Stranded in Paris! My travel experience when Volcano Eyjafjallajökull hit in 2010
Mar 4, 2011, 10:10 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: HK
Programs: Cathay Silver, Marriott Ambassador, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 664
Stranded in Paris! My travel experience when Volcano Eyjafjallajökull hit in 2010
Hey FTers,
After reading a member’s flight review on his heavily delayed flight to London via Oman Air, I decided to write a review on my eventful trip from Paris to Hong Kong last April at the day when the volcano erupted in Iceland and caused havoc across all airlines in Europe and beyond. I was scheduled to depart Paris on Saturday 18 April (Sunday) to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific, which was exactly on days where the volcano affected Europe. Little did I know my time at Paris would be extended by a couple more days. Read on to see what happened.
15 April 2010 (Thursday)
In the morning when I went to visit a colleague at his London office, I noticed the TV news that was playing outside the meeting room. Apparently, the volcano in Iceland erupted and Heathrow will be closed at noon until at least 6pm that day. I was a little surprised by the news, and thought it was odd and unusual, but didn’t think much of it as it was temporary. I would never imagine at that time that I would be affected by this as well… days later.
I had previously booked a Eurostar ticket to Paris that afternoon. I checked out of the JW Marriott London and took a cab to the station. The Pancreas station was surprisingly busy that day, as many stranded travelers who couldn’t travel on plane decided to take the Eurostar instead. My train left on time at around 4pm, and made the 2.5 hr ride to Paris Gard du Nord station. It was a completely full train. Minutes before arriving at Paris, the announcer noted that Paris airport was closed as well, and customers should not travel to Paris airport that night. I was surprised to hear this news again, as I thought it was only restricted for a few hours. I left the train station and headed to Marriott Paris Rive Gauche. There were lots of activities going on in the lobby, as an American Airlines flight diverted from Dallas to London Heathrow diverted to Paris that afternoon, and there were many confused customers at the lobby. However, there was a notice at the lobby saying that these travelers would be able to leave the next morning.
After reading a member’s flight review on his heavily delayed flight to London via Oman Air, I decided to write a review on my eventful trip from Paris to Hong Kong last April at the day when the volcano erupted in Iceland and caused havoc across all airlines in Europe and beyond. I was scheduled to depart Paris on Saturday 18 April (Sunday) to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific, which was exactly on days where the volcano affected Europe. Little did I know my time at Paris would be extended by a couple more days. Read on to see what happened.
15 April 2010 (Thursday)
In the morning when I went to visit a colleague at his London office, I noticed the TV news that was playing outside the meeting room. Apparently, the volcano in Iceland erupted and Heathrow will be closed at noon until at least 6pm that day. I was a little surprised by the news, and thought it was odd and unusual, but didn’t think much of it as it was temporary. I would never imagine at that time that I would be affected by this as well… days later.
I had previously booked a Eurostar ticket to Paris that afternoon. I checked out of the JW Marriott London and took a cab to the station. The Pancreas station was surprisingly busy that day, as many stranded travelers who couldn’t travel on plane decided to take the Eurostar instead. My train left on time at around 4pm, and made the 2.5 hr ride to Paris Gard du Nord station. It was a completely full train. Minutes before arriving at Paris, the announcer noted that Paris airport was closed as well, and customers should not travel to Paris airport that night. I was surprised to hear this news again, as I thought it was only restricted for a few hours. I left the train station and headed to Marriott Paris Rive Gauche. There were lots of activities going on in the lobby, as an American Airlines flight diverted from Dallas to London Heathrow diverted to Paris that afternoon, and there were many confused customers at the lobby. However, there was a notice at the lobby saying that these travelers would be able to leave the next morning.
Last edited by pacificboot; Mar 7, 2011 at 6:43 am
Mar 4, 2011, 10:10 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: HK
Programs: Cathay Silver, Marriott Ambassador, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 664
16 April 2010 (Friday) and 17 April 2010 (Saturday)
When I went downstairs to the lobby for breakfast, I was greeted with a sign saying that Heathrow is still closed and those American Airlines customers would need to stay another day at the hotel. Note: they ended up being bused to London the next day. I was slightly worried about my flight on Sunday, but realized that that really isn’t an issue as it was 2 days from that day, and the volcanic ash would eventually clear. Later that night as I checked the flight status on Cathay Pacific, it noted that the Saturday and Sunday flights were cancelled. I immediately called up Marco Polo Club to rebook. Luckily I was a Gold member and I didn’t have to wait long to find an agent. The agent confirmed the flight was cancelled, but refused to rebook me on any later flights due to the uncertainty. I was very frustrated and told him to simply rebook me on the Monday flight, as I needed some kind of guarantee to get out of Paris. The agent mentioned that the flight was full and he was instructed not to rebook any customers until the situation cleared. I thought it was ridiculous, but there really wasn’t any point in arguing as the agent simply repeated what he said. So I called up my travel agent in Hong Kong, invoking my Gold member 72 hour guarantee and waitlisted for a flight on Tuesday. However, since Cathay Pacific does not allow Gold members to guarantee D class (discounted business class), I asked my travel agent to waitlist myself and my family (they were not Gold members at that time and could not invoke any seat guarantee) in both D and Y fare. I then called up Marco Polo Club, explained my situation and they confirmed my Y class reservation on Monday, but was unable to confirm anything for my parents as CX closed off inventory sales for that route for a few days.
