Originally Posted by SAT Lawyer

NW once reattached a jet bridge and reopened the boarding door for me so I could board a SAT-MEM flight and preserve a MEM-AMS connection. I was headed out to Berlin late on a Thursday afternoon, to return on Sunday, and got hung up at security, first by an atypically-massive and sluggish security line, and then, by a TSA supervisor who decided to harass me because he didn't like the fact I was flying to Europe for the weekend and felt that I should have arrived at the airport earlier. The treatment included taking my passport to the back office to photograph it and having his subordinate unpack and repack my carry-on bag completely not once, but twice. The subordinate TSA employee who had to do the unpacking and re-packing was visibly taken aback at the request to re-do the unpacking and repacking. Although aggravated by this treatment, I kept my cool and cooperated fully, knowing that any other approach was only going to make things worse. After the intervention of a SAPD airport officer who had been watching what was going on and decided to inquire why I was being held up, and approximately one minute after the departure time clearly printed on my boarding pass, the TSA supervisor decided I was good to go. I ran over to the NW gate, but it was too late, or so I thought.

It was the last flight of the day from SAT that connected to a NW/KL transatlantic flight; the last flights of the day to DTW and MSP had departed minutes earlier. When I got to the gate, the jet bridge had been retracted, the boarding door to the plane was closed, the tug driver was positioned to push the DC-9, and the gate agent was just in the process of exiting the jet bridge, closing the door to it behind her.

I lucked out, as she was a great gate agent who decided to try to help. Asked where I was going, I told her Berlin and handed her my boarding pass. To my surprise, and certainly without my solicitation – expecting, at best, an offer to rebook me for the next day – she immediately offered to radio the captain to see if he would allow the crew to re-open the door, let her reattach the jet bridge, and let me board the flight. I though this was a long-shot, but surprising me again, the captain agreed. As a then-NW Platinum, I had been upgraded on the flight and the gate agent even suggested moving a dead-heading pilot to whom she had given my first class seat back to economy so I could have it back. I tried my best to tell her and the off-duty pilot that I was immensely grateful to even get on the plane such that I would happily take even a middle seat in the last row of economy – and I meant it! – but they wouldn't have it.

One of the many reasons why I have a great affinity for NW.