The "Pay Attention, Silly" Lesson - Friday, 24 May

First, some preliminaries.  The AirFrance flight to which I was shifted yesterday was jam-packed.  Lots of travelin’ going on!  

I was surprised that most of the flight attendants were men.  The one who had to unlock and restart my stuck-on-Japanese seat monitor multiple times (!) was quite witty as well!  The situation wasn't stressing me out or anything, but he certainly had some good defuse-the-situation skills.

Speaking of entertainment systems, check out the two classical music playlists!  I haven’t seen such extensive ones for years!  (You can click on any photo in this blog to see a larger version.)

So, then, here is this trip's first lesson in paying attention to everything!  

I failed to notice that the MSP Delta gate agent failed to transfer my request for wheelchair assistance Paris-side to my AirFrance boarding pass.  When I agreed to take the later flight I reminded her, but she did have a few things going on and clearly the rebooking process didn't handle it automatically.

End result?  Total confusion among the flight crew when I arrived in Paris because my name wasn’t on their list.  Multiple checking of paper lists and i-Pads, multiple conversations with multiple colleagues, multiple phone calls, multiple “could I see your boarding pass again” requests, multiple attempted explanations from me.  Sheesh!  Sorry for causing chaos!  

Finally, a ride on wheelchair #1 to a waiting area where a new bunch of CDG employees tried to figure out the same thing.  

Then wheelchair #2 to a new area where my “chair driver” thought I needed to transfer to another flight (despite the fact that my boarding pass clearly showed CDG as my final destination), then (after she took 10 minutes to check with her colleagues) down to the tarmac to take a rickety van through the underbelly of the airport, with stops at various locations to drop off or pick up other customers, then finally to the pre-passport-check arrival area to wait for more CDG employees to figure stuff out.

Then wheelchair #3 through passport check (that was speedy since I didn’t have to go through the long lines snaking through the stanchions/straps) and to baggage claim (by this time it was two hours since my flight had arrived, but happily my checked bag was still there) and down a long corridor to the reserved-taxi area.  Whew!  Made it!  

I keep reminding myself that I was awarded $1,000 for shifting from my original flight!  Now I keep reminding myself to pay attention, like all the time!