emoraver
Jun 13, 02, 2:53 pm
so i had to finally get all of this out, or most of it. the following is from a trip that took place between feb. 22 and mar. 1. if i had actually read flyertalk before i took this trip, i would be in a much better position, but i'm lame.
i spent 3.5 years in spain when i was in grade school and wanted to go back and see how things had changed. what better time to go than during spring break? i jumped at the opportunity, and the fare i got, was, i thought, an absolute steal. i had previously used miles to upgrade on a trans-atlantic flight and thought, "ok, i should have no problem doing this." boy, was i *EVER* wrong.
up to three weeks out i kept phoning the gold desk and asking them about upgrading, and they kept saying, "it looks unlikely, try to do this at the airport." i was getting irked because all the seatmaps showed plently of availability - of course, i now know that one can never trust the AA seat maps.
i showed up to the airport for my first flight (DTW-DFW) at 645AM. the flight was scheduled to leave around 8. i walk in the terminal and go into cardiac arrest. the line for security wrapped around the terminal FOUR times! there was no line for check in, so i walked up to the counter and told the woman where i was going. her response was, "You are on an international flight, you should have been here 3 hours early." My response, "But mam, my international flight leaves from MIAMI in 10 hours!" She said, "It doesn't matter, do you see the line?" So shame on me for not getting there earlier. I proceeded to ask her about upgrading to J using miles and she said, "Oh sir, we don't do that here anymore. You have to do that with a ticket agent. We aren't authorized to do this." I freaked and told her, "But they told me on the phone to speak with you!" She simply said, "When you get to Dallas, they can check for the status and do this for you." I was content with that answer, sort of.
I finally got through security, missed my first flight, but got on the next one leaving an hour later. During the extra time I phoned the gold desk again and asked about the upgrade. She said, "Go to your gate in Dallas and ask them there to put you on the wait list." Fair enough.
The flight was uneventful, what can you say about domestic coach anymore?
I get to Dallas and find the gate for my next flight to Miami. I have about an hour to spare and walk around a bit as well. When I get to the gate, I ask the agent about upgrading to J for the flight from MIA to MAD. She stared at me dumbfounded, "You want to use stickers?" I said, "No, you can't use stickers for int'l flights." She had to call over the gate supervisor and they phoned the Admirals Club and found out the only place that does re-ticketing after you get into the gate areas is the Admirals Club. (Yeah, I know, I don't understand either.) They both told me to ask once I get to Miami.
Another boring flight... and I arrive in Miami.
Lucky for me, my routing had me leaving DTW at 8am and getting on the flight for MAD around 8pm. So I had like 2 hours to chill in the wonderfual Miami International Airport. (I would rather die than have to go through that airport again. It's so old, gross, smells funny, doesn't have enough restrooms, the duty free blows, etc.)
I took the time out to call my dad and ask him about how to say certain things in Spanish (make sure I had them correct) and just tell him how things were going. I spent time looking at the art exhibit about food (elementary/high school kids) and was appauled at the number of "brands" present. (Shocked because I teach a course on branding/mktg to youth.) I finally chilled out at the gate, and noticed the throngs of people. I swear the flight was completely full.
I was going to ask the agents about upgrading, but once the agents finally showed up (about 15 minutes before boarding began) their line was about 25 people long. I noticed there were lots of obscenely rich people gathering at the gate when they made the announcement for pre-boarding. I knew there would be no J seats and gave up.
I was near the front of coach and sat next to a delightful gentleman from the Dominican Republic. He knew German, Spanish, and English and we spoke about some of the stewardesses in Spanish.
I was disgusted by the attitude of a few of the flight attendants. One woman had a carryon which she thought would not fit in the overhead (she was one of the last people on and everything was full) and she asked an attendant, "Perdona, donde puede poner esto?" To which the attendant responded, "I'm sorry honey, no Spanish here, learn some English."
