Where has the Time gone? - Part 3: Going Home - the f*** you are...

Day 6 – October 3rd, 2023

Waiting for my train at Graz Main Station.

All good things come to an end. That is certainly the case for this trip, and after breakfast, it’s time to stuff my trolley with several kilograms of newly bought sweets, drinks and other assorted purchases. That done, it’s just a quick tram ride to Graz Main Station, followed by a quick S-Bahn ride out to the airport. I get quite the welcome at the airport as well as, right after the train has pulled out of the station, two Eurofighter Typhoons of the Austrian Air Force thunder over the airport with full afterburners, and predictably loud results. I try to catch them with my phone camera, but they’re just too fast, and a repeat performance is not forthcoming, not least since the military part of Graz Airport was shut down a long time ago.

Sorry I couldn't get a better shot, but the Eurofighter Typhoon (dot in the centre) isn't really a slow machine.

There's no doubt about where to walk to get to the airport!

This single-story part of the terminal was actually the entire terminal until the early 2000s!

The Check-In area at Graz Airport.

Panorama of the entire airport area. More airports should have viewing decks.

Yeah, this isn't exactly Heathrow or Amsterdam.

The airport itself is both modern and delightfully old fashioned. The terminal and architecture are very much a product of the 21st century, however the signage, layout and boarding procedures are very much a throwback to earlier days of aviation, in a good way. Another throwback is the viewing deck on the first floor, next to some event spaces and the airport restaurant, Graz being one of the few airports that still have one. It’s freely accessible too, without so much as a security check in sight. After whiling away a bit of time on the viewing deck, the check-in counters for my flight finally open. For some reason, I‘m not able to check in online, but the regular check-in is quick and easy. Together with my ticket, I get an invite to the upstairs business class lounge. Where do you get that these days? Most lounges will just ask you to scan their bar code. Anyway, the obligatory security check is quick and painless, and given that the airside area at Graz Airport is rather limited, I quickly make my way upstairs to the business class lounge. Access is completely automated, and once inside, I’m once again impressed with the panoramic views. More airports should have lounges like this!

With just a café and a duty free shop, the airside area at Graz airport is actually quite limited.

These ground floor gates do have a certain charm though.

The views through the panoramic windows are great. All lounges should have this kind of view.

You gotta keep track of your inbound flight...

I do have to admit that, as uncomfortable as it is, the CRJ-900 looks quite good.

As my departure gets closer, the airport begins to get busier.

I still have quite a bit of time to kill, so I use this time to sort my notes from the last few days. So much has happened that I haven’t really had time to order my thoughts in any effective way. Between this, watching the aircraft for my return flight make its way down from Amsterdam on Flightradar24, and watching the mostly empty apron at Graz slowly fill up with incoming aircraft, the time passes quicker than expected and just like that, my time in Austria is almost at an end. By the time I finish packing up, the aircraft for my flight, a six-year-old Embraer E175 with the registry PH-EXT, is already parked at its stand.

A very welcome cool surprise, given the weather...

Apologies for the smudges, the window wasn't exactly clean...

Boarding starts bang on time and is via bus, which seems a bit excessive at first, given the small size of the airport. However, our aircraft does turn out to be parked quite a bit away near the general aviation area, so it does make sense. Much to my delight, the seat next to me remains empty on this flight. Unfortunately, KLM’s E170/175 fleet hasn’t received the same new seats that some of their larger cousins have been getting, which is a bit of a bummer. Boarding is completed quickly, and we start engines and taxi towards the runway right on time again, pushback not being necessary. 

