Hi,

Cubana cabin crews' idea of customer service can leave a lot to be desired and can be capricious! But on the otherhand it does mean they aren't constantly waking you up to feed you/serve you drinks or sell you duty free! With regard to the latter what you are likely to get is one of the senior stewards doing his 'fell off the back of a lorry'/market trader spiel to sell you rum and cigars. Best entertainment on offer for the whole flight. I've found that the best way to get what you want is to phrase the request in terms that miake it sound like you are doing them the favour - 'Can I have 4 cans of beer please - it will save me disturbing you later when I fancy another one'. The in-flight entertainment won't be much cop either - the Cuban equivalent of MTV for the most part - great if love salsa/Cuban music, a bit boring if you don't. The food is never much cop either - on one flight I wasn't at all sure what exactly the meal was and asked the stewardess - she peered at it, took it back and had another look and eventually decided it was 'Meat'! I'd sort of guessed that myself but was hoping for a few clues as to what sort of meat - I only eat certain dead animals! - but none were forthcoming.

So why do I always travel with them? Because it's like you're in Cuba from the moment you board and helps me acclimatise to Cuban attitudes and especially those of the waiters at the Casa Grande in Santiago from the moment we leave Gatwick :-) But also because, as you say, they're flexible, they're cheap, I love the Salsa videos and I'm not one for in-flight films anyway, the legroom isn't bad and the flights are usually only about 2/3rds full so you can always move around the cabin and find a spare row of seats where you can stretch out and the cabin crew couldn't care the less - after all it's not as if they're constantly wanting you sat down so they can get their trolleys up and down the aisles selling you things.

Most Cubana regulars have a sort of love/hate relationship with them. I'm one of those who actually likes their eccentricities but if you want cabin crew who are at your beck and call and will keep smiling through gritted teeth no matter how many times you call them, or judge a flight on the quality/currency of the films on offer then it might be better to give them a miss. But if you do opt to fly with them arrive early for check-in at Gatwick - they only 2 check-in desks open and if you turn up the recommended 2 hours beforehand you'll be at the back of a very long queue snaking its way round South Terminal. And arrive early at Havana too because you'll have to queue first to get your case shrinkwrapped -free on production of your ticket but the check-in staff won't accept your case if it isn't shrinkwrapped - then queue all over again to check it in and then queue yet again for security.

Queuing is a constant fact of life in Cuba the moment you step outside of the tourist enclaves but it has an etiquette all of its own - so regard that chaotic queue at Gatwick as good practice for when you arrive. Just like at Gatwick you must always ascertain which queue you are joining and if it's the right one for you and you must always establish just who is the last person in the queue and that there isn't anybody standing to the rear of you gossiping with a pal who will think that you are queue jumping. The British approach to queuing means that you'll do this relatively easily and it will ease you into Cuban queueing quite gently. For in Cuba 'queues' aren't a line of people, they're a milling crowd but a milling crowd where each person knows exactly who is in front of them and who's behind them in the 'queue' because the first thing you must do on joining the crowd is establish who is 'el ulitimo/ultima' ie who's last in the queue. Someone will identify themselves as the last in the queue and you know that you're after them. And then when someone new arrives and asks 'El ultimo?' you stick your hand up and you know that you're in front of them. Though of course as a foreigner, if you follow the etiquette, you're likely to find that most times you'll get pushed to the front of the queue as soon as you've sorted that out! But woe betide you if you don't go through the required ritual! And of course the other key skill to develop is that of making a BIG fuss if someone does jump the queue. None of this reserved British 'Excuse me I think it's my turn next' stuff. You need to protest loudly, get your elbows out, be ready for the rest of the 'queue' to take sides and huff and puff if the majority sides with the queue jumper! In such instances I can vouch for the tactic of threatening to faint in the crush! Because of course, in shops and cadecas and even banks at busy times the queue isn't even in the shop - it's out on the sidewalk trying to get inside past a security man who lets only a few trickle in at a time! But the 'fainting' manouvre worked everytime for me - that and doing a bit of Reggieton to the piped music!

SM