Chapter IX.
The second trip I took to Odessa left Indianapolis for Dulles International Airport (IAD), via United Airlines, on Flight #7823, at 2:28 p.m. I made it into Washington, D.C. at 4:15 p.m. It is a 500 mile flight. I took a shuttle from the United Airlines hub to the Austrian Airlines hub. I had dinner at Chili's at Washington Dulles International Airport, right next to Austrian Airlines.
I was forced to go through different procedures of clearance on this trip. I was not able to go through metal detectors this time. I met two interesting characters of significance on the plane; from Dulles (IAD) to Vienna, Austria. We finally took off at 6:30 p.m.
I sat next to a Czechoslovakian gentleman named Ivan, who drank constantly throughout the flight. I had to tell him to slow down on his alcohol consumption at one point.
Subsequently, he fell asleep as the hours wound down. We were already part way across the Atlantic, so it was to no avail. Ivan tried to help me squeak some more Russian into my mind.
We made it into Vienna at 8:30 a.m., with a scheduled landing time of 9:10 a.m., and a departure of 11:00 a.m. for Odessa.
There was ice on the ground as we were landing on the runway. I waited for two hours to board the Aerosvit Aircraft. This time, I was determined not to watch my shuttle leave the gate without me!
I even had time to converse with a gentleman from California named Evan. He was on the same plane as I from Washington, D.C. (Dulles) to Vienna, Austria. He helped me make my way through this small, yet confusing airport.
Only a 900-mile trek from Vienna to Odessa; it seemed like a short shoot at the time.
At 11:00 a.m. Aerosvit Airlines #7175 was boarding for Odessa, Ukraine, and I was more than happy to be making my way to the door to present my ticket and passport, to get through the door, which led to the trolley, which would then take us to our Aerosvit Airlines carrier. The brand was Ukrainian International Airlines.