Our travel plans from Moscow to Minneapolis last Friday left us with only an hour between our Aeroflot flight landing in Amsterdam and our Northwest flight departing for the Twin Cities. We were fortunate in that Aeroflot got us in a few minutes early. And I might add in style. Their business class lived up to billing, unlike the poor excuse for premium seating that I experienced on KLM from Amsterdam to Moscow earlier in the week. Crammed in the middle of three seats between a lanky Yank and a beefy Brit (who turned out to be quite an interesting if difficult to understand bloke) was not what I considered an upgrade. Aeroflot definitely had the edge. And since they are now also part of the Sky Team (miles baby, it's all about the miles), they will be the carrier of choice for this particular segment heretofore.
Anyway, we made our flight without incident. After settling in and having a Scotch, dinner, a couple of glass of wine, and running off a string of trivia victories on the in-flight entertainment system, I was ready to catch a few hours of much needed restorative slumber before touching down at MSP. Yes, all was definitely right with the world.
Until I was rudely interrupted with word of an in-flight medical emergency somewhere over the nether regions of northern Canada. The crew went into full blown crisis mode and we were shortly told that we would be diverting to Goose Bay. Apparently a teenage girl had a seizure (grand mal variety) during the flight and needed prompt medical attention. Word spread quickly, as it usually does it such circumstances, that she had also had a similar seizure at the gate before boarding. This led to speculation about why she had been allowed to board the flight in the first place and questions about the competency of the medical staff at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.
We made an approach to Goose Bay, but did not land. The pilot informed us that the runway equipped for instrument approaches was under construction and so we had attempted a visual. The weather was a bit soupy and we didn't have the minimums required to land. On to Gander, Newfoundland.
At this point, it was obvious that were a long way off our original flight path and that we needed to take on fuel to make Minneapolis. Sure enough, after we landed in Gander and medical personnel removed the girl and her father (she was reported to be in good condition, the father's state, especially mental, was unclear), the pilot informed us that we would need to gas up.
Most of the passengers took the affair in stride. There was some minor grumbling about what kind of father would have let his daughter get on the flight or why the medical authorities in Amsterdam would have allowed it, but overall there seemed to be an appreciation that it was just one of those things. One woman in front of me broke open her souvenir candy to share and there was a good deal of camaraderie on display. Of course this was in the World Business Class section. God only knows what the prols back in coach were doing to each other during the delay. Unspeakable acts no doubt.
Finally, after fueling up and revising the flight plan, we left Gander. We arrived in Minneapolis four hours later than originally scheduled. For me it was an annoyance. For those who missed their connecting flights, a major hassle. It was an experience that I haven't had before and leaves me with one burning question:
Do we get the miles for Gander?
No comments:
Post a Comment