biztraveller28
Mar 16, 05, 10:42 am
I posted this at airliners.net, but thought the folks over here enjoy as well.
Sunday, March 13th.
All is well at LAX as I arrive for my 6:30am flight (#54) from LAX-ORD. I'm in First Class (woo hoo!) on the 767-300 (Hawaii configuration -- aircraft did the red-eye HNL-LAX). Prior to boarding they offer free tickets to whomever will give up their seat and get on the next flight (at 7:30). The flight is oversold by several seats, obviously. Unfortunately I have a connection to make (ha ha ha -- more on that later) so I cannot volunteer.
I sit down in row 1 (1J) in my window seat. (Love window seats). And the aircraft, of course, is packed. First class on the Hawaii configuration is not that great, as it is 2-2-2 (vs. 2-3-2 in coach). Not that big a difference. And row 1 doesn't have the greatest footroom as there is a wall in front. Nevertheless, OJ is offered pre-takeoff, and we take off on time. I'm never disappointed by LAX when departing, especially in the morning. There is never a delay. We cruise through the morning fog and wing our way East. Breakfast is served. Normally I don't like airplane breakfasts, even in First, but this one is decent. Cheese omelette with some sort of egg/potato side dish, and a good plate of fruit. I skip the croissant. I listen to Channel 9 (my favorite United ammenity) for awhile. Soon I am asleep (early morning to get to LAX, especially after a Saturday night).
I am awoken by a commotion and loud voices. Apparently an elderly woman in the third row (who was on oxygen when she boarded the plane) is not doing too well. In fact, they call for doctors and two volunteer. Apparently there is internal bleeding, and she cannot breathe that well. They end up laying this woman on the galley floor in front of my row, in pretty much full view. I really don't want to look but it's hard to keep from watching what is going on. They give her an IV, I give them my pillow and blanket (as do other passengers near me). There begins to be mutterings about needing to divert. Uh oh.
I put on my Channel 9 headphones, and indeed I hear our captain request an emergency diversion to Kansas City. Request granted and we start descending immediately, and quite rapidly. The captain announces to the rest of the passengers we need to divert, and preparations are made for landing. We land and I hear the Captain telling the control tower our gate info (I was surprised the ambulance didn't come out to meet us, but I guess it makes sense upon further consideration). Don't know how many of you are from Kansas City but I challenge you to think of the last time a United 767-300 landed there! We pull up to the gate, and the EMT's immediately are there and get the woman (and her shaking husband) off the plane. (By the way, MCI is like a "ghost airport". There are SOOO many empty gates!) Of course, this unplanned stop necessitates a LOT of paperwork, and it begins to become clear I will miss my connection to San Juan (which happens to be the only connection to San Juan of the day on United).
I get on the phone with the premier exec line, and a nice lady tries to figure out alternatives, after I rejected the first alternative of "waiting until tomorrow's flight". I told her to look for connections through Miami, Atlanta, or whereever else that could get me there that day (I was going for business, not for fun, and I had many meetings lined up on Monday). She finally says she booked me on the 3:00 Continental flight to EWR, connecting to SJU, but I have to go to the "Service Desk" at ORD to finalize the deal. She says United will sign over the tickets while I am on my way to ORD, though, so there should be no problem when I get there.
So, after the 45 minute unplanned visit to MCI (only my second ever, and my first since I was 8 years old), we take off for ORD. Obviously we arrive very late at the B Concourse, and I run out of the plane looking for the service desk. On the service desk is a big sign saying "CLOSED -- See Main Lobby". So they want me to go OUT of security????? What???? Didn't they know they had 200+ passengers coming in on a delayed flight, many with missed connections??? Screw that. I run over to Continental (fortunately in Concourse E right next door), and run into some awesome CO gate agents.
They are helpful and patient as I explain my predicament. Unfortunately, however, United has not "signed over" my ticket like they said they would when I was in the air. So they cannot ticket me, even though they "see" my reservation. After some frantic calls to United (the CO departure time is fast approaching) United finally signs over my ticket and I am on my way to EWR (in Coach, but at this point I don't care).
The 737-500 (I believe that is what the plane was -- the safety card said B737-300/500, and the plane seemed short) is clean, soft drinks and pretzels are handed out, and it is a fairly short jaunt to EWR (another airport I rarely visit). I think I'll have plenty of time for my connection. Well......... the problem is we land at the "A" Concourse. My Connection is in the "C" Concourse. Outside of security, and an "Airtrain" Ride away. Great.
