BambooTom
Jan 4, 06, 6:30 pm
Hey FT'ers!
I just finished another fantastic trip to Romania.
I started a thread before I left and it is here.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5106134#post5106134
Because of the nature of the trip I'd like to keep it separate from the actual airline travel aspect, all with the moderators permission of course.
We did LA-SFO-FRA-OTP for a mission trip in Bucharest. Leaving LA on the 22nd and Arriving in OTP on the 23rd.
I have a few complaints but let me first say that I could have saved myself much of the problems by booking what my agent http://www.lutetiatravel.com/romania/index.html recommended.
She strongly advised me to do LAX-MUC-OTP which I did last year in this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=456985
But did I listen to her?
In any event, here we go. Thursday Dec 22nd
We are scheduled for UA flight 1162 at 11:11 am to connect with LH 3412 at 2:15pm. Since we are all excited about the trip we left super early. We got to the Airport a little over 3 hours prior and the check in at UA was about a 10 min wait, not bad I guess thats what self check in will do for you.
Since it was an international flight we had to have someone help us and that was about a 1 min wait, the check in person even put us on an earlier flight that had space. Good job UA! ^
Thats was the last time UA had any kind of positive reputation with me.
We get to the gate and find out that the plane has been delayed until about 10:15, No big deal I say to my travelling companions we're still going to be earlier then our original flight I say with all the smug smarmyness of a know it all traveller.
Boarding time comes and we are in the 1st group of boarders but gate lice are everywhere and I have to excuse me while bobbing and weaving in and out of people who just wont budge. Finally at the roped area i see standing in my way, one woman with too much carry on and when I say excuse me to her she says "oh go ahead I dont board yet". I looked at my friend and said thats gate lice. He laughed at the concept and I think I'm the cats pajamas.
We board the plane rather quickly and the doors shut. Their is something about being in a fully packed A/C at the start of a much anticipated trip when you feel that door shut.
Nothing happens.
Then... Ladies and Gentlemen we are getting word from the tower that we are
not going to get a "Wheels up" until 11:15 so we are going to sit here on the run way until further notice, "Oh No" I think to myself and a small pang of fear
is given birth deep inside me.
we sit and we sit and we sit way past 11:15 and that little pang of fear is starting to feed. Finally we take off and everything is going just fine until we get towards SFO and we have to slow down because the wet weather is backing things up.
The flight takes 2 hours I kid you not and then we sit on the runway at SFO
for another grueling tortuous session and at this point I'm ballistic.
We get off the plane at 2PM and are told we have to RUSH all the way to the INTL Terminal. Once off the ramp we are greeted by a UA agent that asks us Beijing? No we are FRA we exclaim and she says oh you'll make but hurry.
All along the way UA agents are Inquiring if we are going to Beijing, NO FRA we say and every one of them says You'll make it hurry.
We run to the gate they told us and the door is closed The UA agent says
I'm sorry we cannot board you, but the A/C is right there I point out and the agent at the top of the stairs above the gate said we made it.
No sir I'm sorry I cannot allow you to board.
Wait! You must.
No sir we have rules and we cannot allow you to board at this time.
How am I going to make it to FRA i ask and he said You will have to go to the check in counter and they will help you there.
Another gentleman runs up from our same flight and I tell him we cant board.
He starts going nuts.
What happens in the next few mins I really dont need to write about.
All you have to do is imagine watching Airline on A&E then picture me and the other guy reducing ourselves to the biggest jerks on the planet and the UA agent telling us that he's going to call security if we dont calm down.
I look up and their are people as well as security watching us already from the top of the stairs.
Finally the UA agent calls someone and he says OK I can board you.
(Their are a total of 6 people who were on the LAX-FRA flight)
My friend gives him his pass and he says what? This is an LH flight across the way there.
I was arguing with this guy for nothing and I made a JACKASS out of myself
for no reason at all. If their is one small speck of good that came out it was that all our fighting at least got the other people on that plane.
UA and LH had the same schedule for FRA and it never occured to me
that maybe I should install a window in my belly button since I can't seem to pull my head out of my own you know what.
On top of that I never even apologized to the agent, What a jerk I am.
We get to the LH gate and are the last to board. 2 min later and we would have not made that flight.
If I may use a cliche let me say what comes around goes around.
Our luggage never made it on the LH flight and we didnt get our luggage with our clothes, the clothes for the street outreach and toys for the kids at the orphanage until Dec 26th
Both LH flights went off fine and we arrived in Bucharest 15 min early.
I will write about the return trip after the U.S.C. Trojans win tonights NCAA football championship, wait a min, Lets get the window cleaner out I think I am speaking too soon :D
I just finished another fantastic trip to Romania.
