Final approach
It’s time to settle the cliffhanger and to give due praise to Northwest Airlines. As I arrived at Memphis, the gate crew immediately tried to assist me with my passport issue. The final result: My passport was to arrive the next day and I was rebooked for the flights for that day. I was also given hotel and meal vouchers for Memphis.
I used the extra night to rest and change, and the next day I went so see Elvis’ mansion - Graceland. Later I arrived at the airport and got my passport at the gate.
The flight from Memphis to Amsterdam was on a brand new A330 which included a VOD entertainment system for all passengers. The system also allowed sending text messages from the plane for only $2.50 per message. I sent two.
The next flight was a short flight to Lisbon on KLM. The scheduled arrival time of this flight left little time between arrival and the time I should present my poster.
As Murphy would have it, this was the only flight that did not arrive early. We had a 5 min delay on departure and then during final approach, after the crew was ordered to sit down, the pilot had to abort the landing and perform a “go around”, which means take off again, circle the airport and re-attempt. The reason given: the runway was “occupied”. KLM had their share of problems using occupied runways, the most spectacular at Tenerife.
That, however, was not the end of my problems. My luggage did not show up at Lisbon. A quick check recovered my luggage which has been mistakenly labeled “RUSH”, which means it does not show up at the belt.
After retrieving my luggage. I had to wait in line for a taxi. The driver then took me to the wrong hotel and had to correct himself (I think he did it on purpose to make more money). I ended up paying €55, but arrived on time.
Later I took a taxi to my hotel, used the very small shower and reasonably priced restaurant and went to sleep.
Tomorrow: I fly to Germany on AirBerlin, seat 1-A. Stay Tuned.
