London Apr. 18: Leaving Amsterdam Schipol

Amsterdam Schipol International, Amsterdam Netherlands (AMS)

I checked the gate information and realized that the British Airways (BA) flight was at 12:10p, not 12:20p as I had thought. It was at gate D4 which was pretty far away actually about 10 minutes away. It was now 11:56p; you know an airport is large when your gate is 10 minutes away walking time.

I finally got to the gate at 12:09p and saw the airplane at the gate with the jetway still attached. I tried to get to the counter, but the security folks came over and asked me if I was on the flight. I said I’d like to, but if it is not possibly, it would not be an issue. They took my ticket and gave it to the agents and came back in a minute and said it was not possible. I thanked them and left.

I headed to the Transfer desk at Concourse E, which is far away and got checked in for KL1017. The agent there said that it was not looking good as the flight was overbooked and everyone who was checked in and connecting had already arrived. She wished me luck anyways and told me to try it.

Hearing that bit of good news, I decided to try and check on the bmi british midland (BD) flight at 1:45p. so off I went back to the Transfer area in the D Concourse. There was a sign there that said they were closed and to go to the gate at D22 which was really far away and close to where I had missed the British Airways flight. I went down there and there was no one at that gate as it was now about 12:30p. Aargh, I thought, this is becoming a little annoying.

I then journeyed back to the main concourse between D and E so I could use the KLM Crown Lounge. I had my credentials verified and settled in to a much need snack and refreshments. The Lounge now has WiFi as opposed to using the KPN Communications Centre’s that I think is run by the airport. I got the code and logged on and send some of the updates you got earlier. I love the Crown Lounge as they have a lot of stuff to eat and have an excellent unobstructed view of the gates and one of the main runway.

I started for the gate at 1:00p, just noticing that the estimated walk was 16 minutes. Ooh joy, I do have to hurry now. I got there at about 1:09p and as it turns out, the security guy remembered me from the other gate. We talked as he put my stuff through the x-ray machine.

Once through without beeping, I collected my stuff and went to the agent at the podium. The boarding process had already started so the area was not too crowded. Lucky for me, she already had a boarding pass for me with a window seat in Europe Select, their intra Europe Business Class cabin. I thanked her and boarded immediately.