Finding a Voice

I'm in Winnipeg right now for some student development meetings. Had a big adventure flying from Saskatoon to Winnipeg yesterday. Was supposed to fly direct on an 8:00 a.m. flight, but the blizzard was so bad we couldn't get off the ground, so they let us off the plane for about an hour & a half. Unfortunately, after they loaded the plane again, they couldn't shut the door properly because there was so much ice that it broke the seal on the door! So we got off again and had to go rearrange our flights. A lot of people got refunds from Air Canada and went over to Westjet. Since my meetings weren't actually until today, I was in no hurry, so explored my options with Air Canada. The next direct flight to Winnipeg was full. What about rerouting through Toronto? Yes, that could work. There was one flight to Toronto at 12:30 pm landing at 5:15, with 4 options for connecting to Winnipeg. So I chose the 8:00 connection and called a couple of friends (Bonita & my dear Lamb) to meet me for supper.

Everything was incredibly backed up in Saskatoon. As we Air Canada customers waited for our very delayed 12:30 flight, we heard the West Jet attendant announce over the intercom: "You're probably wondering, 'Where's my plane?' Well, I'm wondering the same thing." Unfortunately, it was so stormy in Saskatoon that the airport staff were having trouble keeping the runway cleared off (and the planes de-iced and the baggage loaded), so the Westjet flight was circling and circling. The WJ attendant assured the travellers with connections to Ottawa that Customer Care had decided to hold the plane for them in Toronto. A few minutes later the WJ attendant came on again with not so reassuring news: the plane was running out of fuel and couldn't keep circling, so was flying to EDMONTON to refuel! So much for switching to Westjet!

Good thing I didn't choose the 6:00 connection as my flight didn't leave Saskatoon until about 2:30 or 3:00 and we landed in Toronto around 6:40. That left just half an hour with my friends. Bonita was at the arrivals door to meet me and we immediately went upstairs to the Starbucks near departures to save rushing at the end of our visit. Lamb was nowhere to be seen, so I didn't know if he would be there. My cell phone rang as we were ordering drinks. It was an 888 number -- Lamb's calling card? Sure enough, there was his voice: "Hellooo! Where are you?"

I said, "We're at the Starbucks near the departure gate." Turning around to scan the area I asked, "Where are you?" and immediately saw him on a payphone about 100 feet away. "I see you!" I squealed, shutting off my phone and running to hug him at the same time.

We had only about forty minutes, but it was time in person that we wouldn't otherwise have had. What a gift so spend time with two very dear friends -- all made possible by mishap after mishap on a very long day. I know other travellers will not feel so positive about their delays, and many people are frustrated with both Air Canada and Westjet now, yet I couldn't help wondering what other divine encounters were had like me.

Labels: Air Canada, CACSD, friends, Lamb, travel