We taxi to the runway via taxiway Bravo, which is right next to our aircraft stand. however instead of backtracking to the end of Runway 34 C and taking off to the north, which I was expecting, we go for a shortened take-off run to the south on Runway 16, which is still more than long enough for us to get airborne. With my first intersection take-off under my belt, we quickly turn north over the hills of southern Styria, our route allowing me for a nice overhead view of the airport, as well as one final look at Graz, Schlossberg and all. When will I be back? Will I have a chance to be back at all? I don’t know, and for the time being, I don’t really care as I enjoy the spectacle of the alps playing out below me. While the views aren’t quite as spectacular this time around, I do get a breath-taking view of the eastern alps, from the Mur and Mürz valleys that form one of the country’s industrial hearts, to the city of Leoben and the nearby massive Donawitz steel works, and the town of Eisenerz with its pyramidal Erzberg mountain, the largest siderite ore deposit in the world. On a more personal note, I nearly ended up in a boarding school here in Eisenerz rather than in Bad Aussee. Thankfully, things turned out differently. 

Looking back at Graz Airport.

A final look at the city of Graz.

The valleys of the Mur (bottom centre) and Mürz (top centre) form one of the industrial hearts of Austria. They're also an active fault zone...

The city of Leoben (bottom right), with the Donawitz steel works (bottom centre). I used to change trains here twice every week.

The Erzberg (centre right) is one of the largest open cut ore mines in the world, certainly the largest in Europe. The town if Eisenerz is immediately to the left of it.

North of Eisenerz, the mountains mellow out into the northern foothills of the Alps.

Those foothills eventually give way to the wide valley of the Danube.

The Danube valley is another industrial centre, with the cities of Wels (bottom left) and Linz (centre), being two major hotspots.

After this, the rugged peaks of the limestone alps slowly disappear behind me, making way for the gentler northern foothills and eventually the vast plains of the Danube valley near Linz. And as if to draw a curtain on the whirlwind of the last few days, a solid cloud cover forms shortly after we cross the border with Germany. This cloud cover stays with us until well into our descent, with the ground only becoming clearly visible again over the polders of Flevoland in the Netherlands. Clouds and the occasional rain shower stay with us until our touchdown on Schiphol Airport’s Runway 27. Now there’s a runway you don’t see in use too often, and to celebrate, we win… an airport tour, since the regional aircraft stands are on the diametrically opposed side of the airport. 

Yeah, I don't think we're in Austria anymore...

Back on the ground at Schiphol.

After the obligatory bus ride, I’m in the terminal, and quickly thereafter, also in the non-Schengen area. With a couple of hours to kill before my evening flight to Cork, I make my way to the KLM Crown Lounge. To be honest, getting lounge access was the primary reason I’d upgraded in the first place. Now this isn’t my first time in the non-Schengen Crown lounge. I’d been here before, in November 2017. But I’ll be honest, I wasn’t in the best state of mind to appreciate the facilities, given that I was just returning from arranging my dad’s funeral. I’ll say one thing though, the lounge definitely didn’t look like THIS when I was last hear. In the years since 2017 and 2018, the KLM Crown Lounge has been completely redesigned and massively expanded. It is now a massive multi-level facility, with numerous different food & drinks stations and themed seating areas, and even a premium restaurant on the top level. And even though the latter, and much of the upstairs part of the lounge, is already closing down by the time I make it to the lounge, the remainder is more than enough to keep me fed, watered, and charged until it’s time to head to the gate.

Talk about a lounge!

That’s when the fun begins! When I arrive at my gate after a fifteen-minute walk, I can see that my flight is delayed by 90 minutes. Well, that sucks. But what can you do? This is the reason why I’d taken the day after my return off as well when I’d booked my time off for this trip. So, it’s straight back to the lounge where thankfully they let me back in to burn some more time. By the time I leave at 9.40 PM, they’re already closing the lounge, and when I arrive at my gate, I find out that another 30 minutes have been added to the delay. The inbound aircraft finally arrives on its stand at around 10 PM and after some Benny Hill antics down on the apron, we finally board at 11 PM, and push back soon thereafter, with the seat next to me remaining empty. The engines are started and… nothing. We stand on the taxiway without moving.

You've got to be sh**ting me!

This was supposed to be my ride back to Cork. The best laid plans of men and mice.

