BUZZ’S chief executive Floris van Pallandt has unfortunately proved even top airline executives cannot escape the wrath of that most fearsome of travel employees – the tour guide.
Backchat, ever eager to interview the top people in any situation, had cornered van Pallandt on a coach from Vienna airport to the city.
Knowing there was only 30mins of van Pallandt’s valuable time to ask probing questions, Backchat was poised to put the first tester to the Dutchman when everything fell to pieces.
In an effort to become more at ease with each other, Backchat and van Pallandt rather stupidly had a brief informal chat before the questions started.
This clearly upset the guide at the front of the coach, who was warming up to inform those on board of the greatness of Austrian culture, Vienna’s famous coffee houses and where Mozart tinkled the ivories.
Sternly, the rather scary lady leaned forward and, in an unnecessarily loud voice, told both van Pallandt and Backchat to shut up during her speech. Shocked, and obviously worried that Backchat would be upset by this telling off, van Pallandt tried arguing that we could be quiet. But no.
This would not do, said the guide, and motioned for the unruly pair to get upstairs if they insisted on talking.
Sheepishly, van Pallandt trudged up the stairs – no mean feat itself as by now the coach was hurtling along an icy autobahn – with a suitably chastened reporter in tow. Both quickly found a seat and after enduring the laughter and catcalls of fellow passengers, carried on their important chat about routes, trade sales and aircraft.
Backchat will admit that he was none the wiser on the Hapsburgs, Beethoven or Hitler after the coach trip, but did know an awful lot about Buzz.
In retrospect, maybe the guide knew what the discussion was going to be about and the thought of listening to two people drone on about budget fares, profit and loss and cross-subsidies was just a bit too much to bear.