They didn’t book me straight through to Manila at CDG. I should have panicked right then and there. I figured it was just because I’d checked in early.
At the transfer counter in Schiphol, a helpful lady with teal eyeliner informed me there were no more seats left on the Amsterdam-Manila flight. Blink. Blink. What? Shu had checked in online the night before and had a sure seat, so she ran to board the flight. She was lucky. The lady told me 180 passengers had been bumped off, because the original aircraft had “technical problems” and it had been replaced with a smaller one. (I would like to think technical problems are easier to deal with than human problems, e.g. the chief steward in a deathmatch with the purser over who gets to draw the curtains closed between business and cattle class.)
So off I go to Beijing. Then Manila after a layover. Three airports in one day! I feel so temporary.