AND THEY'RE OFF.........not really. Icy runways, closed airports, delayed flights, missed connections, and all in the matter of a few hours. Back to the beginning.
We arrived at ICT early and got checked in. Unfortunately, Carolyn's bag weighed in at 63 lbs. and the limit was 50 lbs. Overweight fee = $200. OUCH! A very helpful United gate agent suggested that we re-arrange the weight to the other bags. Unfortunately, Delaney's bag weighed exactly 50 lbs, Adam's was 49 lbs. and mine was 43 lbs. For you math challenged, that means trying to cram 13 lbs. into an available 8 lbs. Second very helpful suggestion from the gate agent was to purchase another bag ($25) from the gift shop and check it as a second bag for only $35. Done and off to the gate. A short while later the gate agent announces that the airport is now closed due to icy runways and the plane that is to take us to Chicago is circling and unable to land. A few minutes later the agent announces that the plane is diverting to Tulsa. It is now clear that we are going to miss our connection. I stand in line for re-booking, and another very friendly and helpful gate agent begins looking at options for us. While he is trying to rebook us to Warsaw, he tells me that the computer is not letting him into our records because it appears that someone else is working on them. Turns out that Scandinavian Air somehow found out that we were going to miss our connection and was re-booking us on a new flight. How wonderful is that? United re-booked us out of Wichita Thursday morning to Chicago, then we depart on Scandinavian Air later that day for Stockholm, then onto Warsaw, arriving Friday 12:00 p.m. Warsaw time.
Sadly, it is not often that you hear of airlines doing well in the customer service department, so I would like to rectify that. Wichita is very fortunate to have such friendly and helpful United Airlines agents, and Scandinavian Air was on the ball rescheduling us even before our original flight departed. It is people like them that keep the airlines afloat. Uh... I mean in the air.
One more night in our own beds. Many thanks to Kelly M. for coming to get us and take us home, braving the icy roads and for Maggie M. for agreeing to take us tomorrow a.m.
G'night.