Only slightly OT: My worst airline experience was some years ago trying to get back to Athens from Crete Island to catch my international flight home. While I was waiting at the airport in the departure concourse, an airline strike broke out over the privatization of Olympic Airways, and the announcements they were making were severely distorted, and on top of that, although they repeated the announcements in English, it was with a heavy, heavy Greek accent. I couldn’t understand a word.
I could see the docks from the departure lounge, and watched with dismay while the last ship sailed for Athens, wondering if I should have taken the boat. (The connection timing in the morning wouldn’t have worked.)
I had to get information on the strike by calling my mom back in the village. Finally I teamed up with another foreigner in the same situation as me – stranded. He was multilingual but spoke very clear English. Plus, he had an inside person in Olympic Airways and relayed the inside story on the strike and whether planes were flying.
I finally made it onto a flight which the selfless and dedicated crew flew even though they weren’t get paid for it. But I wouldn’t have found out about it except for that friend I made in the concourse.