In a previous installment, I wrote about our really bad luck flying from Miami (MIA) to Skiathos (JSI). The previous installment was about our first flight, which was delayed, then canceled, and then had a baggage situation. Oh well.
Fortunately our Air France flights to Paris (CDG) and Vienna (VIE) were excellent. We then spent a night at the Moxy Vienna Airport, and the next morning, boarded our Austrian Airlines flight to Skiathos. What was supposed to be a routine 90-minute flight ended up being anything but…
In this post:
Our (great) flight attendant fell in the galley…
After a rather exhausting journey up until that point, we woke up early on Saturday morning, and figured we had it made, and would be in paradise within a couple of hours. Our 707-mile flight was scheduled to depart at 6:10AM and arrive at 9:05AM, so with a one hour time change, it was blocked at 2hr5min, with a flight time of 1hr30min.
We were seated in the first row of the plane, and the purser on this flight was an older gentlemen who was absolutely lovely. He had a great sense of humor, and I don’t think he had a single announcement where he didn’t make a joke (and let me clarify that the jokes “landed,” as he got constant laughs). Before departure, he joked that our flight time to Skiathos would be 3hr20min… and then corrected himself, saying he was just seeing if passengers were paying attention.
The captain was also awesome — Miles saw him when he took a bathroom break, and he said “look papa, it’s the pilot!” The captain heard it, and invited him to visit the cockpit on landing, which Miles was very excited about.
The flight was great, we started our descent, the cabin was prepared for landing, and we were going to be on the ground in Greece within 10 minutes. It was pretty bumpy on the approach, and the purser was just making final cabin preparations.
From one second to the next, the turbulence went from bad to worse. The one flight attendant walking down the aisle quickly sat down in a business class seat and buckled up, and at basically the same time, the purser fell to the ground. We heard him let out a loud grunt, heard a loud thud, and he crashed into the bulkhead, laying on his back. He was literally a foot from my… well, feet.
The other flight attendant audibly shrieked, and everyone in the cabin wanted to help, but it obviously wasn’t safe to get up. To be clear, he didn’t just fall slightly, but he was literally lying on his back in the galley. I was worried he had hit his head on the bulkhead, though he got up within seconds, and acted completely normal. I still worried if maybe he had a concussion and didn’t realize it, but that was the end of that drama.
We then had a go around… and another go around…
With the flight attendants safely strapped into their jump seats, I figured that would be the end of the drama, and we’d be on the ground shortly. One thing worth pointing out is that Skiathos Airport is a bit of an avgeek haven, given the very low approaches you often see, due to the short runway.
We approached runway 1, and as we descended through around 1,500 feet, we performed a go around. That’s obviously still a pretty high altitude, but we ascended quickly, and it was extremely bumpy.
We climbed up, and then entered a holding pattern, at which point the captain was on the PA to let us know what was going on. He explained that the weather in Skiathos wasn’t great, and visibility at the airport was below minimums right as we initiated our final approach, so we’d have to hold and wait for a bit.
At this point we entered a holding pattern for around 30 minutes, before trying another approach. I should point out that we were holding at around 4,000 feet, right in the thick of the clouds, so we were being thrown around quite a bit, and there was virtually no visibility (one passenger seated a few rows back even threw up).
At this point I’m thinking in my head “okay, typically you have 30+ minutes worth of extra fuel plus enough to get to your diversion point, so if we don’t make it this time, we might be diverting.”
This time around we approached in the opposite direction, landing on runway 19 rather than runway 1, because somehow visibility was less of an issue in the other direction. This time around we made it down to 100 feet… only to pull up again at the last minute.
We then diverted to Thessaloniki…
At this point I could tell we were flying in a straight line to another destination. A few minutes later the captain was back on the PA to explain the situation. He said that while the landing was looking better this time around, the tailwinds combined with the wet runway also put that approach below minimums.
He explained we’d be diverting to Thessaloniki (SKG), so that we could refuel, and then we’d regroup, and figure out our plan from there. The flight took around 20 minutes, and the views enroute were beautiful — you’d think there wasn’t any weather issue anywhere nearby!
We touched down in Thessaloniki at 9:56AM local time, 2hr27min after departing Vienna, so I imagine we didn’t have much fuel remaining at that point.
A refueling, and then another long(ish) flight to Skiathos…
On the ground in Thessaloniki, we had around six tons of fuel loaded onto the aircraft. The captain and purser did an incredible job looking after passengers — the captain provided constant updates while standing in front of the cabin facing passengers, while the purser also made frequent announcements.
In these kinds of situations, it’s all about communication. Obviously nobody thought the crew was at fault here, but people can get cranky in these kinds of situations, and their calm and constant communication made all the difference in keeping the mood onboard positive. Passengers felt grateful rather than frustrated. I also think for uneasy flyers, there’s something really reassuring about a calm pilot who constantly updates passengers on what’s going on.