The flight was alright. I must say though, AA needs to redesign the placement of the controls for the personal viewing system. These controls are currently in the armrest, facing up. If you are in the window seat, yours is in the armrest you *SHARE* with the person sitting next to you. This made me want to jump out of the window a few times. Here is why: I would be sound asleep when all of a sudden the volume of the audio channel I was listening to would sky-rocket. Why? My seat mate put his arm on the armrest and simply moved a little bit. A few times my monitor came on with the loud burst of noise. Thank god I didn't scream, but I was **** near close to it a few times.
So the flight was long and uneventful and I was ready to see Madrid!
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the metro now goes all the way out to Barajas! Even if I did have to walk about a thousand miles to get there from the terminals, but, whatever.
After travelling for so long I was somewhat confused and got lost once getting out on Gran Via. I eventually found my hotel, and wanted to die on the spot. I walk in, and learn the hotel is going through "refurbishments" and the whole place is a mess. I'm allowed to put my suitcase in the room, and proceed to walk around the city. When I got back, and finally saw the room, I cried. The tv, which was the size of my ..., did not work. There was no clock. There was no heat. The bathroom had an open vent to an alley outside. So, lucky me, after returning at 3am after going to a concert, I awaken to the sound of jack-hammering at 8am. That's what I get for thinking a hotel for 40 euros will be "ok."
I checked out that morning and stayed at the BEST HOTEL IN THE WORLD...EVER. Well, maybe not EVER, but it was absolutely brilliant, the service superb, the rooms perfect, and the bkfst AWESOME. It is called Hotel Villa de la Reina. It is on Gran Via and is part of the H10 chain in Spain. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!! The rooms have hardwood floors, very modern design, the sink area has a clear glass top, huge mirrors, great toiletries, extra blankets and pillows, mini-bar... Trust me, if you go to Spain, find an H10 hotel!
So Madrid was wonderful and I was off to Barcelona for a few days, and a job interview. Flying Iberia was painful. MRTC really makes a difference. I think the worst part was landing in Barcelona, because I don't recall hearing an announcement saying, "If BCN is your final stop, get off the plane." I just noticed people leaving, so I was like "Oh my God!" The plane was continuing on to Stuttgart or somewhere in Germany. So I got off the plane, and proceeded to get a cab.
I stayed at a supposedly 4* hotel by the Gargallo Group. My advice - AVOID THESE HOTELS AT ALL COSTS!!!! After staying at an H10 property (also 4*) the Gargallo was the WORST ever! First off, I walk into reception and two guys are fighting behind the counter! They didn't even acknowledge my presence. I finally get to my room, and I cried, again. (Yeah, I know, I cry a lot when travelling.) I was only going to be there 2 days so I stuck with it.
I just have to say the best part of staying at the Gargallo Hotel was when the shower curtain (which was being held up by a string) fell down while I was in the shower. I threw it away from the tub and continued showering, they could clean up the mess. I checked out at 4.30 in the morning and the night clerk was totally zonked out, but it was ok. He got me a cab and I was off to begin my trip home (and this is where the REAL fun starts).
Let me just preface this by saying the second I saw my hotel room, I phoned AA reservations in Spain and upgraded myself to F for the journey home. I was already having trouble sleeping and I needed to be chipper to teach my classes when I returned.
So my cab came and we spoke all the way to the airport. He then told me the cost would be 25 euros plus a 5 euro "return to city fee" so I gave him the 30 euros and NO TIP. I was pissed, but oh well.
I slept the whole flight from BCN to MAD, all 40 minutes of it. Once I arrived in MAD, I had to check in for the International flight. As I get to the FC check-in I was asked about 10,000 questions. "How long have I owned my luggage? What am I carrying? Where am I going? Why? What did you do while you were in Spain?" After getting all checked in, and getting more than a few, "What the hell is he doing in this line?" looks I was told I needed to follow this woman. I was like, "Ok."
