Friday, May 2, 2014

Minutes Count

"Fly the friendly skies" is United Airlines slogan. It took me three different calls to customer service but I found a friendly agent....finally.  And she was on the phone with us for 20 minutes or more.

Family dropped us at the curb at MSP at 1100. By 1110 we had tickets and were through security and walking around the mall inside. As we sat down to enjoy an incredibly overpriced lunch, United emailed that our first leg to Chicago would be delayed due to a "delay" in the incoming aircraft. Our connection in the windy city was just an hour to make our international leg. So we wandered down the terminal to see the gate agent at the flight departing an hour early. He placed us on the stand by list but in a packed waiting area I had little faith.

By the time I got Jody the customer service agent on the phone I had been directed to another gate twice but no one was there. Jody was wonderfully sympathetic at the situation (honeymoon) and the lack of connectivity between United and Lufthansa code share flights. She reserved us two of the three remaining spaces on the 2130 Lufthansa departure from Chicago but did not ticket the flight on the off chance we may make it. As minutes ticked away we learned that our delayed outbound flight was supposed to land at Gate B17. Our outbound Lufthansa flight was scheduled for B18. Really? Little tiny connector next to 747, at O'Hare?

Yup.

We never made stand by and flew on our original leg. And as we turned the corner on the tarmac at 1558 in ORD, Josh piped up from his window seat, "I see a Lufthansa plane next to our gate."

So, there we are. Two minutes from the departure of our second leg, pulling up in a commuter plane next to the big 747 as the fuel trucks pull away. Now, poor Josh had had to check his back pack and needed to wait for it on the gangway as I sprinted up and upon emerging from the doorway, looked to my right and yelled "Hendrickson party" multiple times as I ran toward the unsuspecting Lufthansa agents.

"Where have you been?  We have been calling for you."
"We just arrived, next door" as I gestured out the window to point at our tiny jet next to the jumbo.

And then he did the unthinkable- he told them to open the door. And they did.

"Where is your husband?"
"Gate checked his bag. Shall I go down and scream for United to hurry up the offload?" (Just trying to help with my skillset)
"No. Let us see if the computer will even let you on. If we cannot update the manifest we cannot let you on."
I gazed longingly at the open door at the gate, "We are on our honeymoon. Does that help?"
Behind me there was an audible sigh. I turned to see the queue of people waiting to board the plane I ran off of witnessing my saga. Some with bemused looks on their faces, some with sympathy, some with headshakes. Somewhere there is an instagram with a picture of me titled, "this is what desperate looks like"

After multiple punches on the key board the now 3 gate agents were unable to unlock the manifest and get us on. They were able to get us sidebyside seats on the next outbound at 2130.

As they printed the tickets, Josh arrived with his yellow bag. I introduced him to the helpful agent, Mr. Boes, who was so delighted that I didn't really freak out and was polite the whole time he gave us free entry to the United Club.

Hand in hand, Josh and I followed a wonderful agent, Marika, to the club and immediately saddled up to the bar for a few small glass of red wine.

Our nearly 5 hours in Chicago found us walking around the terminals and looking at "old pretty airplanes" as my father would call them, before we settled in for some sushi and sake. With new magazines bought and another IPA (dessert) in our bellies we boarded at 2130. 

After the misery that is an overnight international flight in economy seating with screaming toddlers all around, we lifted the shades as we descended on Bavaria. The green hills, red roofs, and zooming autos on the Autobahn was a welcome-and for me- familiar site. With a customs stamp in our passport our final leg to Finland was a breeze. With plenty of minutes to spare.

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