I started a thread before I left and it is here.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5106134#post5106134
Because of the nature of the trip I'd like to keep it separate from the actual airline travel aspect, all with the moderators permission of course.
We did LA-SFO-FRA-OTP for a mission trip in Bucharest. Leaving LA on the 22nd and Arriving in OTP on the 23rd.
I have a few complaints but let me first say that I could have saved myself much of the problems by booking what my agent http://www.lutetiatravel.com/romania/index.html recommended.
She strongly advised me to do LAX-MUC-OTP which I did last year in this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=456985
But did I listen to her?
In any event, here we go. Thursday Dec 22nd
We are scheduled for UA flight 1162 at 11:11 am to connect with LH 3412 at 2:15pm. Since we are all excited about the trip we left super early. We got to the Airport a little over 3 hours prior and the check in at UA was about a 10 min wait, not bad I guess thats what self check in will do for you.
Since it was an international flight we had to have someone help us and that was about a 1 min wait, the check in person even put us on an earlier flight that had space. Good job UA! ^
Thats was the last time UA had any kind of positive reputation with me.
We get to the gate and find out that the plane has been delayed until about 10:15, No big deal I say to my travelling companions we're still going to be earlier then our original flight I say with all the smug smarmyness of a know it all traveller.
Boarding time comes and we are in the 1st group of boarders but gate lice are everywhere and I have to excuse me while bobbing and weaving in and out of people who just wont budge. Finally at the roped area i see standing in my way, one woman with too much carry on and when I say excuse me to her she says "oh go ahead I dont board yet". I looked at my friend and said thats gate lice. He laughed at the concept and I think I'm the cats pajamas.
We board the plane rather quickly and the doors shut. Their is something about being in a fully packed A/C at the start of a much anticipated trip when you feel that door shut.
Nothing happens.
Then... Ladies and Gentlemen we are getting word from the tower that we are
not going to get a "Wheels up" until 11:15 so we are going to sit here on the run way until further notice, "Oh No" I think to myself and a small pang of fear
is given birth deep inside me.
we sit and we sit and we sit way past 11:15 and that little pang of fear is starting to feed. Finally we take off and everything is going just fine until we get towards SFO and we have to slow down because the wet weather is backing things up.
The flight takes 2 hours I kid you not and then we sit on the runway at SFO
for another grueling tortuous session and at this point I'm ballistic.
We get off the plane at 2PM and are told we have to RUSH all the way to the INTL Terminal. Once off the ramp we are greeted by a UA agent that asks us Beijing? No we are FRA we exclaim and she says oh you'll make but hurry.
All along the way UA agents are Inquiring if we are going to Beijing, NO FRA we say and every one of them says You'll make it hurry.
We run to the gate they told us and the door is closed The UA agent says
I'm sorry we cannot board you, but the A/C is right there I point out and the agent at the top of the stairs above the gate said we made it.
No sir I'm sorry I cannot allow you to board.
Wait! You must.
No sir we have rules and we cannot allow you to board at this time.
How am I going to make it to FRA i ask and he said You will have to go to the check in counter and they will help you there.
Another gentleman runs up from our same flight and I tell him we cant board.
He starts going nuts.
What happens in the next few mins I really dont need to write about.
All you have to do is imagine watching Airline on A&E then picture me and the other guy reducing ourselves to the biggest jerks on the planet and the UA agent telling us that he's going to call security if we dont calm down.
I look up and their are people as well as security watching us already from the top of the stairs.
Finally the UA agent calls someone and he says OK I can board you.
(Their are a total of 6 people who were on the LAX-FRA flight)
My friend gives him his pass and he says what? This is an LH flight across the way there.
I was arguing with this guy for nothing and I made a JACKASS out of myself
for no reason at all. If their is one small speck of good that came out it was that all our fighting at least got the other people on that plane.
UA and LH had the same schedule for FRA and it never occured to me
that maybe I should install a window in my belly button since I can't seem to pull my head out of my own you know what.
On top of that I never even apologized to the agent, What a jerk I am.
We get to the LH gate and are the last to board. 2 min later and we would have not made that flight.
If I may use a cliche let me say what comes around goes around.
Our luggage never made it on the LH flight and we didnt get our luggage with our clothes, the clothes for the street outreach and toys for the kids at the orphanage until Dec 26th
Both LH flights went off fine and we arrived in Bucharest 15 min early.
I will write about the return trip after the U.S.C. Trojans win tonights NCAA football championship, wait a min, Lets get the window cleaner out I think I am speaking too soon :D