Lucky me! I got a FULL search! They made me unpack my WHOLE suitcase, every last thing, and checked it. Of course, since it was Spain, the inspector HAD TO SMOKE over all my items the whole time, ash flying everywhere. It was no big deal, more comical than anything.
Once that was done I went to the Lounge for "premier" passengers. It was boring. I wrote in my journal and got some funny looks from an older couple sitting in front of me. Probably because of my crazy hair and combat boots (I wear my pants folded up so you can see and stuff).
I was bored up there and went duty-free shopping and bought about a million things, mostly turron (my most favoritest thing EVER). I got some wine for my parents and a few knick-knacks. I then went to wait by the gate.
They finally announced boarding and I was one of the first to the area. They said, "We are boarding First Class only." I said, "I know." They looked at my boarding pass and let me in. I ended up being the first person on the plane because the first two, the older couple I'd seen in the lounge go stopped to be re-checked.
You should have seen the look on the stewardesses faces when I walked in. They were like, "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh." I could tell, it was so obvious. I took my seat, took some stuff out of my bag and looked around the cabin. It was the small plane, where FC in 2 rows, but it was the sleeper seats, and that's all I cared about. The other FC passengers slowly came in and they were ALL asked, "May I hang up your coat?" No one asked me. I scrunched my coat up and put it in the overhead bin. One of the attendants saw me do it, and did nothing.
It was the purser who I believe told the other attendants not to judge by how someone looks.
My seatmate was a delightful woman from Toronto. We were offered pre-flight drinks, and I think I elected water. Menus were passed out as well as the amenity kits.
I was quite irked to see that the menu was basically the same one I had in J class coming back from London a month earlier.
I was super happy that they had the appetizer thing with capers, ****, I can't remember what it was, all I know is that it was awesome. I ended up having the fish, it was "eh."
The desert was the best part, by this point the attendants knew I was the cute "young kid" and when they told me the options and I said, "I'll have the ice cream sundae please," they just smiled. It was one of the best sundaes ever!
I promptly fell asleep after that, as did most of the cabin. But, alas, I was awoken by the Captain coming on the overhead. "You may have noticed we have made a 180 degree turn. Some of the flight attendants have felt a shake near the rear of the aircraft and we are going to the Azores to have it looked at. It will take us about 45 minutes to get there." This was 3.5 hours into the flight.
We landed in Lajes at the Azores around 3 in the afternoon. The Captain came on again and said, "We should only be here for a few minutes, an hour at most, and then we'll be on our way." Two minutes later, she came on again and said, "Ok folks, it looks like we are going to be staying here for the night. We are going to get you set up with meals and hotels, so please collect all your belongings from the plane. Due to security reasons, you will not be able to pick up your luggage."
I was excited by the prospect of being stranded, because I'd get to see a new place! We were shuttled into the terminal, which has 3 gates. They were not prepared for us, as the power was not even on in the building. We sat there for about an hour before the Captain came back and said we would have to go through customs and then go downstairs because there were busses waiting for us.
They put all the F and J people in one hotel and the coach people in another. The bus ride was beautiful, although it had started raining and was already getting dark. Once we got to the hotel we were told we had to be back on the bus for 630am. The hotel was quite nice, and my room looked out into a beautiful garden. I didn't want to leave! It was times like this that I was glad for the amenity kit!
They apparently had a full dinner for the guests, but I fell asleep at 6pm and didn't wake up until midnight, so I missed it. The breakfast was quite nice though!
We all got on the busses and went back to the airport the next morning. We waited in the terminal for about 3 hours before we were allowed on the plane. Everyone crowded around the little gate thing when they said we would be boarding. They let the F cabin board first - and man - you would not believe the glares of "I hate you" that seemed to eminate from the crowd.
So we got on the plane and the captain came out and spoke to all 8 of us! I told her she was doing an excellent job of keeping everyone calm and thanked her for her professionalism. The purser then told us that the service would not be a normal F service as everything was catered there at Lajes and they were not used to so many classes. It was ok, at least I had my sleeper seat and personal dvd player.