Finally, the captain comes on over the PA system. Apparently, there’s a fault with the wheel brakes of our aircraft, and we need to wait for KLM line maintenance to send out a team to check the issue…. Which is going to take time since our fault coincides with the shift change at the KLM maintenance base. Shortly thereafter, the engines power down and we are towed back to the stand. The maintenance crew eventually arrives, but the issue is not something that they can fix. The aircraft will need to go to the hangar to be properly serviced. So, I guess that means that I have my first flight cancellation. Now our delay comes back to bite in a big way. Despite the fact that Amsterdam is a major hub, KLM’s hub operation is scaled back massively overnight and the staff at the transfer desks has gone home for the night. While the captain tries to make some form of arrangements for us, one of the passengers becomes increasingly agitated and belligerent, attempting to intimidate and threaten. I’d noticed this particular individual before when he’d laid down and spread over an entire bench at the gate despite the fact that many people had no place to sit. Thankfully, he calms down eventually as we’re allowed back into the terminal. I later hear him loudly complaining into his phone in German… figures… It’s these types of people that made emigrating to Ireland so easy.

That being said, the initial situation is not pretty. I’m stuck at Schiphol at midnight without an onward flight, without a place to stay, and with a dangerously depleted bank account. KLM promises to reimburse any cost we might incur as a result of this incident, but for the moment, the passengers are on their own. I eventually get a place to sleep at YotelAir, an airside capsule hotel, helping another German passenger who barely speaks any English to get a place there as well. The prices are atrocious and the cabins more closely resemble sleeper train compartments, or the pilot quarters aboard the Battlestar Galactica, but it’s private, has a bed and a bathroom for me, and I can catch a few hours of sleep and freshen up. Sorry, no pictures, but I was just too tired at that point,

Day 7 – October 4th 2023

This definitely isn’t what I’d planned, but oh well… My alarm goes off at 6.30 AM and I’m out of the hotel at 7, picking up my invoice on the way out. Overnight, KLM had rebooked me onto KL1087, the afternoon flight to Cork. It’s not ideal, but that is the earliest KLM flight to Cork. That leaves me with quite a few hours to kill, which isn’t really hard. I’m an aviation nut after all. But first, I have to sort out some admin stuff. My business class upgrades had not been transferred over from my previous booking, and my first order of business is to get that sorted out, primarily of course for lounge access. To their credit, the KLM ground staff are able to get that sorted out within ten minutes and turn a “grumpy sleep-deprived passenger into a happy sleep-deprived passenger”.

I want my money back. (And I got it!)

I don't think I've ever been at Schiphol this early...

Even though I now have KLM Crown Lounge access again, I decide to wait a little before heading back out to the lounge. I don’t want to overstay my welcome. So, I make my way to the Airport Library on “Holland Boulevard”, the link between departure lounges 2 and 3 that also houses a branch of the famous Rijksmuseum. Here, my second order of business, apart from some social media posts, is to submit my claim for hotel costs as well as statutory compensation as per EU Reg 261/2004. 

With that out of the way, and after an absolutely wonderful impromptu piano concert courtesy of another passenger, I’m in dire need of an infusion of caffeine and sugar in the shape of an absolutely monstrous Starbucks coffee. With that out of the way, It’s time to head back to the Crown Lounge, which is absolutely bustling. Still, I have ample time and space to both relax and get some work done, as well as meet some of the robot denizens of the lounge, a number of robots that effectively look like overgrown blue Roombas and have a number of trays at their backs for you to drop off your used glasses and plates. It’s really thoughtful of KLM to give jobs to some of R2-D2s less fortunate cousins, always nice to see a company being aware of their social responsibility.

R2-D2s cousin trying to put their life back together at the KLM Crown Lounge.

Eventually, it is time to head out again, this time to a bus gate on E-Pier at Schiphol, another first for me. After another fifteen minutes of delay, boarding finally starts, and I recognise quite a number of faces, though my bellicose compatriot is thankfully nowhere to be seen. After a somewhat longer bus ride this time around, we reach our aircraft. PH-EXN is a thirteen-year-old Embraer E195, that, thankfully is equipped with the new type of seat already. This makes even row 1 acceptable, something I normally try to avoid like the plague. The flight is packed, with every seat taken, no surprise given last night’s cancellation. 