When I went downstairs to the lobby for breakfast, I was greeted with a sign saying that Heathrow is still closed and those American Airlines customers would need to stay another day at the hotel. Note: they ended up being bused to London the next day. I was slightly worried about my flight on Sunday, but realized that that really isn’t an issue as it was 2 days from that day, and the volcanic ash would eventually clear. Later that night as I checked the flight status on Cathay Pacific, it noted that the Saturday and Sunday flights were cancelled. I immediately called up Marco Polo Club to rebook. Luckily I was a Gold member and I didn’t have to wait long to find an agent. The agent confirmed the flight was cancelled, but refused to rebook me on any later flights due to the uncertainty. I was very frustrated and told him to simply rebook me on the Monday flight, as I needed some kind of guarantee to get out of Paris. The agent mentioned that the flight was full and he was instructed not to rebook any customers until the situation cleared. I thought it was ridiculous, but there really wasn’t any point in arguing as the agent simply repeated what he said. So I called up my travel agent in Hong Kong, invoking my Gold member 72 hour guarantee and waitlisted for a flight on Tuesday. However, since Cathay Pacific does not allow Gold members to guarantee D class (discounted business class), I asked my travel agent to waitlist myself and my family (they were not Gold members at that time and could not invoke any seat guarantee) in both D and Y fare. I then called up Marco Polo Club, explained my situation and they confirmed my Y class reservation on Monday, but was unable to confirm anything for my parents as CX closed off inventory sales for that route for a few days.
Mar 4, 2011, 10:11 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: HK
Programs: Cathay Silver, Marriott Ambassador, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 664
18 April 2010 (Sunday)
Scheduled departure: CDG/1400
Scheduled arrival: HKG/0725 (+1)
Status: Cancelled
As I woke up in the morning, I immediately checked flight status and noted that the Monday flight from Paris to Hong Kong is cancelled (my rebooked flight). I called up my travel agent again and did the same seat guarantee for Tuesday’s flight. Once again, I was cleared in Y fare class (a downgrade from my D fare class) on Tuesday (3 days after schedule). However, the earliest my mother can be confirmed were on Saturday (6 days after scheduled) as she was on a D fare, and my dad who is confirmed on Sunday (7 days after scheduled) as he was on a K fare.
19 April 2010 (Monday)
Scheduled departure: CDG/1400
Scheduled arrival: HKG/0725 (+1)
Status: Cancelled
Checked flight status again in the morning, and noted that the Tuesday flight was cancelled. I did the same thing and confirmed myself for the Wednesday flight which was showing as scheduled. I also began to look for other options on other airlines/routes because I was worried about the current situation. Flights that I rebooked on kept getting cancelled, and Paris airport is still closed, with the exception of some flights to Spain. There were some very interesting options as I searched on line, such as a route that went from Paris to Hong Kong via Barcelona, Toronto, Seoul. There was also one that went from Paris to Hong Kong via Madrid, some islands in Caribbean that I forgot, Mexico City and San Francisco. However, there was one option that looked very attractive and I nearly booked it. Air France was selling seats on a special Toulouse to Hong Kong flight that would depart that night, and seats are available for USD1,500 in Economy. I went to the Air France website and sure enough, that flight existed and customers are advised to check in at Paris airport around 10 hours prior to departure, and customers will be bused to Toulouse to Hong Kong. I decided not to book on that flight as (a) It was quite expensive and the 6 hour bus ride to Toulouse did not sound attractive, and (b) I was having quite a lot of fun in Paris and didn’t want to leave so soon. As I watched the TV news, and saw that customers were stranded at airports without money, friends or family, I felt horrible for them, and prayed that everyone would travel home safely, one way or another. I was also thankful I was stranded in Paris with my parents. I shouldn’t have use the word “stranded” as I really was enjoying my time here. We are touring museums, checking out galleries, visiting the Money Gardens and soaking up all that France has to offer.
Scheduled departure: CDG/1400
Scheduled arrival: HKG/0725 (+1)
Status: Cancelled
As I woke up in the morning, I immediately checked flight status and noted that the Monday flight from Paris to Hong Kong is cancelled (my rebooked flight). I called up my travel agent again and did the same seat guarantee for Tuesday’s flight. Once again, I was cleared in Y fare class (a downgrade from my D fare class) on Tuesday (3 days after schedule). However, the earliest my mother can be confirmed were on Saturday (6 days after scheduled) as she was on a D fare, and my dad who is confirmed on Sunday (7 days after scheduled) as he was on a K fare.