We finally took off. The service was quite pleasant and the meals were sooooooooo good! So much better than regular plane food! I managed to watch 4 films before we landed in Miami.
We ended up landing 3 hours before we should have arrived the day before. And this is where the REAL fun began.
The first thing that blew was baggage claim. The bags came out on the carousel next to the one it said they would come out on. Luckily I only had one bag, and it was one of the first ones out. I proceeded to customs and had no problems getting through.
I went straight to the AA counter. I was the first person from the flight to make it there. The girl told me they had been warned we were coming. She was extremely nice and tried to get me to SAT earlier than I was supposed to. I told her I was going home to surprise my parents for a few days. She got me out on an earlier flight to DFW, still in F. As she finished ticketing that, the manager came by and told all the agents, "Keep these people on their original routings! Do not change anything!" I wanted to punch him in the face! We were already 24 hours late and there were earlier flights we could take. The woman told me not to pay attention to him.
The walk from where I picked up my luggage to the next flight was eye opening. I had never seen the check-in area of Miami for American. There were no less than 654,693 people in line! Even in the F and J lines! It was so crazy! I made it through to my new gate and just chilled. When they called for F to board, I got right on the plane. There were quite a few other people from the MAD flight on this plane.
The flight was smooth and the meal service was awesome! Vegetable canneloni! So good.
It was once I got to DFW that the sh*t really hit the fan. I went to the first gate for a SAT flight. I told the woman, "Here is my ticket, I was told I'd be on the standby list." She looked at it, and didn't know what to do. The manager came over and looked and said, "Oh, you are at the bottom of the list, you aren't going to make this flight." I was like, "Excuse me?" She repeated, "You aren't going to get on this flight, we'll put you on the list, but here is the gate info for the next flight, you'll probably get on that one." I was piiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssed. Here I was, an F passenger, coming in on a 24 hour delayed international flight and being put at the bottom of a waiting list! They proceeded to call no less than 12 standby passengers! I was appauled.
So I went to the next gate. (Mind you, I was running on very little sleep at this point as I woke at 545am in Lajes, Azores - was awake the whole 7 hour flight to Miami and the 2.5 hour flight to DFW, and it was now 4 horus past that.) They finally call my name for the *very last seat* on the plane. They tell me to hurry, and I ask, "Can I make a call?" They hand me the phone and it rings once when the gate manager says, "Get on the plane now, or don't get on." I hang up the phone and say, "Fine, I won't go." I start crying. They close the door and the plane is gone. The manager was pissed because it went with one empty seat when there were other stand-by's waiting. Granted, had I not been so tired, I think things would have been different.
I walk away, sob a little, and go back to the counter...still red in the eyes. The manager is on the phone. I speak to the other woman and tell her that I'd been travelling for over 36 hours and just wanted to get home. She was apologetic. I wanted to get the managers name. The manager, moves the mouthpiece of the phone away from her mouth and says, "My name is xx xxxx." She proceeds to explain to me how important on "On time departure" is, all the while still on the phone.
What I took away from all this was, "Screw the customer, on time departure is ALL we care about." Who cares if you are 24 hours late because of a mechanical problem on OUR plane. That's not OUR problem.
To make matters worse, a new American Way was on the planes, where Don Carty's message was all about their new goal for "on time departures." It was like a slap in my face.
I eventually got on the last SAT flight and slept the whole way. When I arrived at the airport, my mom was asleep on my dad's shoulder. They had been there since 6pm, the original time I was supposed to arrive had I been on the first flight from DFW. Instead, I got there at 11.30pm.
The flights back to DTW were boring.
I got a letter about two weeks after the trip from the Executive Office saying I had been credited with 20,000 miles for the inconvenience. I proceeded to call the office and told them my horror story after I arrived in the States. I said, "How come your foreign agents are much more courteous than the domestic agents?" ... I told them other things, but that's not important. I ended up also receiving a $275 voucher.
