Got to Chicago from SJC in fine shape after taking off in a driving rain. Had three hours in Chicago, talked with a few travellers, bounced around a terminal, got to the gate about 75 minutes before departure and noticed a couple of guys there with Rockwell/Collins shirts on, not a good sign since Rockwell/Collins makes Avionic gear. Plane comes in , unloads, crew changes, I look in cockpit and there's the Maintenance guys with the Reflective Vests on and I'm getting en even worse feeling, then fifteen minutes later the captain gets off the place with his Jeppsen cases. Announcement made that this place had been taken out of service for Mechanical matters, but they have two backup planes for us and they will let us know which gate we'll go to!
I had looked at the booking numbers and of 240 seats they only had 65 filled.
After 20 more minutes they announce that the flight has been cancelled and the options were either hotel and meals in Chicago and come back on Wednesday or take the 2 hour later flight to Frankfurt and fly to Paris on a Lufthansa connector, and they say they'll take of the baggage. I'm the first in line for rebooks (pays to have travelled a lot and know airports and how they work) so I pick the Frankfurt option and after they do all the stuff I notice we've got an hour and 10 minute connection in Frankfurt, I figure they must know what they are doing so I didn't ask anything else, then closer to departure time I notice a lot of the Paris people are on the Frankfurt flight.
Notice how the original flight was only booked to 65 or so? Got on the Frankfurt flight and even with a bunch of us Paris people on it, there was room in the back for people to have a whole row to sleep! Before boarding I found another Paris passenger and we came to the conclusion that is was more cost effective for American to cancel a flight and load us onto to a another one than to fly the flight empty; AA must have been lightly booked coming back from CDG on Wednesday on the return plane! Captain also said that half the people on the Frankfurt flight were really going to Paris, so I figured there's safety in numbers~
Flight was OK, crew was a little surly and loud with banging carts around all night so sleep was at a minimum, Mom was a bit more confused with all the hub-bub of changing flights and gates and stuff, then we get to Frankfurt and I'm presented with the Frankfurt Airport! Come into International Terminal at 1050 with a 1200 depart from gate A30. Have no idea where to go, how to get there, no helpful agents, its basically everyone for themselves, people in Chicago didn't tell me if we needed to reclaim baggage in Frankfurt before going to connectors, one nice French lady told me that AA in Chicago told her that the bags were checked through! Whew.
Then we only had to figure out how to get to A30 through the Frankfurt Airport! Firstly there's a Passport Control, a moving sidewalk (kinda hard for Mom but she did fine) then a lift downstairs to the shopping Mall part of most European Airports, then to a security point again where the wonderfully efficient Germans have this down to a fine science, Mom's getting tired now and wondering 'why do we have to do this' and I'm getting a little tired too 'just do what I say to do Mom' and I get another 'I love you!'. We get through all that, put the coats back on, the shoes back on, and now we're at gate A1 at 11:35.
Alas, a motorized cart! We commandeer that, and the driver tells us that the terminal is 2.5 KM long and walking it would kill Mom! He gets us there in 7 Minutes, now we have to deal with the lines of a full 737-500. Lucky for German efficiency that the head gate agent says she put all our reservations in the system before we all for there (about 35 of us Paris people she said and then said 'you and your mom were at the top of the list'), hands us boarding cards, the people on the plane accomodate us for seats by each other. We get off almost on time, get to Paris on time, and now comes the baggage situation!
DeGaulle Airport is weird, you go up from the arrival level to get to Baggage Claim on a rubber moving walkway inside a plastic tube, this kinda freaks Mom out a bit, then we have to find where the baggage claim really is, and after all that and the change of flights, our bags show up! Now Mom's getting really funny, she thinks we're back in California and that the neighbors are coming to get us, I finally find the way out of the baggage claim (thank goodness again for the Euro standard of free sturdy baggage carts) and find our driver who is transporting us to downtown Paris!
Mom's kinda out of it by the time we get to the hotel, she wants to open up the garage door and put the bags in the car, have to tell her over and over again we're in Paris and not in California, get up to the room, its small but fine, and with the drizzly weather its fine for Mom to put her nightie on and go to bed, I sort out the room Internet (its a room number and last name thing and with a last name like mine I should know they'd get it wrong, like most everyone does, so after a call to Warsaw I finally figure it out, must be tired myself).
Then have to re-acquaint Mom with the euro-toilet and the big button and little button (for big flush and little flush), its a weird system but it sure works!
So now Mom's been resting for a couple of hours and less confused, we're heading to bed shortly after 1800 to awaken in the morning for breakfast and then some touring around Paris, hope the weather is better!
Later and pictures from Paris!
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