It's like the Amazing Race...minus the amazing part!
6/29/11
As I write this I should be snoozing somewhere on my way to Delhi. The fact that I'm in the armpit of America (you can all venture your own guesses about that locale as I ramble on about my adventures that put me here) rather than on a plane is starting to become humorous...slightly. Yesterday however, not so funny.
It started off as a good travel day, running around with mom, the obligatory Costco stop, arriving ON TIME (this never happens when mom and Costco are involved!) to the airport (couple of hours early in fact), checked in, no problems. Great! I just happened to check my phone and my itinerary said canceled for my flight to Chicago (I HATE flying there. Always a problem). I refreshed and checked again and it said on time. I refreshed again. It said canceled. Finally I got up and checked the board. Canceled. I was told by the one and only American Airlines (hate them right now) agent that I would have to go back out through security to ticketing because she couldn't help me/us (the other stranded passengers) as she was trying to board a flight to Dallas. Lovely.
Fast forward through some insignificant details. The ticket lady (who I actually was fond of because I thought she had really hooked me up) originally was going to put me on a continental commuter flight to LaGuardia, I then would have to take a shuttle to Newark to then catch the 8:30pm Continental flight to Delhi. I wasn't thrilled with the option and extra traveling but would have done it. It took her forever to try to get the shuttle info, so she finally just said that she was going to cab me to Newark. That's right. I took a freaking cab from Hartford to Newark. With the worst cab driver EVER. This man got lost while using his GPS. At least 5 times. We were stopped dead, stuck in NY traffic for an hour and a half. The total time in the cab was 5 hours.
I tried to check in to about 3 different Continental counters, to be shooed away each time, finally finding the "India only" check in counter. Lovely. After going through the chaos of that (inspecting/measuring my carry-ons, weighing my luggage on the spot, all before I could even get in line) I finally get to the counter. The lady looks at my ticket looking thing (mind you I knew it wasn't a ticket but thought I was confirmed on the flight) and says, "we don't have you on here". She then continues to tell me "there is no way they could have put you on this flight because it's over sold already by 13 people". I was fighting off the ugly cry like nobodies business! At this point it had been WAY too long traveling and I hadn't even been on a plane. No food. Not enough sleep, and still recovering from the jet lag of Guam. She directed me back to American (the people who royally screwed me up) in a completely different terminal...via train...with my excessive luggage.
I do a lot more back and forth between American and Continental finally finding a very sweet Continental employee who really helped me out (and even talked to the American worker who clearly couldn't do her job because she did the same thing the woman in Hartford had done...and would have stranded me for a second night in America's armpit). So, I'm hopeful that I actually have a seat, on a flight to Delhi, on an airline that I prefer, and hey, I think they prefer me, at least that's what my gold card, speedy line privileges and occasional upgrades tell me!
I've always said that I would LOVE to do the Amazing Race. I still think that I would...after all, with the amazing race their is a rockin' prize, many exciting sites to see, and generally a hunky travel partner right?! Yesterday's journey had NONE of those things!
Perhaps I'll get to India today. Or perhaps I'll be put in another cab to one of America's fine destinations.
As I write this I should be snoozing somewhere on my way to Delhi. The fact that I'm in the armpit of America (you can all venture your own guesses about that locale as I ramble on about my adventures that put me here) rather than on a plane is starting to become humorous...slightly. Yesterday however, not so funny.
It started off as a good travel day, running around with mom, the obligatory Costco stop, arriving ON TIME (this never happens when mom and Costco are involved!) to the airport (couple of hours early in fact), checked in, no problems. Great! I just happened to check my phone and my itinerary said canceled for my flight to Chicago (I HATE flying there. Always a problem). I refreshed and checked again and it said on time. I refreshed again. It said canceled. Finally I got up and checked the board. Canceled. I was told by the one and only American Airlines (hate them right now) agent that I would have to go back out through security to ticketing because she couldn't help me/us (the other stranded passengers) as she was trying to board a flight to Dallas. Lovely.
Fast forward through some insignificant details. The ticket lady (who I actually was fond of because I thought she had really hooked me up) originally was going to put me on a continental commuter flight to LaGuardia, I then would have to take a shuttle to Newark to then catch the 8:30pm Continental flight to Delhi. I wasn't thrilled with the option and extra traveling but would have done it. It took her forever to try to get the shuttle info, so she finally just said that she was going to cab me to Newark. That's right. I took a freaking cab from Hartford to Newark. With the worst cab driver EVER. This man got lost while using his GPS. At least 5 times. We were stopped dead, stuck in NY traffic for an hour and a half. The total time in the cab was 5 hours.
I tried to check in to about 3 different Continental counters, to be shooed away each time, finally finding the "India only" check in counter. Lovely. After going through the chaos of that (inspecting/measuring my carry-ons, weighing my luggage on the spot, all before I could even get in line) I finally get to the counter. The lady looks at my ticket looking thing (mind you I knew it wasn't a ticket but thought I was confirmed on the flight) and says, "we don't have you on here". She then continues to tell me "there is no way they could have put you on this flight because it's over sold already by 13 people". I was fighting off the ugly cry like nobodies business! At this point it had been WAY too long traveling and I hadn't even been on a plane. No food. Not enough sleep, and still recovering from the jet lag of Guam. She directed me back to American (the people who royally screwed me up) in a completely different terminal...via train...with my excessive luggage.
I do a lot more back and forth between American and Continental finally finding a very sweet Continental employee who really helped me out (and even talked to the American worker who clearly couldn't do her job because she did the same thing the woman in Hartford had done...and would have stranded me for a second night in America's armpit). So, I'm hopeful that I actually have a seat, on a flight to Delhi, on an airline that I prefer, and hey, I think they prefer me, at least that's what my gold card, speedy line privileges and occasional upgrades tell me!
I've always said that I would LOVE to do the Amazing Race. I still think that I would...after all, with the amazing race their is a rockin' prize, many exciting sites to see, and generally a hunky travel partner right?! Yesterday's journey had NONE of those things!
Perhaps I'll get to India today. Or perhaps I'll be put in another cab to one of America's fine destinations.
Holy crap, what a nightmare. You've got way more patience than me, girl.
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