Early this morning, 04:00 to be precise, I set in motion the final steps toward home only to have them thwarted by a still unexplained error. In the final days leading up to my departure I bet I checked the Delta Airlines website twenty times a day to ensure my travel itinerary had not been altered. Every time it was unchanged. I had not checked it within the last day as I felt certain it would not change within the final 24 hours. However, I would find as I was trying to check in that there was some sort of error that was inexplicable and so far remains so.
The first two legs of my flights home were supposed to be with Air France, a partner of Delta. I was to fly from Copenhagen to Paris, and then Paris to Atlanta, GA before heading home. However, Air France had absolutely no record of my reservations. Nothing. They did not even show I existed as a Delta customer. I showed the hard copy print out of my confirmed reservations and set in motion a cacophony of confusion as Air France tried to solve the mystery of my existence. When it became obvious that the mystery would not be solve with any sort of efficiency I suggested they stop trying to solve the unknown and set about trying to find a way to get me home. There was only a very short time frame left to get me on the original flights to the US, so I was beginning to get a bit anxious. Turns out there were no seats left on either of the first two legs of my journey. At this point I suggested trying to find alternatives in an effort to prevent an international incident. Honestly, I was approaching the edge of my patience. This was clearly an error on the part of Air France; there was no weather; there was no obvious excuse other than a booking error on the part of AF.
My original itinerary was now moot. Ultimately I was booked on Scandinavian Airlines, SAS, to Amsterdam; however, I had to pay some sort of fee, a luggage fee or rebooking fee that was not originally a necessity with my original schedule. You better believe someone will reimburse me; phone calls will be made sometime the first business day after I get home, but the important things at this point was to get home. I said book it and give me a receipt.
So, finally nearly three hours after my original itinerary had me leaving Copenhagen I was on a plane home. I arrived in Amsterdam to weather. It had been snowing and the airport was experiencing delays, one of which would affect my travel. My flight out of Amsterdam was delayed an hour because of snow and ice on the runways. So to now I had lost almost four hours off my original itinerary, but somehow the final leg of the journey was the exact same final leg of the original flight plan. And I made it. I arrived at Tulsa International Airport at the originally scheduled time. So here it is, my actual travels home: Copenhagen to Amsterdam to Chicago O’Hare to Memphis to Tulsa.
Tori and Lexi were waiting for me as I left the ramp. It was so good to see them. I bet Lex and I hugged for twenty minutes. It sure felt good to hold her again. Once my luggage came down the belt it was to the car and then on to Tahlequah. I nearly fell asleep several times on the ride home; Lexi did. Good thing Tori didn’t; she was driving.
Once we got home I took only a few items inside, decided just to leave the bags in the car until in the morning when I might feel more like handling them. I showered and headed to bed, to sleep in my own bed for the first time in ten weeks. Good night Denmark; I miss you already.
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