'Jammy' Ireland fans blag business-class tickets to Bosnia after missing flight: https://t.co/DnxICKCiXX #IREvBOS pic.twitter.com/FPfNmWog4q
— Independent Sport (@IndoSport) November 12, 2015
TWO determined Ireland fans have managed to charm their way on to a Business Class flight en route to Bosnia for Friday’s crucial game.
The duo were left grounded in Dublin on the back of the Lufthansa air strike, which caused the cancelation of 290 flights this week.
Having booked through third-party travel website eBookers, John O’Neill and Fergal O’Connell were told they were not eligible to be transferred to an alternative flight.
However, using his Irish charm, Mr O’Neill eventually managed to talk the German airline into squeezing the lads in with the business passengers.
“I spent hours on the phone to Lufthansa all week but they kept insisting there was nothing they could do because we booked through eBookers,” a defeated O’Connell told The Irish Independent.
“But I always knew John would pull it out of the bag somehow. He has the ability to talk people into anything really and he never does things the easy way when it comes to travelling with Ireland.”
The pair ended up flying via a Turkish airline to Istanbul and are expected to make it to Zenica in Bosnia from there ahead of Friday’s 7.45pm kick-off.
The match is the first of a two-legged tie between the two nations with a place at Euro 2016 in France next summer the prize at stake.
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