So I hoof it to the Airtrain (pretty nice, but PACKED -- the cars are so tiny!). Back through security I go, taking out the laptop, untying shoes, etc etc. I get to my gate just as they are starting to board the 6:55 to SJU. I have not eaten anything since breakfast somewhere over Utah, but oh well. Fortunately this time I am in First Class on the 737-800. First impression of CO first class -- the seats look posh, but in the "upright position", it is like they are giving you lessons in posture. You sit straight up! Another odd thing: They called upgrades INSIDE the aircraft. So people who had already sat back in coach were called to the front, while a mass of humanity is trying to get to the back. Not a good process at all.
After loading up the plane we get to the taxiway, and we are approximately number 52,389 in line for takeoff. Oh well. Some airlines/aircraft I rarely see are there, like the SQ 340-500, an AF 340-300, some CO 777s, a CSA A310(?), and a Turkish(?) Airlines aircraft, plus the Swiss BBJ. We take off to the north and circle back and I have a fantastic view of Manhattan as we head south over the New Jersey shore and out over the ocean.
Service is very good in First class (the seat is more comfortable in recline), and my wine is filled frequently. The nuts are good (cold, but whatever), and the salad is excellent. The steak and mashed potatoes are good, and the sundae is fantastic. The movie is horrible (Cinderella Story with that uber-thespian Hillary Duff), but it helps the time fly by. We land at almost exactly midnight Puerto Rico time, 13.5 hours after I had taken off from LAX.
Overall I was very impressed with Continental. I rarely fly them (I'm a West Coaster), but I would again if given the opportunity. They went out of their way for a refugee from United, and the ground staff in ORD were particularly awesome. As for United, I understand there is nothing they could do regarding the medical diversion. These things happen, and hopefully the woman is OK (as the doctors indicated she would be). HOWEVER, I cannot understand why the did not sign my ticket over to CO like they said they would. I also cannot understand why the service desk that they told us to go to when we disembarked at ORD was CLOSED. I have no idea what everyone else did but I can only imagine what people were trying to do. (I thank God I had no bags checked, because that would have been a nightmare).
Overall though, it just shows you what can happen even when you think you're in for a routine day of travel!
Sunday, March 13th.
All is well at LAX as I arrive for my 6:30am flight (#54) from LAX-ORD. I'm in First Class (woo hoo!) on the 767-300 (Hawaii configuration -- aircraft did the red-eye HNL-LAX). Prior to boarding they offer free tickets to whomever will give up their seat and get on the next flight (at 7:30). The flight is oversold by several seats, obviously. Unfortunately I have a connection to make (ha ha ha -- more on that later) so I cannot volunteer.
I sit down in row 1 (1J) in my window seat. (Love window seats). And the aircraft, of course, is packed. First class on the Hawaii configuration is not that great, as it is 2-2-2 (vs. 2-3-2 in coach). Not that big a difference. And row 1 doesn't have the greatest footroom as there is a wall in front. Nevertheless, OJ is offered pre-takeoff, and we take off on time. I'm never disappointed by LAX when departing, especially in the morning. There is never a delay. We cruise through the morning fog and wing our way East. Breakfast is served. Normally I don't like airplane breakfasts, even in First, but this one is decent. Cheese omelette with some sort of egg/potato side dish, and a good plate of fruit. I skip the croissant. I listen to Channel 9 (my favorite United ammenity) for awhile. Soon I am asleep (early morning to get to LAX, especially after a Saturday night).
I am awoken by a commotion and loud voices. Apparently an elderly woman in the third row (who was on oxygen when she boarded the plane) is not doing too well. In fact, they call for doctors and two volunteer. Apparently there is internal bleeding, and she cannot breathe that well. They end up laying this woman on the galley floor in front of my row, in pretty much full view. I really don't want to look but it's hard to keep from watching what is going on. They give her an IV, I give them my pillow and blanket (as do other passengers near me). There begins to be mutterings about needing to divert. Uh oh.
