Started off OK: was worried about the bag drop time, but apparently I had plenty up my sleeve:

• ^ QF2702 WLG-AKL dep 0645 arr 0745

Then things started to go slightly awry. ZQN got snowed in; all flights to ZQN were cancelled for the day. No biggy, I thought, WLG/AKL sectors seemed fine. Until I realised that some of the ZQN aircraft may have been used on these sectors.... Then things got odd.

QF2711, sched dep 1000, given a new sched dep of 1020. We had to wait for another aircraft (supposedly the one up from ZQN, perhaps that had just left, I'm not sure). I went down to AKL ticketing to think about rescheduling. They said that even if the flight is a bit late I still have 10 minutes change at AKL which is more than enough to make QF2715 after QF2714 (since they are right next to each other). So I naively proceeded:

• QF2711 AKL-WLG dep 1020 arr 1125
• QF2714 WLG-AKL dep 1155 arr 1300

The arrival times are guess-timates, because had each one taken exactly one hour after taxiing and docking, then everything should have been OK. Unfortunately, once I arrived at AKL after disembarking QF2714, despite being in 1F and running as soon as they opened up the door, the flight at Gate 20 had already departed. That was actually the plane bound for CHC. QF2715 had been given departure orders just before we taxiied into Gate 21. So I had missed it completely.

AKL Dom reticketed my QF2715 to QF2719 AKL-WLG (dep 1630 arr 1730) at no charge, which left QF2728 WLG-AKL (dep 1930 arr 2030) intact (which was by itself with its own PNR). One of my other pair-sets of flights on another PNR was effectively disrupted because of the rebooking. (Personally I didn't see a better solution here). I called QF ticketing NZ (because I was told to do so by AKL Dom ticketing) and they rebooked me for Thursday. They saw fit to waive the reticketing fee (NZ$50), but not the fare difference (from O to N and O to S fare), which turned out to be rather exhorbitant.

Travel insurance won't cover me for so much as a single cent because (a) if the delay was due to the weather, the delay wasn't long enough (it had to be directly affecting me by >12 hrs), and (b) if the delay wasn't due to the weather, then it wasn't due to a strike. They actually told me I should complain to Qantas for charging me for the rebook for an essentially lost flight set.

All of the sudden, my MR has turned into a mighty expensive one, i.e. not an MR anymore!

Notwithstanding that the AKL ticketing clerks I talked to had no idea what a status run/mileage run was (one didn't even know what I meant by the word status).

EDIT: Out of sheer tiredness and frustration, I cancelled my last bookings altogether and recovered the taxes (the credit card will be affected in 2 weeks; I have the entry 'Voucher' in my Bookings listing).....and then realised that I've shot myself in the foot....again!

I know what you're thinking: "What an idiot." Well, ladies and gentlemen, I give you your idiot... *takes a bow*