I was recently flying from one city to another with a layover in between. After 11 hours of flight delays in our layover city, they decided to cancel the flight. After standing in line to get re-ticketed (for a flight TWO DAYS LATER) and another line to get baggage, I was finally leaving the airport after 13 HOURS.
While standing in line at the baggage counter at 2am is not a pleasant experience, it certainly is an interesting study of human behavior….
My seven-year-old son announced to me that it was the longest, most difficult travel day of his short (but well-traveled life). This made me reflect on the many difficult travel days that I have encountered over the years to properly put a rating on it.
Three Days in Minneapolis
The closest competitor is the time we were traveling to Tanzania with a stop in Minneapolis. Our flight into Minneapolis was delayed to the point that we missed our connection to Amsterdam. Upon deplaning, the airline had already re-booked everyone and had new boarding passes waiting for us. Our flight was booked for THREE DAYS LATER.
After arguing with the airline customer service manager for an hour, the best we could get was a flight into Kenya the next evening. Off we went to our hotel to spend the next 24 hours in Minneapolis. We did get on the next day’s flight — a day late and to the wrong country — but we then had to spend a night in Nairobi and get a overland transfer to Tanzania the following day.
Could be worse
I will have to say that if you are to be stranded somewhere, it’s nice to do it somewhere interesting. During canceled flights or overly long layovers, I have gotten to see the Statue of Liberty, taken a canal cruise in Amsterdam, and gone to the top of the St. Louis Arch.
Where, oh where, has my luggage gone?
My husband has a great story coming back from Beijing to Idaho. All of his bags made it to Shanghai, but the next airlines managed to spread his luggage into three cities: San Francisco, Boise, and Sun Valley.
Can you hear me now?
Then there’s the time when my cell phone had been ripped out of a plastic bag in my checked luggage. I typically keep all my expensive electronics in my carry-on baggage, but after 3 weeks of traveling, I had let my guard down. The sad part of the story is that I do not have a global phone, so whoever stole it (in Europe) was not able to use it, and it cost me $200 to replace….
Take me to the rental shop
We had one client who didn’t get one of his bags upon arrival at the Kilimanjaro Airport. Nor did the bag arrive in time for his Kilimanjaro climb. Luckily, we were able to arrange enough warm clothing for his trek. The bag was finally found 6 months later only with the on-going help of our staff in Moshi. The bag was half empty….
Moral of the Story
I know I should have a moral to this story. Many people say you should pack your toiletries and one night of clothing in your carry-on bag. I think this is good advice, but I always have too many valuables (camera, computer, etc.) in my carry-on and don’t have room for anything else.
My personal advice would be to have travel insurance to cover any unexpected expenses and luggage losses. Layover expenses are not covered by the airlines if the delay was due to weather. Those with travel insurance will have expenses covered (hotel, transportation, and meals).