Etsi halvat lennot: CEIBA Intercontinental

Plussat: Good plane

Miinukset: Ceiba has no intention of departing Malabo on the times in their schedule. I should have had 90 minutes to make a connecting flight if we had departed at 7am, the published time. They had three flights all scheduled for 7am departure, loading them all through the same gate, one at-a-time. We didn't start boarding my flight till 7:45 and plane didn't depart until after 8 - more than an hour late. By the time I was off the plane in Douala, my flight to Lagos (ASKY AIR) was gone. There were no difficulties or problems to over-come, it is their expectation. The Embassy driver who took me to the airport told me matter-of-factly we would not depart on-time - he worked there for 5 years before becoming a Motor Pool Driver. He was right So I got to Doulala and was told by ASKY that I was a "no-show", would need to pay a penalty and next flight was the next day. I don't speak French, so I am not sure what the not very courteous or concerned representative was saying, but the other people seemed to be enjoying some fun she was having at my expense. I got an Expediter from US Embassy involved (2 hours later). I got to spend quality time in a cramped little office with 3 chairs and an enormous colleague of hers snoring louder than anyone I have ever heard in my life. Apparently he was involved somehow, although it is not evident he did anything to resolve the situation.Suddenly they seemed interested in paying the penalty, getting me ticketed and even put me up in a really crappy "hotel" with no electricity for hours. I got to stay up all night scratching mosquito bites - oh yeah, they usually "bomb" the rooms before you turn in, but didn't want to bother me. I will not be flying Ceiba again - it is what you should expect from a government-owned company in a dictatorship.