Saved in Shanghai by the kindness of a stranger
AN Irish woman, who thought she would be stranded in Shanghai for three days after a flight mix-up, has made her way home thanks to the kindness of a complete stranger.
Amy Reidy, 22, from Kerry, starts work as a reporter on RTÉ Radio 1 tomorrow morning, but the scramble to make the interview for her new job led to her being left flightless in Shanghai, China.
Because she had cancelled her original flight to Shanghai, the return – which she believed remained unchanged – was also cancelled by her air carrier Lufthansa. She did not realise this until she turned up at the airport.
Left with the choice of a €1,700 direct flight she couldn’t afford or a €1,100 three-day journey which she could barely afford, she was in tears at the prospect of the delay and the huge dent in her funds.
She told the Mail On Sunday: ‘My sister Katie is at university in Shanghai and I decided to visit her in mid-January.
‘I booked a return flight with Lufthansa but the job interview in RTÉ was the same day as I was meant to fly out from Dublin. So I booked a new flight for the following day.’
Things started to go wrong when Amy arrived at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport for her trip home.
‘The Lufthansa people told me my flight was cancelled as I didn’t travel out on the original flight I had booked.’
They told Amy that the cheapest alternative ticket cost €1,100 but would take her three days to get back to Dublin.
She said: ‘They offered me a ticket on the flight I was originally booked on for €1,700, but I hadn’t that much.
‘I was talking to a German guy called Stefan who was having similar problems trying to get to London. Lufthansa told him that it would cost him €10,000 to get back that day!
‘Out of the blue Stefan came over and handed me a ticket for that day’s flight. Incredibly he paid for his own ticket and then mine.
She said: ‘I was stunned. I mean, how generous is that?’
Amy’s good luck continued – on Wednesday she was told she got the RTÉ job.
‘I know where most of my first salary will be going... to Stefan’s bank account,’ she said.