Although I got to the airport in Amsterdam almost 3 hours early, I missed my flight. I checked in (learning that the weight limits prohibited me from checking my two bags, so I had to cart another bag with me for carry on—This weight limit is different from KLM, on which I had flown to Amsterdam), cleared passports, and went to security.
There, I learned that my duty-free bottle of Bailey's Irsih Creme, which I had purchased on the Northwest/KLM flight, intending to use it as a gift for a friend in Slovakia, was unaccepable for carry on. I was told that I could exit at baggage claim and go back to Sky check-in to have it sealed.
Since the flight board said that my flight had been delayed a half-hour, and since I had entered an hour early, I decided to do this. But Sky check-in said they only had facilities to seal 4 ml and referred me to their information desk 50 steps from them. There, I was mis-informed that KLM could seal it. KLM was in the next terminal but it was a relatively short walk.
However, at KLM I was informed that they couldn't do it and that it had to be checked in baggage anyway, not carried on.
By this time, I had only about a half-hour, so I hurried back to the passport line, giving away the Bailey's to an American couple. The passport line was much longer than before, and I cleared it with less than 10 minutes to make the flight. I raced up to gate security as fast as I could with my computer, travel bag, and tennis racquet. "The flight board said "gate closing" for my flight, but I rapidly removed clothing items and cleared security, complete with computer, bag, and racquet.
There was no people mover at this gate and my gate was second to last (7), so I raced again. At my gate, I raced downstairs to learn that my baggage had been offloaded (The plane was still at the gate), so I had missed the flight. There were no more flights that day, so I went back to Amsterdam and took an hotel room.
The next morning, I came promptly to the airport, but I was told by Sky Airlines that my ticket to Kosice (via Bratislava) was no longer good. They were "willing" to sell me a completely new ticket, although they would still honor the return ticket. I was prepared to pay a change fee, but I had never heard of an airline not honoring a ticket at all (and never experienced it)!
So, I moved my return flight up to that day (yesterday, the 4th) and headed home. KLM didn't even charge me a change fee! The Sky information booth acted as if it would be doing me a favor by selling me a new ticket.in contrast, the KLM agents were completely responsive to customer needs, were more than courteous, and "went the extra mile."
I'm not complaining about missing the flight, since catching the flight on time is the customer's responsibility. But Western travelers are in for a unique shock when they learn that their ticket is worthless once they miss their flights. Cheap prices may seduce them to try Sky once, but I'm guessing they'll never try them again once they miss a flight.
Also, if you could do anything to get a refund for my return fare, which they say is still good (for June 8), I would appreciate it.
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