So the trip was crazy, fun, tiring, and emotional. I would do it again, but I want to be in a 777! Oh well.
i spent 3.5 years in spain when i was in grade school and wanted to go back and see how things had changed. what better time to go than during spring break? i jumped at the opportunity, and the fare i got, was, i thought, an absolute steal. i had previously used miles to upgrade on a trans-atlantic flight and thought, "ok, i should have no problem doing this." boy, was i *EVER* wrong.
up to three weeks out i kept phoning the gold desk and asking them about upgrading, and they kept saying, "it looks unlikely, try to do this at the airport." i was getting irked because all the seatmaps showed plently of availability - of course, i now know that one can never trust the AA seat maps.
i showed up to the airport for my first flight (DTW-DFW) at 645AM. the flight was scheduled to leave around 8. i walk in the terminal and go into cardiac arrest. the line for security wrapped around the terminal FOUR times! there was no line for check in, so i walked up to the counter and told the woman where i was going. her response was, "You are on an international flight, you should have been here 3 hours early." My response, "But mam, my international flight leaves from MIAMI in 10 hours!" She said, "It doesn't matter, do you see the line?" So shame on me for not getting there earlier. I proceeded to ask her about upgrading to J using miles and she said, "Oh sir, we don't do that here anymore. You have to do that with a ticket agent. We aren't authorized to do this." I freaked and told her, "But they told me on the phone to speak with you!" She simply said, "When you get to Dallas, they can check for the status and do this for you." I was content with that answer, sort of.
I finally got through security, missed my first flight, but got on the next one leaving an hour later. During the extra time I phoned the gold desk again and asked about the upgrade. She said, "Go to your gate in Dallas and ask them there to put you on the wait list." Fair enough.
The flight was uneventful, what can you say about domestic coach anymore?
I get to Dallas and find the gate for my next flight to Miami. I have about an hour to spare and walk around a bit as well. When I get to the gate, I ask the agent about upgrading to J for the flight from MIA to MAD. She stared at me dumbfounded, "You want to use stickers?" I said, "No, you can't use stickers for int'l flights." She had to call over the gate supervisor and they phoned the Admirals Club and found out the only place that does re-ticketing after you get into the gate areas is the Admirals Club. (Yeah, I know, I don't understand either.) They both told me to ask once I get to Miami.
Another boring flight... and I arrive in Miami.
Lucky for me, my routing had me leaving DTW at 8am and getting on the flight for MAD around 8pm. So I had like 2 hours to chill in the wonderfual Miami International Airport. (I would rather die than have to go through that airport again. It's so old, gross, smells funny, doesn't have enough restrooms, the duty free blows, etc.)
I took the time out to call my dad and ask him about how to say certain things in Spanish (make sure I had them correct) and just tell him how things were going. I spent time looking at the art exhibit about food (elementary/high school kids) and was appauled at the number of "brands" present. (Shocked because I teach a course on branding/mktg to youth.) I finally chilled out at the gate, and noticed the throngs of people. I swear the flight was completely full.
I was going to ask the agents about upgrading, but once the agents finally showed up (about 15 minutes before boarding began) their line was about 25 people long. I noticed there were lots of obscenely rich people gathering at the gate when they made the announcement for pre-boarding. I knew there would be no J seats and gave up.
I was near the front of coach and sat next to a delightful gentleman from the Dominican Republic. He knew German, Spanish, and English and we spoke about some of the stewardesses in Spanish.
I was disgusted by the attitude of a few of the flight attendants. One woman had a carryon which she thought would not fit in the overhead (she was one of the last people on and everything was full) and she asked an attendant, "Perdona, donde puede poner esto?" To which the attendant responded, "I'm sorry honey, no Spanish here, learn some English."
