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Welcome

Friends,

Today’s story is one that I had fun recounting, so I am excited to share it with you. Unknowingly, the experience shaped my perspective on travel.

Airline world is also abuzz as Southwest announced fundamental changes to its business model a few hours ago. I will leave my commentary for another time.

850 words here—let’s get going.

Links

I mean, this is a cool X thread.

Southwest eviscerates their business model and becomes like everyone else.

Story

I stood at Beijing’s Terminal 2 check-in counter next to my friend as the agent looked up from her computer. Her eyes said it all: she could not check him in and she was not sure what to tell us.

We had also reached the extent of my Mandarin and her English, so there was not a lot left to say.

Stepping back to look at her computer screen, it was pretty clear what happened. Continental had not pushed the ticket over correctly, so while my friend’s itinerary reflected the new segments on Northwest the reservation system could not issue a boarding pass.

Or something like that. I was eighteen years old and knew nothing.

My slightly-older friend had missed his flight on Continental the day before, which had been delayed and then re-timed from Beijing due to weather in Newark. Everything else was full except the flight we got him on with me, but Continental failed to actually reissue his ticket.

Now, Northwest could not get ahold of Continental. He was, plainly, stuck.

And while I had a seat and boarding passes, I was not about to leave him in China.

We stepped back, realizing time was not on our side. Check-in for Flight 12 would close in half an hour, and the counter would not reopen until the next morning. This was Northwest’s only flight out of Beijing that day.

But as we stood wondering what to do next, the station manager walked over to us. It was no small act of grace. He was an older man, wearing a suit with Northwest logo pinned to his lapel. Asking kindly what the problem was, he proceeded to speak in Mandarin to his colleague at the computer before picking up the phone.

He was able to get through to his counterparts at the airline’s headquarters in Minneapolis, but they had no success in contacting Continental. The rules were clear: the issuing airline was responsible for sorting this out. Technically, our problem was not his problem and in airline world there was nothing he could do.

But as he hung up the phone, with check-in now minutes away from closing, he looked at me in the eyes and paused before calmly saying, ‘sometimes, everyone must go home’. Then, almost miraculously, he manually reissued my friend’s ticket.

Northwest’s station manager in Beijing broke the rules. He promised to sort it out with Continental—after he got us on his company’s plane.

Minutes later, my friend had boarding passes for the flight to Tokyo and onwards to the USA. I was in a state of disbelief as they asked us both to wear stickers with the Northwest logo on our jackets.

This made sense two seconds later when they implored us to run—literally run—through Chinese customs but keep the stickers on. Their counterparts on the other side of security needed to be able to recognize who we were (though, admittedly, as two American’s sprinting through Beijing’s concourse we were not hard to spot).

The station manager shook our hands and said farewell as we thanked him profusely.

We ran for customs, and Northwest staff met us on the other side to get us on the plane. We were the last passengers to board Flight 12 that Sunday morning.

I remember listening to the Goo Goo Dolls Song Iris (which btw is a great song) as our A330 taxied out for the runway, still shocked at everything that had happened. My friend said he was never going to take off the Northwest sticker off his jacket.

I was really glad we were both on the plane.

Big Picture: 'Sometimes, everyone must go home' has stuck with me since that eventful Sunday morning in Beijing in the spring of 2007. And I believe, now more than ever, that travel is always better when it is for and with other people.

Even if you almost get stuck with them in China.

Happy flying.

Remember, this life you are living has meaning. Thank you for reading. I am grateful you are here and would love to hear from you. If you'd like to write me a note, simply reply to this email. Otherwise I'll see you in the next one.

Be well today. -Tommy

P.S. If I can ever help you plan your next travel adventure (slash help make your points go farther), I’d be delighted. You can schedule time together here.