We ended up being on the ground for around 80 minutes, and at 11:19AM we once again took off for Skiathos. The captain told us the flight time would be just 20 minutes, and that conditions had improved. We started our journey toward Skiathos, but then stopped our descent at 4,000 feet, and once again entered a holding pattern.
We were back in those same thick clouds we were in earlier, and got thrown around quite a bit. We first did one pattern east of the airport, and then held south of the airport. In the end, we spent 50 minutes in the air, before finally approaching runway 1.
To say that everyone onboard was holding their breath for a successful landing this time around would be an understatement. Sure enough, we touched down at 12:07PM, a little over three hours behind schedule, and the cabin erupted in cheers and clapping.
Despite all the drama, the captain kept true to his promise, and invited Miles up to the flight deck upon landing. Miles is a pretty huge avgeek for a three year old (I have no clue why!). 😉 When he walked into the cockpit he said “wow, the power” (referring to the throttles), and the captain even let him move the throttles forward. That was definitely the highlight of this trip for him so far.
I’ve gotta say, I know this whole outbound journey sounds kind of crazy to some people, and I would definitely do things differently in retrospect. That being said, I was initially dreading it because I was worried the kids were going to be screaming, I wondered how Jet would do with his first long haul flight, etc.
To my surprise, that ended up being a complete non-issue. I know parents tend to view their kids through rose colored lenses, but I’m not exaggerating when I say they barely made a peep on any of the flights. So at least that all worked in our favor. The kids felt no stress, and had a great time… heck, Jet slept through most of this flight.
Bottom line
Our Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna to Skiathos ended up being a bit more eventful than we were expecting. First the flight attendant fell on approach due to turbulence, something I’ve never seen before, in my millions of miles of flying.
I was expecting that would be the extent of the drama… until we had two go arounds, and then a diversion. Honestly, our younger son was resting most of the time, our older son found it kind of an amusing, and an avgeek, I’ll gladly take an extra complimentary approach or three. 😉 So I’ll put this more in the camp of being an adventure, rather than anything else.
By the way, it seems this Thessaloniki diversion isn’t even an isolated incident, as the same type of diversion happened just three weeks prior, on the same flight.
Austrian crews can be fantastic - I've generally had great onboard experiences with them as well. Unfortunately my recent customer service experience has been the exact opposite.
I'm currently dealing with a bizarre situation where Austrian Airlines repeatedly confirmed and displayed a rebooked flight as "confirmed" in their systems, while simultaneously telling me the flight was never actually confirmed. After 10+ calls over 3 days, Austrian, Expedia, and Austrian's agency support all seem to be...
Austrian crews can be fantastic - I've generally had great onboard experiences with them as well. Unfortunately my recent customer service experience has been the exact opposite.
I'm currently dealing with a bizarre situation where Austrian Airlines repeatedly confirmed and displayed a rebooked flight as "confirmed" in their systems, while simultaneously telling me the flight was never actually confirmed. After 10+ calls over 3 days, Austrian, Expedia, and Austrian's agency support all seem to be telling different versions of the story.
I sent you an email with the documentation in case you're curious. It's one of the stranger airline ticketing situations I've encountered.
Can't wait to read this blog in a couple of years and hear what your 1 year old was thinking about all this chaos. And what he thought about the Flight Attendant jokes.
Like the last post Ben - brilliant and so awesome to read!
Ben, we know you want Miles to become a pilot so you can get his flight benefits ;)
Meh, nonrev flight benefits are overrated. Flights are so full these days that even if you book business, you're lucky to get a middle seat in economy, which is often only assigned to you after boarding has already begun.
I like Austrian for the most part…Love your kids’ names…You, obviously, have a sense of humor. I don’t like turbulence…thank God the purser was ok!
There are a few reasons why JSI has very few domestic flights, you just discovered one of them. A SKG stop on the way back north used to be pretty standard until a few years ago because certain aircraft couldn't depart JSI with a full load.
Lucky, your perspective is off on your JFK connection.
You were very lucky to make your connection with all your bags!
Bad luck would be losing a bag.
Very bad luck is losing a bag and missing the flight.
I'm not a pilot. I thought that the wind direction would determine whether one would use 1 or 19 at this single-runway airport, unless the wind was nonexistent or at a right angle to the runway. Could the storm going through have changed wind direction, causing the changed landing direction? I flew into Belize once. We did a go-around on attempt one. The captain explained a storm had hit the airport. A bit later we...
I'm not a pilot. I thought that the wind direction would determine whether one would use 1 or 19 at this single-runway airport, unless the wind was nonexistent or at a right angle to the runway. Could the storm going through have changed wind direction, causing the changed landing direction? I flew into Belize once. We did a go-around on attempt one. The captain explained a storm had hit the airport. A bit later we attempted a second on the same runway. Another go around. This time it was because the wind direction had changed post storm, so we had to loop around and land in the opposite direction.
