holiday

The Flight that Never Happened

October 9, 2011

in Airplane Stories

October 1st, 2011, a happy day for many in China – National Day – going away day, not-going-to-work-this-whole-week day! Hence, not many people were really bothered by the extremely inefficiently run check-in line at Aeroflot’s desk at Shanghai Pudong International Airport because we were all going on holiday – or so we thought. Boarding was a little late too, but who cares – it’s vacation time!

On the plane people laughed and joked about not taking off on time because it is apparently customary for flight SU 528 to never leave on time. I did see some people freak out due to very short connections, and if you’ve ever visited Sheremtevo “Int’l” (really deserves quotation marks) Airport in Moscow, you would know just why one hour transit time would make you feel a little frustrated with your original flight being delayed an hour (and even without the delay, mind you).

It turned out we had been waiting for some passengers to finish their shopping – we actually went through passport control together, so I figured it must have been shopping or a very, very, very spicy chilli. You might be surprised, but I’m not angry at them anymore – more like grateful, I suppose.

We started taxiing to the lane and I dozed off, finally ready for my journey to begin, when all the lights went out except the emergency ones – not much of a reassurance. Their plane went straight back, the doors were unsealed, and more people boarded, but passengers they were not as they were wearing bright vests and dungarees. Nobody really knew anything, and that ignorance seemed quite genuine. Two hours after the scheduled flight should have departed, the passengers were beginning to feel a little… hungry – but still in a holiday mood, so no anger involved… yet.

The doors were sealed again, but nothing happened. They went unsealed again, a guy came on with a cloth in his hands and a slightly helpless expression on his face. We were asked to collect our belongings and leave. Outside the gate we got a nice view of our vessel – engine covers were open and a huge puddle of oil was underneath. Somebody said this had already been reported on the way from Moscow to Shanghai, but Aeroflot decided to save some money and try to go back and change the plane there – instead of sending an empty one all the way from Russia. Hail Chinese engineers and technicians who didn’t let us take off!

It took one hour for all passengers to get a silly piece of paper that entitled us to get out through immigration, and then reality kicked in. We got huddled up around the airline’s 8 square meter office and there were no Aeroflot representatives there, only airport employees. They told us to go to a hotel and wait for their call. Some did. Others demanded that their flights be immediately re-booked.

I stood in that office for 5 hours. We all did – no drinks or food, and going to the loo would mean you might lose your precious spot in the queue. People were sent to random cities in Europe – without a guarantee of having their connecting flight refunded by the airline – or in other words, with a guarantee that they wouldn’t. I got my ticket rebooked for the same flight two days later! No refund, no food, not even an apology, and God forbid it would be the same plane.

So, here comes the question – Should I Stay or Should I Go?

The answer is out there somewhere…

- Yvonne

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Tagged as: aeroflot, delay & cancellation, holiday

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Winter Weather Thwarts Traveler’s Plans

June 23, 2011

in Delay Stories

My second flight from hell happened Christmas 2007. I booked a flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Portland, Oregon months in advance and I was really looking forward to seeing good friends again after quite a while.

I was booked on United from Frankfurt to Chicago O’Hare and later to Portland. It was December 23rd and I was scheduled to arrive in Chicago around 5pm; my connecting flight should leave around 7pm and land a few hours later in Portland.

The flight from Frankfurt to Chicago was more or less uneventful, but the captain announced shortly before landing that the weather in Chicago was pretty snowy and we should expect some turbulence.

We arrived safely and I headed to the gate where my plane to Portland was located. By the time I arrived I noticed a huge amount of people sitting on the floor, lying on benches and generally waiting in the terminal. After a look on the flight monitors I recognized that a lot of flights were already delayed or even cancelled due to the bad weather. Two previous flights to Portland were delayed by an hour or more but mine was still on time… that made me thankful but I didn’t really have a good feeling. Should I really be one of the lucky guys this time? Well, let’s keep it short – of course I wasn’t.