Here we go again...

Turning onto Runway 24

Airborne... finally!

This time, pushback goes off without a hitch, despite the fact that we’re parked all the way at the back of the regional aircraft ramp. I must admit though that this time around, I mentally check off every “milestone” we achieve: Pushback; Engine Start; Taxi; Line-Up on the Runway; and finally, take-off! This happens from Runway 24, another runway I don’t seem to fly from too often when I pass through Schiphol, and we turn onto a north-westerly heading shortly after take-off, the ground disappearing under clouds soon thereafter.

The flight, despite being pretty tight, is still a pleasant one. I get lucky with my seat neighbours, a group of college girls from Nevada who are going on a tour of Ireland, and their antics sure elicit the odd giggle from me. Looking back, I probably wasn’t at my most congenial and could have been a better person to be seated next to, but at this point, I just want to get home. Thankfully, the flight passes quickly enough, and as we pass over the St. George’s Channel, I can finally relax. If anything goes wrong now, at least I’ll land in Ireland. Soon enough, we begin our descent into Cork, following a familiar path, as w cross the coast just north of Youghal and heading for an ILS approach into Runway 16. The weather is typically Irish, with clouds and frequent gusts, but the approach turns out to be smoother than expected. The same cannot be said of the landing, which is “robust” to say the least. We taxi to Stand 8, and Gate 4 at Cork Airport, which means disembarking via jetway, which is music to my ears, and my knee, which still hasn’t forgiven me for my alpine antics.

Almost there.

Hey, I live down there. This is the first time I've seen Ballincollig from the air!

That doesn't look too busy...

And honestly, it feels good to be back. The Garda at Immigration welcomes me back by name, which is the first time that’s happened, and something I don’t think you’d get in Germany. After getting my luggage and saying goodbye to my acquaintances, I head straight for the first available taxi. Bank account or not, I’m in NO mood for Bus Éireann’s antics after THAT particular experience! I finally get home at 6 PM on October 4th, 30 hours after leaving my hotel in Graz.

Postscript – Compensation & Reimbursement

As I’m finally getting around to typing out this final section, six weeks after getting home, I feel it is only right to talk about a rather sizeable financial elephant in the room: The extra costs incurred because of the cancellation, my refund claim, and how KLM handled it

As per EU Legislation, any airline passenger delayed by more than three hours, or any passenger affected by cancellation is eligible for compensation, which can vary from 250€ to 600€ , as well as reimbursement of any related costs, provided they’re not excessive

However, just because something is enshrined in law, that doesn’t mean you actually get anything. Social Media is replete with passengers complaining about every airline under the sun, and nearly every single KLM social media post draws a similar cacophony. With that in mind, I was expecting the worst, when I submitted my claim and my expenses.

I needn’t had worried. I submitted my claim at 7.30 AM on October 4th, while I was still stuck in Amsterdam, expecting a total reimbursement of 509€, 250€ in EU261 compensation, and 259€ for that YotelAir cabin. I woke up on Saturday, October 10th, to find an email on my phone stating that my compensation request had not only been approved, but that I would actually be getting more than I’d expected. This was followed up by an automated payment notification on Monday evening, and by Wednesday morning, I’d received the money. I’d set myself up for a turnaround of at least three to four weeks, so this turned out to be a massive surprise.

Also, I need to point out another thing. Throughout the whole affair, and indeed throughout this whole trip, the KLM staff I dealt with were just a delight! They were cheerful without seeming over the top, helpful to a fault, up for a joke, and made the entire trip so much more pleasant. Actually, thinking back, I can’t remember the last time I met a KLM staff member who was in any way grumpy, surly, or disinterested. Cancellations can happen, airliners are some of the most complex pieces of engineering everyday people like me can get in contact with, and sometimes, these machines just simply break down.