northern European counterparts liked punctuality, Ali had already been forced to delay the meeting. The Germans were also likely to need additional data, at a very technical level. If there were any problems, the handover could be delayed further. Additionally, Ali knew the Finns to be quiet, but they could also be very open in their comments, almost to the point of bluntness. Finally, Erkki, the acceptance manager was unknown, but not likely to be easily pleased.

Helsinki
Ali manages to catch the first flight to Helsinki, early the next morning. The plane arrives in a snowstorm. Eventually, Ali manages clears the airport and gets to the taxi rank. Earlier she realised that she could not even begin to pronounce the name of her destination, just outside Helsinki, so she gives the driver a note with the destination on. He nods, after a while he tells Ali that the journey will take about 2 hours, in this weather. Ali is alarmed, she did not think it would take that long. She talks with the driver, explaining why she needs to be there quickly. After a long silence, the driver nods and asks if she would allow him to take a short cut, which would cut the journey almost in half. Ali immediately agrees, then settles back in the car to concentrate on her work.

After about 40 minutes, Ali is jolted awake by a change in motion of the taxi. Initially, Ali cannot see anything outside, because of the snow. Peering through the snow, Ali can not see anything that is not white, only the occasional traffic cone to indicate they are on a road. Ali considers that they must be travelling on an ice covered road. However, she concludes that something is not right, because Finland is renowned for trees and valleys, also the main roads are usually well marked. Ali expresses her concerns to the driver. The driver casually tells her they are taking a short cut. Instead of driving around the lakes, they are able to drive over some of them, now they are frozen over. Ali is alarmed at this, because the weight of the car might sink through into the lake, or if they stop, the heat from the engine will melt the ice. But the driver assures her that the ice is very thick and he is following marks on the ice, indicating the traffic cones and pointing out a few vehicles nearby. Ali is concerned, however she asks him to keep going, without stopping.

On site
Eventually, The taxi arrives at the site. As soon as they know Ali has arrived, she is immediately escorted to the meeting room. Although there is no one in the room, not even the Germans, so Ali takes the best seat. Whilst she is waiting for the other delegates to arrive from a site tour, Ali starts to get her notes ready.

When Erkki enters, he greets her a little brusquely, but in a friendly way. He then asks Ali how her journey was. Ali thinks for a moment of all the events in the last 24 hours, the peculiar journey to Dublin airport, the problems at Copenhagen and the ice ride to the site. She is about to tell Erkki in detail, when the other delegates start to arrive. So Ali just shrugs her shoulders, smiles coyly and says that she had an interesting journey, some problems occurred, but she had arrived safely, if a little late.

Erkki looks at her carefully and nods, he then gives her a rare smile saying, “I think it was your Rudyard Kipling who said ‘it is better to journey than to arrive’. For myself, I am glad the journey was not too difficult”.

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