After my flight was delayed for about 45 minutes (which was nothing compared to all the other flights that day), we were allowed to board and sit down. After I found my seat and sat down, all passengers including me didn’t see or hear anything from the crew. There was no captain, no steward, no service, nothing. That surprised us,and after about an hour the gate agent made an announcement: “Dear passengers, we’re sorry to inform you but your crew won’t make it due to the heavy snowfall outside. Please get off the plane and line up at United customer service.”

So we all got outside and searched for the next customer service desk. The desk was pretty easy to find because people were already waiting in a line that was longer than any other line I’ve ever seen. I got my place in line and heard a guy shouting, “Passengers booked to Portland, Oregon please come to desk XX.”

I grabbed my carry-on luggage and started to run. I arrived at the desk as third in line and was pretty excited because I had no clue what could happen. By that time my cell phone battery was of course dead and I didn’t have my friend’s phone number in memory, so there was no chance that he could do anything for me and that I could inform him about my situation. The agent handed me a hotel voucher and told me to come back to the airport at 5am the next morning. It was 11pm when the bus picked us up and brought us to the hotel.

Realizing that people from three flights to Portland were in that hotel and on stand-by didn’t really make my mood get any better. After checking-in at the hotel, I asked for a battery charger and was finally given one. I called my friend and was told that he kept tracking my flight and had already made a reservation for me at a 5 star hotel… bad luck for me, but all I needed was a bed for a night, so it didn’t really bother me.

Four hours later I found myself on the way back to the airport, and after going through security I was told to go to gate XX and wait for any free seats on the next planes. Three more flights to Portland were scheduled and mentioned by the gate agent, but the weather still was not as good as it probably should have been.

After the first flight had been filled with stand-by passengers, I wondered if I’d be considered because my flight was booked miles from my friend from Portland. Flight two was filled but my name was still not announced. There wasn’t many people left when the agent announced the lucky names to get on plane number three, so I guessed my chances on plane three were alright. Well, my name was not on their list and the doors were closed without me onboard.

Starting to get a little desperate at this point cannot describe the way I felt. Being in a foreign country with no knowledge about the procedure and not knowing what to do, I asked the gate agent what he could do for me. He looked in his computer, talked to the other agents, printed out a boarding pass and said to my surprise, “There is a fourth flight with destination Portland leaving in a minute. If you run you can perhaps catch it.” I then asked him if he could inform his co-workers at the other gate that there is a person running like hell and willing to go on that plane. I didn’t wait for his answer but was thankful to be given a chance.

I ran to the other terminal through the colorful lighted tunnel and arrived at the gates only a few minutes later. The gate agent smiled and said that I probably set a new record and that she was happy to have me onboard. You can’t believe how happy I was. I got the last seat on the last flight for that day (or let’s say for three days, because O’Hare airport was shortly closed after my flight took off due to heavy snowfall) and was relieved when I got off the plane.

I didn’t forget about my checked-in bag; I waited a loooong time at the carousel but was not lucky. So I went to the lost baggage counter and found a line that was about 60 feet long. After a minute of waiting I heard a silent voice from a woman who said from far away, “OK, passengers from Chicago please follow me through this door.” I didn’t know what she really said, but since my situation was not about to get any better, I left my place in line and ran to a TSA agent who, in my opinion, gave instructions to follow her. She asked me what I wanted and I explained that I just arrived from Chicago. She led us 10 people to a baggage cart where we could try our luck. After a few minutes I found my bag and was more than relieved that the horrible trip that lasted for more than 36 hours came to an end.

What did I learn from it all?

- Avoid flying to or from Chicago in winter
- Keep your friend’s phone number in memory
- Never lose hope

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Tagged as: baggage, delay & cancellation, gate agent, holiday, hotel, united airlines, weather

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Happy New Year – Your Flight is Canceled

January 5, 2011

in Delay Stories

I decided to visit my family in La Verne, California the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. There are several airports in the Los Angeles area, with Ontario International Airport being the closest one.

