KLM "Cityhopper" Regional Jet
My trip home from Helsinki which began on 5-Dec was a bit more complicated than planned, thanks to multiple cancellations of flights because of aircraft mechanical issues.
I wrapped up the training I was doing for Hitachi Data Systems on Monday, 14-Dec, and was scheduled to fly home the next day. My original itinerary was to be a reverse of the outbound trip: an early-morning flight from Helsinki (HEL) to Amsterdam (AMS), then AMS to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta (ATL), with a final hop from ATL to Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans (MSY). This trip was off to a bad start from the beginning.
(more after the jump)
At about 0600 local time at HEL, the gate agents for KLM (who were contractors to a local airport service company) began arguing at the gatehouse desk. Since said argument was in Finnish, I didn't quite follow. A couple of minutes later, the pilot came back up the jetway from the KLM Airbus A320 we were to fly to AMS and joined the discussion. In English, the pilot explained that there was a mechanical problem with the aircraft. He apologized, said it was a brand new A320, just put into service by KLM a week ago, therefore, with typical pilot-casual arrogance, he couldn't imagine it being something serious. The problem was, KLM did not have a licensed aircraft mechanic at HEL. Like many airlines, they use a contract mechanic on an on-call basis. That meant a 45-minute delay at a minimum for the call-out and diagnosis.
An hour later, the flight was cancelled, via an announcement in English by the pilot (who was Dutch). This caused a stir in the gatehouse. Clearly the gate agents did not want to do KLM's dirty work. It was difficult to determine if they were just lazy or if they didn't want to be the bearers of bad news because they worked for a contract company. We were instructed to pick up luggage downstairs at baggage claim and then re-directed to a KLM service desk. My bag was forever coming out, so the service desk was jammed with frustrated/annoyed/angry passengers. I sat down in line and rang the Delta "special services" line. Delta re-booked my itinerary, putting me on a 11am HEL-AMS flight. Since I would miss the AMS-ATL leg, they put me on flight DL259, the second Northwest Airlines flight, AMS to Detroit (DTW), of the day. I had to walk the length of the terminal building to get back to the KLM check-in desk, where they once again took my bag and re-issued my boarding passes.
The two-hour HEL-AMS flight was an uneventful flight on a regional jet like the one in the photo above. We landed at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam with enough time for me to clear Dutch passport control and grab a quick bite to eat. I made it to the gate, cleared security (at Schiphol, they do ID and carryon inspection at the gate), and sat down to wait.
And wait. And wait. The Northwest A330 we were to fly to DTW also had mechanical difficulties. The KLM staff manning the gate (KLM employees at Schiphol) explained that they really wanted to get this flight out if possible, because, even delayed, we would be better off in Detroit. So would they, given the cost of hotel rooms they'd have to pay for in Euros at AMS. Alas, after two hours of waiting, they were forced to cancel DL259 on the 15th. Another call to Delta special member services, and I was re-booked on DL253. A very-courteous KLM staff put me up in the Crowne Plaza near Schiphol, bought me dinner and breakfast, and the hotel even bought me a drink at the bar. My luggage stayed in the system, otherwise I would have changed clothes and hopped on the inter-city train for dinner in Utrecht.
I returned to Schiphol on Wednesday morning, 16-December, for DL253. I checked in at a KLM Business/Elite desk, where a professional and lovely (in both looks and personality) lady took care of finalizing the re-booking of the flight. This slowed me down a bit, but not critically so. The passport control lines are always longer for people entering AMS from outside the airport than the EU-International crossover zone inside, so getting in was slow going. Fortunately, I had a good breakfast at the hotel, so no worries here.
I had my passport scanned and cleared the personal security screening at the gate with no difficulties. When I went to the boarding line, however, I ran into a problem. The KLM gate agent manning the boarding line was one of those types who behaves like a kindergarten teacher who is fired for being too anal-retentive. She demanded I produce a paper ticket.
When a passenger ends up re-booking more than once on an international itinerary, the e-ticket system tends to break down. There are a number of fees and tariffs on international air travel, so the computers kick the itinerary back into the traditional "paper-ticket" systems. Experienced gate agents are aware of this and take care of the warning flags for the by now frazzled passenger.
Alas, this KLM gate agent was either inexperienced, or just naturally hostile. Perhaps both. She demanded my paper ticket. I said I had none. She then thought I was a fraud, since my boarding pass said "paper ticket required" I explained that I got that boarding pass from her colleague at the KLM business/elite ticket desk there at AMS, but she would have none of it. I must have a paper ticket. I said, I'm sorry, but her colleague did not issue me one. She then demanded a print-out of my e-ticket. That's when I got snippy and snarky. I said "if I printed it out, it wouldn't be an electronic ticket, would it?" She then demanded I get out of the line and wait at the desk in the gatehouse for one of those agents to return. When her colleague returned to the desk, the more experienced lady called me up on the computer. Casting one of those "you moron" looks to the younger agent (who was looking over, expecting to be vindicated), she walked me back to the front of the check-in line and sent me through. I went through the x-ray/metal detector routine and boarded the plane.
The AMS-DTW flight was uneventful. The combination of no sleep the previous night and self-hypnosis MP3s put me out quickly. I skipped the first meal service, getting about 5 hours' sleep. I ate the microwave pizza and watched a movie. Soon enough, we landed at DTW.
My suitcase did not make it on DL253 for some reason, so getting through ICE was actually simpler. There was a Delta (former NW) agent right after Customs control (the last thing before passengers get out of federal limbo) manning a table with all the domestic boarding passes for the disrupted fliers. She told me to deal with the baggage issue at MSY, gave me a boarding pass, and sent me on my way. I had a nice chicken sandwich and two pints of Guinness at the "Irish pub" on the B concourse at DTW and was more than ready to go home.
The DTW-MSY flight was on an Embraer 190. This is a model of regional jet that has seats three across: a seat, the aisle, then two seats. It's also got first class seating. I plopped in one of those first-class seats, was served a glass of red wine, then read/napped/read (and red) all the way home.
At MSY, the gentleman who is at the Delta Baggage desk saw me coming and was not happy about that. This was the fourth or fifth time my bag has been delayed by DL this year. Because the bag was in the KLM/Northwest system, they didn't have a clear picture of where it was. I was tired and just asked they find it for me. It ended up on an AMS-MEM flight the next day and arrived at the house on Thursday evening.
Overall, even though I was plagued with cancellations and re-bookings, I was treated fairly well by the SkyTeam folks. With the exception of one very-rude KLM agent at AMS, I can't complain. I'm just hopeful I don't get two flight cancellations in the same trip anytime soon.
