Everyone needs a helping hand from time to time. As Editor Chad Merchant recently discovered, sometimes that hand can come at the most opportune time imaginable.
I was at the end of my recent annual visit to my home state of Colorado in the US and had barely slept at all on the final night, stressed over the upcoming series of flights that would return me to Malaysia. There was a fairly tight connection in Los Angeles, and I, in typical fashion, had spent the last few hours meticulously packing and repacking my trio of suitcases in a desperate effort to squeeze each of them in under the 23-kg limit. It was not a restful night’s slumber, and as the sun rose on D-day (that’s departure day) and I peered outside, it seemed my stress level was validated. Snow! For two weeks, the weather had been stunning… warm, sunny, a perfect reminder of why September is my favourite time of year in Colorado. But on the one day when I really needed it be warm and sunny, a cold front had blown in and brought Denver’s first snowfall of the season. Wonderful.
As I prepared to leave for the airport, I checked the airline’s website and to my dismay, saw that my flight had been delayed by 35 minutes. Things only got worse when I got to the airport and found that the flight time had been pushed back yet again, now a full hour later than scheduled. But even that was optimistic: A sold-out flight and dreadfully slow “open seating” boarding process saw us actually lifting off the runway over 90 minutes late, and about three hours before my flight from L.A. was set to leave. After the two-hour flight, I’d still have to get to baggage claim, get my suitcases, then hoof it all the way to the International Terminal, check in, go through security, and get to my gate. There was no way I was going to make this flight, and there wouldn’t be another Malaysia Airlines flight from L.A. for two days.
Having flown in and out of LAX several times before, I fortunately had the process down to a science, but with so little time, I wasn’t sure how useful that would be. Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to give up until I had no hope left at all. I seized a luggage cart, loaded up my seriously overweight carry-on bag, my computer, my camera case, my jacket, and what remained of my wits, and scampered up two levels to ticketing to get a “tardy excuse” from the airline, stating that I was delayed through no fault of my own. Note in hand, I then dashed back down to baggage claim to retrieve my two very heavy checked suitcases and then bolted off from Terminal 1 to the International Terminal – a full kilometre away. I arrived at International Departures a scant 25 minutes before takeoff and sprinted to the now-closed and darkened Malaysia Airlines counters. No one was there.
Again, I refused to give up. I went to the adjacent airline counters and (very panicked, I’m sure) expressed my dire need for someone from Malaysia Airlines. I was directed towards the offices on the next row over, and as I headed there, I saw a young guy named Ryan Gonzalez who appeared to be leaving. Once I established he was indeed with Malaysia Airlines, I told him of my desperate need to get on this flight if at all possible. He immediately sprang into action, got on his walkie-talkie and started coordinating with the gate, and then enlisted the help of another employee, Nikie Li, who briskly walked me over to an empty terminal and got me checked in, printed my boarding pass, and asked if it was okay with me if my luggage was sent on the next flight. I agreed rather emphatically, and it was at this point that I first thought that I might actually make this flight. Meanwhile, Ryan, who had raced off to clear my way through the security checkpoints, returned, and together, we took off running. I was escorted through airline crew security, did all the usual American “security theatre” rubbish – removing my jacket, my shoes, divesting every bit of metal from my pockets – then had all my carry-on paraphernalia x-rayed, reassembled myself and my bags, and raced for the gate, which was another 400 metres away… the very last gate in the terminal (of course).
Once on board, I stowed my bags and collapsed in my seat, panting and heaving, thinking, “Okay, I’ve really got to start back to the gym.” But I was astounded – shocked, really – to even be sitting there on that plane (which left on time). I still can’t believe I made the flight. Certainly some of it was down to my own tenacity, as well as my familiarity with LAX. But what really made it happen was the effort of those two wonderful Malaysia Airlines employees, Ryan and Nikie, who took up the challenge and, frankly, who cared enough to get me on that flight. It would have been easy for them to say they were sorry, but that it was too late and there was just no way. In the end, though, a professional “can-do” attitude and the simple act of lending a helping hand proved to be just enough to get me across the Pacific.
Source: The Expat November 2013
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