I booked Delta flight 4756 from SLC to ONT the morning of Christmas Eve. Other than sitting next to a young lady who wreaked of perfume that can only be described as BUG SPRAY (it was awful!), the flight down there was uneventful.

The trip home, however, was quite the adventure. I booked Delta flight 4754 from ONT back to SLC.

I arrived at ONT on New Year’s Day at 11:00, which was two hours before my flight was to depart. I figured since it was New Year’s Day the airport would be crowded. Wrong! ONT is usually DEAD! Hardly anyone has even heard of that airport, not a lot of people fly in and out of there. It’s a wonder that airport is even still in business.

Anyway, I check in and go through security, which took maybe 15 minutes. There was nothing to do except sit and wait. We finally boarded and Lindsay, the flight attendant, ran through the safety briefing. Shortly afterwards, the pilot announced that at least one of the tires on the aircraft was completely flat. Terrific. They had all the passengers exit the plane and told us a mechanic should be there in about 45 minutes to fix it, and that it shouldn’t take more than about 10 minutes to change the tires.

Well… 3 hours later… the mechanics FINALLY showed up. I guess Delta doesn’t have any mechanics at ONT? These guys drove in from LAX. Once they arrived an announcement was made, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the mechanics are here. This should only be a 5 minute fix for them to change the tires, and we’ll be on our way shortly.” I knew that was a lie! It was at least 45 minutes later before another announcement was made. “They’re just now signing off on everything, it shouldn’t be much longer… ”

We FINALLY boarded the aircraft. Lindsay ran through the safety briefing again, and we started taxiing towards the runway. We got about halfway out there and the plane came to a stop. We sat there for a while and then the pilot announced, “Uh… ladies and gentlemen, because of the delay in getting the tires fixed, I am now past my flying hours for this evening. I’m not legal to take off, so we’re going to have to return to the gate. You may retrieve your bags at the baggage claim…” What I found odd about this was why did they depart from the gate in the first place if they knew they were over their allotted flying hours? Was there no other pilots they could get to fly the plane? It didn’t seem to make any sense.

So… everyone gets off the plane AGAIN, and by this time there were several moans and groans. The baggage claim area has 4 carousels, but the place was dead. It took quite a while for the bags to FINALLY show up. After I retrieved my bag, I headed over to the ticket counter. Wouldn’t you know it, NOW the place was jumping and there was a long line of people. Ugh!

I finally got up to the ticket counter and spoke with David. “The next flight out of here is tomorrow afternoon at 4pm.”

“Are you serious??!!”

“Well, if you don’t mind going to another airport, we can probably get you home sooner. We have one leaving LAX at 6am, and another one at 10am.”

“I’ll take the 10am flight, but what do I do in the meantime?”

“We’ll get a shuttle to take you out to LAX, and we’ll have you stay at a hotel at LAX.”

At that point, I thought, “Well, that doesn’t sound so bad… ” David was extremely apologetic for everything that had happened regarding the delays and interruption of travel plans. He provided me with a voucher to stay at the Radisson Hotel, along with two meal vouchers at the hotel, $10 each, one for dinner and one for breakfast.

When the shuttle dropped me off at the Radisson Hotel at LAX, I went up to the check-in counter. The desk clerk was rather snooty. I showed him the hotel voucher. “Hmmmph… We can’t accept that, sir. Delta never contacted us about any of this.”

“So what does that mean?”

“I don’t know, sir. You’re on your own. You might want to go over to that desk over there and speak with the concierge. They might let you contact Delta to work out some other arrangements…”

At that point I asked, “Well what about that young man over there? He was also from the same flight I was. Are you going to turn HIM away, too?”

“He is? Hmm… just a moment, sir.” He walked behind this partition and chatted with one of his managers, then he returned. “Well… we are going to go ahead and let you stay.” He crossed out the $10 on the meal vouchers and changed them both to $7. (What?!!) He gave me my room key and sent me on my way.

