AMS
My primary task after deplaning was to find a replacement contact lens case, since I forgot mine at home (and the only thing I forgot) and the contacts were starting to bother me. I bought one at a sundries shop near the gate and, after switching to glasses, went to find the Silver Kris lounge, which was outside the Schengen zone. I was hoping to get them to print out the boarding passes for the SQ segments and relax for a bit.
At the loungeI I presented the Lufthansa Cityline (CL) BP to Munich as well as my Turkish Air *A Gold card, but the attendant said, “You are not allowed to access to lounge, since you are not flying SQ from here”. I tapped into my reserves of patience, smiled and replied, “Yes, I’m flying to Munich and connecting to SQ there. Plus I have *A Gold status, doesn’t that work?” She stood firm, “No, only if you are flying SQ from Amsterdam”. She was also unable to print out my Singapore BPs. What, do they only load AMS-originating flights into their computers or something?
A bit frustrated, I went through the passport control to the Schengen area and traipsed to the departure gate which seemed to be in Belgium judging by how far I had to walk. Schiphol is really not that well designed for an international hub – it takes a long time to get from one end to another and if you have a short-ish connection, good luck. I suggest practicing power walking.
It being a warm day and Schiphol administration refusing to believe in air conditioning for sub-desert temperatures, I walked up to the gate 5 minutes before the supposed boarding time, shedding sweat and feeling decidedly non-First Class. What do you know, the inbound aircraft for my LH2303 flight wasn't there yet. The cute, yet supremely bored gate agent told me in curt Polish accent, “Maybe 10 minute delay”. The first tendrils of worry stirred in my gut as I imagined a dramatic scene where the SQ 777 pulls away from the gate just as I get there, drop to my knees, shake fist at the skies and shout “WHYYYYYYY?”
The delay soon grew to 20 minutes. I was starting to worry for real now, because I knew the minimum connection time in MUC was 40 minutes. The inbound plane showed up then, and it took another 20 minutes to disembark passengers, prep the plane, and board everyone waiting at the gate.
Lufthansa Cityline 2303
Amsterdam (AMS) - Munich (MUC)
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Depart: 11:10 (11:35 actual)
Arrive: 12:35 (12:50 actual)
Duration: 1hr 5min
Embraer ERJ-195
Seat 18A (Economy)
I took my window seat with a certain measure of trepidation. I was ready to write off the SQ flight until the captain came on to apologize for the delay and tell us he’d try to shorten the flight time by 20 minutes. This would still put us in MUC at 12:40 pm and things could go either way. We finally took off around 11:35 am. Honestly, I don’t remember much of the flight, except that I fretted incessantly during the first half. When the beverages cart came around, I got some tea to sip on and remembered what someone told me once, “It makes no sense to worry about the things you have no control over, it just keeps you immobilized”.
Since there was nothing I could do to affect the situation, I sat back and enjoyed the landscape outside. If I was meant to make SQ327, I would. I don't remember much of the flight, but it was decent, for intra-Europe economy. The cabin was in 2-2 configuration.
The flight took a bit longer than the captain promised and we touched down and were at the gate by 12:50 pm. To our left, a Singapore 777 was trying its best to hide behind a Lufthands A320(?).
MUC
As I stepped outside the plane, I heard someone calling my name. “Mr. Andrei Z? Mr. Andrei Z?” I turned and saw a Lufthansa agent holding a red-striped SQ boarding pass with my name on it. Afraid I was just hallucinating from all the stress, I identified myself and she pronounced the most wonderful words in the history of mankind, “We’ve been expecting you. Please follow me so we can get you through the passport control and to your flight.”
I can hardly convey how relieved and elated I felt at that moment. I was ready to give her a hug, but such personal interactions are probably verboten in Germany, so I just grabbed my bags and followed her. Along the way I passed another SQ 777.–.perhaps the one that would take me to Singapore?
We hurried on foot across the terminal to the Lufthansa FCL which had a private passport control booth. My passport was stamped in 20 seconds and we exited and continued to the gate just as briskly.
There she handed me off to the gate agent who produced an envelope with the BP to BKK and an invitation to the Private Room at Changi and said that the boarding would start in a few minutes. I took that opportunity to find a men’s room and wash off literal and metaphorical sweat from my face. I made the flight. Things worked out on their own. Kudos to Lufthansa for being proactive with handling this in such an amazing way.
After 10-15 mins, the boarding was announced and I got in line with the other premium passengers (no differentiation between F, J, or PPS).