The flight was alright. I must say though, AA needs to redesign the placement of the controls for the personal viewing system. These controls are currently in the armrest, facing up. If you are in the window seat, yours is in the armrest you *SHARE* with the person sitting next to you. This made me want to jump out of the window a few times. Here is why: I would be sound asleep when all of a sudden the volume of the audio channel I was listening to would sky-rocket. Why? My seat mate put his arm on the armrest and simply moved a little bit. A few times my monitor came on with the loud burst of noise. Thank god I didn't scream, but I was **** near close to it a few times.
So the flight was long and uneventful and I was ready to see Madrid!
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the metro now goes all the way out to Barajas! Even if I did have to walk about a thousand miles to get there from the terminals, but, whatever.
After travelling for so long I was somewhat confused and got lost once getting out on Gran Via. I eventually found my hotel, and wanted to die on the spot. I walk in, and learn the hotel is going through "refurbishments" and the whole place is a mess. I'm allowed to put my suitcase in the room, and proceed to walk around the city. When I got back, and finally saw the room, I cried. The tv, which was the size of my ..., did not work. There was no clock. There was no heat. The bathroom had an open vent to an alley outside. So, lucky me, after returning at 3am after going to a concert, I awaken to the sound of jack-hammering at 8am. That's what I get for thinking a hotel for 40 euros will be "ok."
I checked out that morning and stayed at the BEST HOTEL IN THE WORLD...EVER. Well, maybe not EVER, but it was absolutely brilliant, the service superb, the rooms perfect, and the bkfst AWESOME. It is called Hotel Villa de la Reina. It is on Gran Via and is part of the H10 chain in Spain. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!! The rooms have hardwood floors, very modern design, the sink area has a clear glass top, huge mirrors, great toiletries, extra blankets and pillows, mini-bar... Trust me, if you go to Spain, find an H10 hotel!
So Madrid was wonderful and I was off to Barcelona for a few days, and a job interview. Flying Iberia was painful. MRTC really makes a difference. I think the worst part was landing in Barcelona, because I don't recall hearing an announcement saying, "If BCN is your final stop, get off the plane." I just noticed people leaving, so I was like "Oh my God!" The plane was continuing on to Stuttgart or somewhere in Germany. So I got off the plane, and proceeded to get a cab.
I stayed at a supposedly 4* hotel by the Gargallo Group. My advice - AVOID THESE HOTELS AT ALL COSTS!!!! After staying at an H10 property (also 4*) the Gargallo was the WORST ever! First off, I walk into reception and two guys are fighting behind the counter! They didn't even acknowledge my presence. I finally get to my room, and I cried, again. (Yeah, I know, I cry a lot when travelling.) I was only going to be there 2 days so I stuck with it.
I just have to say the best part of staying at the Gargallo Hotel was when the shower curtain (which was being held up by a string) fell down while I was in the shower. I threw it away from the tub and continued showering, they could clean up the mess. I checked out at 4.30 in the morning and the night clerk was totally zonked out, but it was ok. He got me a cab and I was off to begin my trip home (and this is where the REAL fun starts).
Let me just preface this by saying the second I saw my hotel room, I phoned AA reservations in Spain and upgraded myself to F for the journey home. I was already having trouble sleeping and I needed to be chipper to teach my classes when I returned.
So my cab came and we spoke all the way to the airport. He then told me the cost would be 25 euros plus a 5 euro "return to city fee" so I gave him the 30 euros and NO TIP. I was pissed, but oh well.
I slept the whole flight from BCN to MAD, all 40 minutes of it. Once I arrived in MAD, I had to check in for the International flight. As I get to the FC check-in I was asked about 10,000 questions. "How long have I owned my luggage? What am I carrying? Where am I going? Why? What did you do while you were in Spain?" After getting all checked in, and getting more than a few, "What the hell is he doing in this line?" looks I was told I needed to follow this woman. I was like, "Ok."
Lucky me! I got a FULL search! They made me unpack my WHOLE suitcase, every last thing, and checked it. Of course, since it was Spain, the inspector HAD TO SMOKE over all my items the whole time, ash flying everywhere. It was no big deal, more comical than anything.