I put my bag away and headed back down to the lobby. By this time, I was starving as I hadn’t had anything to eat since morning, and had expected to be home by 3pm that day (it was now about 8pm). The hotel had a small lounge and a restaurant. I decided to try the restaurant. When I got the menu, I just about choked. The cheapest thing on that menu was about $25. YIKES! Well, since I was hungry, I figured I’d use the meal voucher and then pay the difference. The head waiter or Maitre d’ said, “Oh no, no, no! Don’t even worry about that! We just want you to be happy!”

“Are you serious? I don’t want to cheat anybody.”

“Oh, no problem, sir!” I must say at that point I was pretty impressed. And that was the best meal I’d eaten in quite a while! The food and service were superb! When I went to leave, however, the waiter handed me my check! I ended up paying for the meal anyway! I didn’t contest it because I didn’t feel like making a huge scene. I thought the situation was a bit appalling, but also amusing. Five star prices, at a 3 star hotel? OK, whatever. I don’t think that $7 voucher even covered the gratuities!

The next morning I went to get some breakfast. They had this little deli or bakery section in the lounge. The cheapest thing I could find was what looked like an Egg McMuffin from McD’s. I asked for that and a glass of milk. “That’ll be 10 dollars, sir.”

Ummm… if anyone from Delta is reading this, you MIGHT want to consider providing meal vouchers that would actually cover the cost of eating at the hotel! What’s the point of a $7 or $10 voucher if the cheapest thing on the menu is more than that?

The flight home from LAX to SLC was about 30 minutes late departing. The flight itself was uneventful, but one of the flight attendants was downright creepy-looking. Her hairdo can only be described as “Wicked Witch of the West Meets a Flock of Seagulls.” It was jet black, the sides were combed up into points, but the top was flat and cut like a butch. Weird! At least I didn’t have to sit next to someone who wreaked of “bug spray.”

Anyway, I finally made it home. What a way to begin the new year!

- The Gummyroach

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Tagged as: delay & cancellation, delta airlines, flight attendant, holiday, hotel, odor, pilot

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Booked on a Flight to the Wrong State

November 25, 2010

in Airport Stories

In 2004, I was living in Pittsburgh, PA and attempting to come home to Joplin, MO for Christmas. It was the first time I had ever flown alone. My mother booked me a Delta flight from Pitt to Kansas City connecting in Cincinnati on December 23rd. I was dropped off at the Pittsburgh airport by a friend about 2 hours before my flight was due to depart. However, there had been a huge blizzard in Cincinnati the night before, and my flight had been canceled before I even arrived at the airport. I waited in line, along with every other Delta passenger trying to go ANYWHERE that day.

After 30 minutes in line, a nice agent told me that they had booked me on a flight to Dallas, but the connection to Kansas City was actually an American Airlines flight so I would have to go check in with their agents. I trundled off along the terminal with all of my baggage in tow headed for the American Airlines check in which was, of course, at the opposite end of the terminal. I wait in line there for a further 20 minutes, at which point their agent rather rudely informs me that I had NOT been booked onto the Dallas to Kansas City flight, but placed on standby. That flight was full and also the last one that night, so I would most likely be stuck in Dallas overnight. I got the impression that she was rather put out by Delta booking me onto an AA flight. She seemed almost gleeful that I probably wouldn’t make it. Spending the night in the Dallas airport wasn’t high on my list of things I wanted to do, so rude AA agent sends me back down the terminal to Delta.

Trundle. Trundle. Bags in tow. Another 10 minutes in line. I tell the Delta agent that I don’t really HAVE to go to Kansas City. I am really going to Joplin, a town about 2 1/2 hours away from KC. Agent tells me she cannot change destinations, but to call the Delta help line from a courtesy phone. I head over to the courtesy phone and dial the number. I tell the agent on the phone that I would be more than happy to fly to Tulsa, but Tulsa is fully booked. I’m not surprised; it is December 23rd. I try again. St. Louis: Booked. Springfield: They don’t fly there. Joplin: Booked. I am running out of airports. Then I have an epiphany! What about the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Fayetteville, Arkansas? Delta agent replies with surprise in her voice that there are seats available for the Fayetteville flight. I will leave in 3 hours, connecting in Atlanta. Excellent.