I put on my Channel 9 headphones, and indeed I hear our captain request an emergency diversion to Kansas City. Request granted and we start descending immediately, and quite rapidly. The captain announces to the rest of the passengers we need to divert, and preparations are made for landing. We land and I hear the Captain telling the control tower our gate info (I was surprised the ambulance didn't come out to meet us, but I guess it makes sense upon further consideration). Don't know how many of you are from Kansas City but I challenge you to think of the last time a United 767-300 landed there! We pull up to the gate, and the EMT's immediately are there and get the woman (and her shaking husband) off the plane. (By the way, MCI is like a "ghost airport". There are SOOO many empty gates!) Of course, this unplanned stop necessitates a LOT of paperwork, and it begins to become clear I will miss my connection to San Juan (which happens to be the only connection to San Juan of the day on United).
I get on the phone with the premier exec line, and a nice lady tries to figure out alternatives, after I rejected the first alternative of "waiting until tomorrow's flight". I told her to look for connections through Miami, Atlanta, or whereever else that could get me there that day (I was going for business, not for fun, and I had many meetings lined up on Monday). She finally says she booked me on the 3:00 Continental flight to EWR, connecting to SJU, but I have to go to the "Service Desk" at ORD to finalize the deal. She says United will sign over the tickets while I am on my way to ORD, though, so there should be no problem when I get there.
So, after the 45 minute unplanned visit to MCI (only my second ever, and my first since I was 8 years old), we take off for ORD. Obviously we arrive very late at the B Concourse, and I run out of the plane looking for the service desk. On the service desk is a big sign saying "CLOSED -- See Main Lobby". So they want me to go OUT of security????? What???? Didn't they know they had 200+ passengers coming in on a delayed flight, many with missed connections??? Screw that. I run over to Continental (fortunately in Concourse E right next door), and run into some awesome CO gate agents.
They are helpful and patient as I explain my predicament. Unfortunately, however, United has not "signed over" my ticket like they said they would when I was in the air. So they cannot ticket me, even though they "see" my reservation. After some frantic calls to United (the CO departure time is fast approaching) United finally signs over my ticket and I am on my way to EWR (in Coach, but at this point I don't care).
The 737-500 (I believe that is what the plane was -- the safety card said B737-300/500, and the plane seemed short) is clean, soft drinks and pretzels are handed out, and it is a fairly short jaunt to EWR (another airport I rarely visit). I think I'll have plenty of time for my connection. Well......... the problem is we land at the "A" Concourse. My Connection is in the "C" Concourse. Outside of security, and an "Airtrain" Ride away. Great.
So I hoof it to the Airtrain (pretty nice, but PACKED -- the cars are so tiny!). Back through security I go, taking out the laptop, untying shoes, etc etc. I get to my gate just as they are starting to board the 6:55 to SJU. I have not eaten anything since breakfast somewhere over Utah, but oh well. Fortunately this time I am in First Class on the 737-800. First impression of CO first class -- the seats look posh, but in the "upright position", it is like they are giving you lessons in posture. You sit straight up! Another odd thing: They called upgrades INSIDE the aircraft. So people who had already sat back in coach were called to the front, while a mass of humanity is trying to get to the back. Not a good process at all.
After loading up the plane we get to the taxiway, and we are approximately number 52,389 in line for takeoff. Oh well. Some airlines/aircraft I rarely see are there, like the SQ 340-500, an AF 340-300, some CO 777s, a CSA A310(?), and a Turkish(?) Airlines aircraft, plus the Swiss BBJ. We take off to the north and circle back and I have a fantastic view of Manhattan as we head south over the New Jersey shore and out over the ocean.
Service is very good in First class (the seat is more comfortable in recline), and my wine is filled frequently. The nuts are good (cold, but whatever), and the salad is excellent. The steak and mashed potatoes are good, and the sundae is fantastic. The movie is horrible (Cinderella Story with that uber-thespian Hillary Duff), but it helps the time fly by. We land at almost exactly midnight Puerto Rico time, 13.5 hours after I had taken off from LAX.
Overall I was very impressed with Continental. I rarely fly them (I'm a West Coaster), but I would again if given the opportunity. They went out of their way for a refugee from United, and the ground staff in ORD were particularly awesome. As for United, I understand there is nothing they could do regarding the medical diversion. These things happen, and hopefully the woman is OK (as the doctors indicated she would be). HOWEVER, I cannot understand why the did not sign my ticket over to CO like they said they would. I also cannot understand why the service desk that they told us to go to when we disembarked at ORD was CLOSED. I have no idea what everyone else did but I can only imagine what people were trying to do. (I thank God I had no bags checked, because that would have been a nightmare).
Overall though, it just shows you what can happen even when you think you're in for a routine day of travel!