Once that was done I went to the Lounge for "premier" passengers. It was boring. I wrote in my journal and got some funny looks from an older couple sitting in front of me. Probably because of my crazy hair and combat boots (I wear my pants folded up so you can see and stuff).
I was bored up there and went duty-free shopping and bought about a million things, mostly turron (my most favoritest thing EVER). I got some wine for my parents and a few knick-knacks. I then went to wait by the gate.
They finally announced boarding and I was one of the first to the area. They said, "We are boarding First Class only." I said, "I know." They looked at my boarding pass and let me in. I ended up being the first person on the plane because the first two, the older couple I'd seen in the lounge go stopped to be re-checked.
You should have seen the look on the stewardesses faces when I walked in. They were like, "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh." I could tell, it was so obvious. I took my seat, took some stuff out of my bag and looked around the cabin. It was the small plane, where FC in 2 rows, but it was the sleeper seats, and that's all I cared about. The other FC passengers slowly came in and they were ALL asked, "May I hang up your coat?" No one asked me. I scrunched my coat up and put it in the overhead bin. One of the attendants saw me do it, and did nothing.
It was the purser who I believe told the other attendants not to judge by how someone looks.
My seatmate was a delightful woman from Toronto. We were offered pre-flight drinks, and I think I elected water. Menus were passed out as well as the amenity kits.
I was quite irked to see that the menu was basically the same one I had in J class coming back from London a month earlier.
I was super happy that they had the appetizer thing with capers, ****, I can't remember what it was, all I know is that it was awesome. I ended up having the fish, it was "eh."
The desert was the best part, by this point the attendants knew I was the cute "young kid" and when they told me the options and I said, "I'll have the ice cream sundae please," they just smiled. It was one of the best sundaes ever!
I promptly fell asleep after that, as did most of the cabin. But, alas, I was awoken by the Captain coming on the overhead. "You may have noticed we have made a 180 degree turn. Some of the flight attendants have felt a shake near the rear of the aircraft and we are going to the Azores to have it looked at. It will take us about 45 minutes to get there." This was 3.5 hours into the flight.
We landed in Lajes at the Azores around 3 in the afternoon. The Captain came on again and said, "We should only be here for a few minutes, an hour at most, and then we'll be on our way." Two minutes later, she came on again and said, "Ok folks, it looks like we are going to be staying here for the night. We are going to get you set up with meals and hotels, so please collect all your belongings from the plane. Due to security reasons, you will not be able to pick up your luggage."
I was excited by the prospect of being stranded, because I'd get to see a new place! We were shuttled into the terminal, which has 3 gates. They were not prepared for us, as the power was not even on in the building. We sat there for about an hour before the Captain came back and said we would have to go through customs and then go downstairs because there were busses waiting for us.
They put all the F and J people in one hotel and the coach people in another. The bus ride was beautiful, although it had started raining and was already getting dark. Once we got to the hotel we were told we had to be back on the bus for 630am. The hotel was quite nice, and my room looked out into a beautiful garden. I didn't want to leave! It was times like this that I was glad for the amenity kit!
They apparently had a full dinner for the guests, but I fell asleep at 6pm and didn't wake up until midnight, so I missed it. The breakfast was quite nice though!
We all got on the busses and went back to the airport the next morning. We waited in the terminal for about 3 hours before we were allowed on the plane. Everyone crowded around the little gate thing when they said we would be boarding. They let the F cabin board first - and man - you would not believe the glares of "I hate you" that seemed to eminate from the crowd.
So we got on the plane and the captain came out and spoke to all 8 of us! I told her she was doing an excellent job of keeping everyone calm and thanked her for her professionalism. The purser then told us that the service would not be a normal F service as everything was catered there at Lajes and they were not used to so many classes. It was ok, at least I had my sleeper seat and personal dvd player.
We finally took off. The service was quite pleasant and the meals were sooooooooo good! So much better than regular plane food! I managed to watch 4 films before we landed in Miami.