I receive my boarding passes, check my bags, and all seems in order. I go grab some breakfast while I wait, then board my flight and arrive in Atlanta on time. I check my boarding pass for my connection’s flight number. At this point, it is important to say that the only identifying information on the boarding pass was an airport code. I do not have the airport codes for every airport in the US memorized. My life would have been easier if I did! I find my flight number on the departure board and my heart stops. The Delta agent I had spoken to on the phone had canceled my flight to Kansas City, Missouri, and rebooked me on a flight to Fayetteville, NORTH CAROLINA!!! And now I’m in Atlanta. At least Dallas is only 6 hours from Joplin. Atlanta may as well have been the moon.

Not knowing what else to do, I go to the gate for the North Carolina flight. I approach the gate agent with the words, “I have a HUGE problem.” I then, rather embarrassingly, burst into tears. I explained my predicament to the agent at the gate. Apparently, it was a rather familiar tale. According to him, this happened all the time. Although I said “Northwest Arkansas Regional,” all the booking agent heard was Fayetteville. I can’t really explain her total lack of geographical knowledge that let her believe that flying to NC was just as good as flying to MO. Anyway, the very understanding gate agent got me a standby ticket on the next flight to Fayetteville, Arkansas, and this time the blizzard in Cincinnati helped me out. So many people missed that flight that I got on easily. I called my dad to let him know I was finally headed home. The pilot overheard me telling my dad to google directions to the airport and actually took my phone to give my dad directions. It was pretty cool. I thought my ordeal was finally over.

I arrive in Arkansas. My dad is there. It’s just an hour drive back to Joplin.

My luggage was in North Carolina.

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Tagged as: airport, american airlines, delay & cancellation, delta airlines, gate agent, holiday, pilot

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Two Trips From Hell

September 25, 2010 Odds & Ends Stories

I don’t know if this counts as a “Flight From Hell” – it might be better placed on a website called “Vacations From Hell.” But since every one of the problems was caused by American Airlines, I think it is relevant. Please note that I am not making any of this up. I know it [...]

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All I Want For Christmas Is To Make It Home

September 8, 2010 Passenger Stories

I think it was 1999. I was living in Virginia at the time and the week before Christmas I had to travel to Los Angeles for some business. I had traveled from Greensboro, NC which was only about 90 minutes from home, and US Air had an easy connection through Charlotte to get me to [...]

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No Santa For Seat Kicker

August 23, 2010 Baby & Kid Stories

I was flying early Christmas Day morning from PHL-ORD-SEA on United. I overheard the father in the seat behind me say to his young son, “Look closely out the window, maybe you will see Santa Claus.” I rolled my eyes and cringed knowing what would soon follow as the flight was delayed and the sun [...]

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Christmas And A Funeral

July 13, 2010 Delay Stories

On Christmas Day 2005, my family received the grim news that my grandfather had passed away from Alzheimer’s. While we knew this was going to happen within that 2 week period, obviously we were not expecting it to happen on Christmas Day. We had to book a ticket to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which anyone from [...]

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Disturbed Over Diaper Change

June 14, 2010 Baby & Kid Stories

I recently flew from Australia to the United States to visit family for Thanksgiving. My mother has flown to Australia a couple of times in United Economy Plus, so I asked her before I flew if she thought it was worth it to upgrade. She told me, “Absolutely! You’re closer to the front of the [...]

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Suspicious Guitar Case

May 30, 2010 Luggage Stories

I had an afternoon flight from Denver, CO back to school in Massachusetts last Christmas break. I checked in with plenty of time, carrying on my laptop and guitar case. When I got to the gate to board the plane, the attendants told me that my boarding pass had not been properly stamped, and asked [...]

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