Sometimes you book a more expensive flight, thinking that with fewer layovers and a very direct flight from CDG to SLC, all will go smoothly. But the travel Gods like to have their way with us on occasion, and such was my fate this Christmas Day.
The flight from Moscow got underway a tad late...not surprisingly we had to de-ice the plane. Not late enough to be concerned about. Then there were the headwinds, which apparently slowed our plane down approximately 20 minutes. Something to be slightly nervous about when your layover before an international flight is only 1 hour 20 minutes. But I was still calmly confident that I would be easily homeward bound as planned. Then we landed. 45 minutes before departure. And waited. And waited. And waited for a solid 20 minutes. Our gate was apparently occupied. After a seriously mad and sweaty sprint across the airport, through another security checkpoint, I arrived at my gate, saw the plane, and the final people walking down the walkway to board.
I was told my flight was closed. And despite the fact that I could see people continuing to board, I was Shut Down! Denied. I tried being sweet and American and then I went for demanding Russian. In the end, I even broke out the obnoxious French attitude, but alas to no avail.
And I'm admittedly emotional. Travel crises on two hours of sleep are not my forte. And while some of that emotion stems from disappoint (my family had put Christmas on hold for me after all!), at the moment I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. Reading through Christmas and holiday greetings from loved ones around the world, I'm feeling unbelievably blessed.
When it comes down to it, holidays are really about the people in your life and the time you are able to spend with them. And I have some seriously amazing people in my life, to miss and be missed by. It's truly a gift.
And now...on to NYC! And eventually SLC!
Merry Christmas, Round 2!!!
The flight from Moscow got underway a tad late...not surprisingly we had to de-ice the plane. Not late enough to be concerned about. Then there were the headwinds, which apparently slowed our plane down approximately 20 minutes. Something to be slightly nervous about when your layover before an international flight is only 1 hour 20 minutes. But I was still calmly confident that I would be easily homeward bound as planned. Then we landed. 45 minutes before departure. And waited. And waited. And waited for a solid 20 minutes. Our gate was apparently occupied. After a seriously mad and sweaty sprint across the airport, through another security checkpoint, I arrived at my gate, saw the plane, and the final people walking down the walkway to board.
I was told my flight was closed. And despite the fact that I could see people continuing to board, I was Shut Down! Denied. I tried being sweet and American and then I went for demanding Russian. In the end, I even broke out the obnoxious French attitude, but alas to no avail.
And I'm admittedly emotional. Travel crises on two hours of sleep are not my forte. And while some of that emotion stems from disappoint (my family had put Christmas on hold for me after all!), at the moment I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. Reading through Christmas and holiday greetings from loved ones around the world, I'm feeling unbelievably blessed.
When it comes down to it, holidays are really about the people in your life and the time you are able to spend with them. And I have some seriously amazing people in my life, to miss and be missed by. It's truly a gift.
And now...on to NYC! And eventually SLC!
Merry Christmas, Round 2!!!
I'm not very good at travel snafus either - whether I have a full night's sleep or not! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteAirports and rushing inside to catch boarding is always so stressful. Hope you're having fun holidays back home to make up for it. Happy New Year!
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