We ended up landing 3 hours before we should have arrived the day before. And this is where the REAL fun began.
The first thing that blew was baggage claim. The bags came out on the carousel next to the one it said they would come out on. Luckily I only had one bag, and it was one of the first ones out. I proceeded to customs and had no problems getting through.
I went straight to the AA counter. I was the first person from the flight to make it there. The girl told me they had been warned we were coming. She was extremely nice and tried to get me to SAT earlier than I was supposed to. I told her I was going home to surprise my parents for a few days. She got me out on an earlier flight to DFW, still in F. As she finished ticketing that, the manager came by and told all the agents, "Keep these people on their original routings! Do not change anything!" I wanted to punch him in the face! We were already 24 hours late and there were earlier flights we could take. The woman told me not to pay attention to him.
The walk from where I picked up my luggage to the next flight was eye opening. I had never seen the check-in area of Miami for American. There were no less than 654,693 people in line! Even in the F and J lines! It was so crazy! I made it through to my new gate and just chilled. When they called for F to board, I got right on the plane. There were quite a few other people from the MAD flight on this plane.
The flight was smooth and the meal service was awesome! Vegetable canneloni! So good.
It was once I got to DFW that the sh*t really hit the fan. I went to the first gate for a SAT flight. I told the woman, "Here is my ticket, I was told I'd be on the standby list." She looked at it, and didn't know what to do. The manager came over and looked and said, "Oh, you are at the bottom of the list, you aren't going to make this flight." I was like, "Excuse me?" She repeated, "You aren't going to get on this flight, we'll put you on the list, but here is the gate info for the next flight, you'll probably get on that one." I was piiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssed. Here I was, an F passenger, coming in on a 24 hour delayed international flight and being put at the bottom of a waiting list! They proceeded to call no less than 12 standby passengers! I was appauled.
So I went to the next gate. (Mind you, I was running on very little sleep at this point as I woke at 545am in Lajes, Azores - was awake the whole 7 hour flight to Miami and the 2.5 hour flight to DFW, and it was now 4 horus past that.) They finally call my name for the *very last seat* on the plane. They tell me to hurry, and I ask, "Can I make a call?" They hand me the phone and it rings once when the gate manager says, "Get on the plane now, or don't get on." I hang up the phone and say, "Fine, I won't go." I start crying. They close the door and the plane is gone. The manager was pissed because it went with one empty seat when there were other stand-by's waiting. Granted, had I not been so tired, I think things would have been different.
I walk away, sob a little, and go back to the counter...still red in the eyes. The manager is on the phone. I speak to the other woman and tell her that I'd been travelling for over 36 hours and just wanted to get home. She was apologetic. I wanted to get the managers name. The manager, moves the mouthpiece of the phone away from her mouth and says, "My name is xx xxxx." She proceeds to explain to me how important on "On time departure" is, all the while still on the phone.
What I took away from all this was, "Screw the customer, on time departure is ALL we care about." Who cares if you are 24 hours late because of a mechanical problem on OUR plane. That's not OUR problem.
To make matters worse, a new American Way was on the planes, where Don Carty's message was all about their new goal for "on time departures." It was like a slap in my face.
I eventually got on the last SAT flight and slept the whole way. When I arrived at the airport, my mom was asleep on my dad's shoulder. They had been there since 6pm, the original time I was supposed to arrive had I been on the first flight from DFW. Instead, I got there at 11.30pm.
The flights back to DTW were boring.
I got a letter about two weeks after the trip from the Executive Office saying I had been credited with 20,000 miles for the inconvenience. I proceeded to call the office and told them my horror story after I arrived in the States. I said, "How come your foreign agents are much more courteous than the domestic agents?" ... I told them other things, but that's not important. I ended up also receiving a $275 voucher.
So the trip was crazy, fun, tiring, and emotional. I would do it again, but I want to be in a 777! Oh well.