Maybe you should train to become one! Do they have flight schools in Ohio? (I mean, the Wright Brothers were literally from Dayton…)
Fuel is more complex than, "well let's add 30 minutes and see". It can be broken down into taxi fuel, trip fuel, contingency, alternate fuel, additional fuel and discretionary fuel. That amounts into two different minimums, the ramp fuel (the legal fuel needed when you block off) and takeoff fuel (minimum legal fuel when you start your takeoff). Without knowing the actual details for this flight, generally, it would have likely been fuelled with the...
Fuel is more complex than, "well let's add 30 minutes and see". It can be broken down into taxi fuel, trip fuel, contingency, alternate fuel, additional fuel and discretionary fuel. That amounts into two different minimums, the ramp fuel (the legal fuel needed when you block off) and takeoff fuel (minimum legal fuel when you start your takeoff). Without knowing the actual details for this flight, generally, it would have likely been fuelled with the taxi+trip fuel, the amount actually needed to complete the flight itself, it would have had a contingency, either the EASA minimum or by airline policy, it would need to have been fuelled to Thessaloniki, plus an alternate on top of that (if not more, my airline has 3 alternates as minimum), then likely because they knew they'd be flying into weather, making holds at this particular airport rather likely, added additional fuel to begin with, and that doesn't have to be 30 minutes, it could be 10 minutes worth of fuel or an hour or whatever amount is deemed necessary, and then on top of that, Captain's can always add discretionary fuel, if they think that will be necessary down the road. So, the alternate/diversion fuel is always carried, but the hold fuel can be more or less what is best for the situation, calculated separately. If it's cheaper and/or better operationally to hold for an hour than to divert to refuel, that's what's going to happen and vice versa.
I'm impressed the captain remembered after all of that!
Ok, all flight drama aside, I have two questions: 1. Your kids wear in white T Shirts on the travel day? 2. Their T Shirts stay white after a flight? Please, tell me your secrets!
Your entire quality as a parent comes down to this -- during the diversion, did you teach the kids to sing "The plane in Skiathos goes 'round and 'round'?
great article. thanks for sharing! Miles' smile is awesome!
For a 707 mile flight , always book a 707 aircraft .
While most parents might be saving for university fees I think your savings might be aimed at flying school :)
It would be one hell of an experience for you to be on your son's first flight as a pilot (not to get too ahead of ourselves of course)
I hope you do a review of the Moxy. Moxys are tight fits with just two people -- how did you fit four, unless you got two rooms or a suite (do they have suites? did your Marriott SUA clear?)
My guess: checking the property itself, they have a Queen room with sofa bed and crib.
One night not horrible
Group of us stayed at the Moxy Vienna Airport when on a MegaDo with Austrian Airlines about 10 years ago. The Moxy had a fun lively lobby area - and rooms were new then. BUT, the hotel does not have Air Conditioning in the rooms - have to open windows. The top floor was the upgrade level - that floor had phones in the room. But other levels had no phone (ie if you wanted...
Group of us stayed at the Moxy Vienna Airport when on a MegaDo with Austrian Airlines about 10 years ago. The Moxy had a fun lively lobby area - and rooms were new then. BUT, the hotel does not have Air Conditioning in the rooms - have to open windows. The top floor was the upgrade level - that floor had phones in the room. But other levels had no phone (ie if you wanted to call the front desk). Also underground walkway to terminal from a short distance out front of the hotel.
Last year desending into DFW in first class we hit heavy turbulence and the FA right in front of me flew to the ceiling and landed on her side. She was shaken but was able to get to the jump seat and buckle in
I know it’s a boomer take, but as cute as the kids are, it’s better not to post their faces.
I agree, considering how AI companies scrape everything.
Wow, such an awesome experience for Miles getting to go up front at the end!
as much as some criticize US airlines for having FAs start securing the cabin at 18K feet and cutting service as a result.
US FAs are not going to dust themselves off and keep going if this happens.
also, the FAA requires 45 minutes of fuel after the intended diversion point; other countries might not require that
I guess the joke about the flight time being 3 hours plus was prophetic.
I was on a simple domestic flight once with sudden (CAT?) turbulence that threw the cart over my seat! The cabin attendant magically threw her body flat in the aisle. She later explained this was not a fall but a trained safety maneuver.
I gotta use that line next time I trip over my own feet. "It's a trained safety maneuver! See how deft I was?"
Had a similar diversion via Milan & back when a thunderstorm over Pisa (PSA) caused a lot of circling and puking last summer. Landed almost 3 hours late too, but just relived to be at the right airport.
Interesting read and a good outcome.
Were the captain's announcements in English and translated into German and Greek, or how did that work?
@ DKB -- The announcements were first in German and then in English. As you'd expect, they were always funniest and most detailed in German, but also excellent in English.
How can German language be "funny" ?
Thanks for the reply, a good time to be fluent in both!
Opa! You really had to work to get to Greece this time... sheesh!