I received a credit card statement this morning with two surprises in it.

The first one was a very pleasant one.

I was caught up in the volcanic ash cloud disruption in April - I'd planned to meet Aeroports de Montreal then go to a conference and exhibition in Washington DC, but flights were cancelled and I couldn't leave the UK.

American Airlines were pretty good about re-booking, but when it became obvious that the problem was going to last more than a day or two, I cancelled. They offered to re-book me, but only within a couple of weeks: I couldn't manage that because my diary was too full. I claimed on my travel insurance, but the company declined to pay up.

Later I read that, even if US airlines wouldn't refund non-refundable fares, they still were obliged to refund parts of the fare - in particular, the security fee. So I wrote to American Airlines to claim back my dues - with, I must admit, no particular expectations.

While I got no reply to my letter, I did get virtually the full fare credited back to my credit card account! Wow! The difference - about 30 pounds on a 700 pound fare - could have been through changes in exchange rates.

The second one was a real blast from the past.

I had booked a flight from Hong Kong to London on Cathay Pacific. The information on the credit card statement said that the flight was from Hong Kong Kai Tak to London Heathrow.

Kai Tak airport closed in July 1998: it was replaced by Chek Lap Kok!

Again, wow!