I was standing in the circular-shaped terminal area in front of gate 72 at LAX, talking on the phone. You know... the area with the BMW ad on the ceiling. Anyway, all of a sudden I hear a guy yelling "aieeee!" and see him jumping over the back of his seat in the waiting area. Within seconds, the seating area clears out and instantly, there were 100+ passengers standing at the edge of the gate area. Some people actually running away...quickly! I ended my phone call to investigate.
Turns out that the screaming guy was waiting for the flight but decided to stand up to go for a stroll. He picked up his carryon from the floor and witnessed an approximately two foot, one-inch thick black snake slither from beneath his bag and under his seat!
Needless to say, he rightfully freaked out and caused a near panic. Two female UA gate agents rushed over to investigate and quickly recoiled. One of them actually leapt backwards and stood on a seat far away from the incident... just like the old Tom n' Jerry cartoons when the maid would stand on a stool in fear of the mouse.
The other agent made a radio call and two burly male UA agents came over. They didn't even bother taking a look and made more radio calls. Next, two police officers showed up and moved people farther away but did nothing about the snake. I think they called for animal control and anticipated it would be a while before they arrived.
Well... it seems there was a regular Crocodile Dundee character (well, he had a European accent, not Aussie) in the crowd. He borrowed (never to be returned I assume) a pillowcase from a teenager, spoke with the police for a few moments and then grabbed the snake by the tail and somehow got it in the pillowcase. I didn't actally see him do this as the crowd was growing by the minute. He handed the pillowcase to the cops and the drama was over. I boarded my flight and took my seat in F class on the 767.
Nobody claimed ownership of the snake and the rumor floating around was it must have come through a foreign port, arriving in LAX by hitching a ride with a passenger somehow. Nobody knows.
Ok...what does this story have to do with upgrades? A bit later, all the passengers had boarded and the gate agent that was scared out of her mind and standing on the chair comes on board and announces over the PA, "would my hero who caught the snake plase ring your call button." Next thing you know, she has him moved into F class. The flight crew has now heard the details of the drama and are surrounded this fella for more info. It was actually quite amusing.
He earned the upgrade!
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Last edited by MileageAddict; May 6, 09 at 12:13 pm..
Reason: fix typo
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Note to self: carry snakes into terminal and release in boarding area.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MileageAddict
A new one for this ultra-seasoned traveler!
I was standing in the circular-shaped terminal area in front of gate 72 at LAX, talking on the phone. You know... the area with the BMW ad on the ceiling. Anyway, all of a sudden I hear a guy yelling "aieeee!" and jumping over the back of his seat in the waiting area. Within seconds, the seating area clears out and instantly, there were 100+ passengers standing at the edge of the gate area. Some people actually running away...quickly! I ended my phone call to investigate.
Turns out that the screaming guy was a waiting for the flight but decided to stand up to go for a stroll. He picked up his carryon from the floor and witnessed an approximately two foot, one-inch thick black snake slither from beneath his bag and under his seat!
Needless to say, he rightfully freaked out and caused a near panic. The two female UA gate agents rushed over to investigate and quickly recoiled. One of them actually leapt backwards and stood on a seat far away from the incident... just like the old Tom n' Jerry cartoons when the maid would stand on a stool in fear of the mouse.
The other agent made a radio call and two burly male UA agents came over. They didn't even bother taking a look and made more radio calls. Next, two police officers showed up and moved people farther away but did nothing about the snake. I think they called for animal control and anticipated it would be a while before they arrived.
Well... it seems there was a regular Crocodile Dundee character (well, he had a European accent, not Aussie) in the crowd. He borrowed (never to be returned I assume) a pillowcase from a teenager, spoke with the police for a few moments and then grabbed the snake my the tail and somehow got it in the pillowcase. I didn't actally see him do this as the crowd was growing by the minute. He handed the pillowcase to the cops and the drama was over. I boarded my flight and took my seat in F class on the 767.
Nobody claimed ownership of the snake and the rumor floating around was it must have come through a foreign port, arriving in LAX by hitching a ride with a passenger somehow. Nobody knows.
Ok...what does this story have to do with upgrades? A bit later, all the passengers had boarded and the gate agent that was scared out of her mind and standing on the chair comes on board and announces over the PA, "would my hero who caught the snake plase ring your call button." Next thing you know, she has him moved into F class. The flight crew has now heard the details of the drama and are surrounded this fella for more info. It was actually quite amusing.
He earned the upgrade!
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