Folks,
You asked what happened to the 747 at dublin. Well, dear reader...from the Irish Independent....
Wives fly off the handle at plane delays
THE wives and partners of Ireland's World Cup stars flew into controversy last night.
A plane carrying them to Tokyo was hit by a cargo truck loading food at Stockholm airport, delaying the flight for almost two hours.
And some of the women also claimed the plane had only one working toilet for almost 500 people and no in-flight entertainment.
They said some of the Irish party had to sit in economy class despite assurances they would travel first class.
Members of the Irish squad were said to be "furious" last night at the treatment their partners and families received. There was a deluge of calls to the team's hotel in Japan from angry families, with a bulletin board understood to be covered in messages for players to ring their wives.
The travel agent who arranged the trip admitted last night the Transjet Boeing 747 was delayed in Stockholm for 1 hour after a freight door was damaged in a minor collision. But he denied reports that the flight had been a disaster.
David Slattery of Tralee-based Slattery's Travel Agents said the plane had suffered minor damage to one of its doors following a collision with a truck, but that this had been repaired within two hours.
Mr Slattery, who travelled to Japan on the same flight, added that four of the eight toilets on the 747 were still working when the plane landed in Japan, and that a movie had been shown on the Dublin-Stockholm leg of the flight.
After dinner, which was served an hour outside the Swedish capital, most passengers were tired and the cabin lights had been dimmed and most went to sleep, he said.
Mr Slattery said that the families of both captain Steve Staunton and Niall Quinn had been accommodated in first class because they booked their seats last January.
Partners of players who were named in the squad last month could only be accommodated in economy because the plane had just 27 business or first class seats.
"Our business class section of the plane has 27 seats," he said. "Some people were in there but when most people booked in early May business class was full. "There were eight toilets and by the time we landed in Tokyo four were fully working. A film was shown between Dublin and Stockholm and an hour outside Stockholm the meal was served and that took about two hours. After that, people were tired and went to sleep."
The FAI said the trip had been arranged privately and could not comment.
Paul Melia