19 April 2010 (Monday)
Scheduled departure: CDG/1400
Scheduled arrival: HKG/0725 (+1)
Status: Cancelled
Checked flight status again in the morning, and noted that the Tuesday flight was cancelled. I did the same thing and confirmed myself for the Wednesday flight which was showing as scheduled. I also began to look for other options on other airlines/routes because I was worried about the current situation. Flights that I rebooked on kept getting cancelled, and Paris airport is still closed, with the exception of some flights to Spain. There were some very interesting options as I searched on line, such as a route that went from Paris to Hong Kong via Barcelona, Toronto, Seoul. There was also one that went from Paris to Hong Kong via Madrid, some islands in Caribbean that I forgot, Mexico City and San Francisco. However, there was one option that looked very attractive and I nearly booked it. Air France was selling seats on a special Toulouse to Hong Kong flight that would depart that night, and seats are available for USD1,500 in Economy. I went to the Air France website and sure enough, that flight existed and customers are advised to check in at Paris airport around 10 hours prior to departure, and customers will be bused to Toulouse to Hong Kong. I decided not to book on that flight as (a) It was quite expensive and the 6 hour bus ride to Toulouse did not sound attractive, and (b) I was having quite a lot of fun in Paris and didn’t want to leave so soon. As I watched the TV news, and saw that customers were stranded at airports without money, friends or family, I felt horrible for them, and prayed that everyone would travel home safely, one way or another. I was also thankful I was stranded in Paris with my parents. I shouldn’t have use the word “stranded” as I really was enjoying my time here. We are touring museums, checking out galleries, visiting the Money Gardens and soaking up all that France has to offer.
Mar 4, 2011, 10:11 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: HK
Programs: Cathay Silver, Marriott Ambassador, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 664
20 April 2010 (Tuesday)
Scheduled departure: CDG/1400
Scheduled arrival: HKG/0725 (+1)
Status: Cancelled
Flights were beginning to resume in Paris and I felt confident that my flight would depart as scheduled on Wednesday, abeit with an 8 hour delay due to delay in inbound aircraft.
21 April 2010 (Wednesday)
Scheduled departure: CDG/1400
Actual departure: CDG/2200
Scheduled arrival: HKG/0725 (+1)
Actual arrival: HKG/1700
I headed out to the airport 6 hours prior to departure, as I was worried about overbooking and the chaotic situation at the airport. Turns out that many travelers also arrived at the airport very early, and there was a long time at the rebooking desk. I got my boarding pass with a boarding number of 250s (it means that 250 customers have checked in ahead of me at the airport, as online check in was suspended). The queuing system at check in counters were very organized and there were staff policing priority check in counters to ensure only those ticketing in F/J cabins on that flight would get on. There was also staff policing the Economy Class lines, which stretched all the way outside the door, to ensure only ticketing customers were in that line. There were also lots of frustrated customers at the rebooking desk which also stretched all the way outside the doors. I asked about availability on Thurs/Fri and Saturday as my father was rebooked on Sunday and my mother was rebooked on Saturday, which is not an ideal situation. But i was told by different agents at airport and over the phone the earliest availability for 2 seats in Sunday for all cabin class.
The CX Lounge in CDG is extremely small and it is filled to beyond capacity. I mean people were eating standing up, and there were no seats available at all and customers are still coming in. I immediately head out to the Admirals Club in the same terminal and it was a lot larger in size with fewer people. It was more relaxing that the CX lounge.
The flight eventually left 10pm on 21 April and arrived in Hong Kong 5pm on 22 April. I was seated in the Economy Class cabin even though I was ticketed in Business. The flight was clearly full as there were customers seated at the flight attendant’s jump seat for the entire duration of the flight.
My parents who were not Gold members were unfortunately unable to travel with me. My mother arrived Sunday on CX, and my father canceled his CX ticket and purchased an MH ticket via KUL and also arrived Sunday.
After-thought
I was thankful that I finally arrived in Hong Kong safely. But I knew that I had the long journey of negotiating with the travel insurance company and Cathay Pacific about compensation. Unfortunately, the terms of the travel insurance restricted to a payment of a maximum of USD 125 for travel related delay, irregardless of days of delay. That clearly was not enough as that amount couldn’t even pay for one night’s hotel. Cathay Pacific initially was very reluctant to reimburse me for the downgrade. I do understand as the delay was caused out of their control, However, I was very frustrated at their slow response, and they refusal to reimburse me anything for the downgrade. Multiple emails, faxes, letters were exchanged back and fourth, and I was finally reimbursed six months later, however the amount of HKD 6000 reimbursement for the downgrade was way less than the difference between Business and Economy for a one-way CDG-HKG (It should be around HKD 12000). However, they also reimbursed all 6 nights hotel night stay as well as meals incurred during that time, which was something I didn't expect. Looking hindsight, I should have booked the executive level suite instead! I sent them a thank you email at the end. It also made me appreciate the perks of being a elite member of the program, as it provided extremely beneficial throughout the course. If I wasn’t a gold member at that time, I would have been stuck in Paris for 3 more days and waiting for over 1 hour for an agent to answer the phone. Overall, I have enjoyed my experience, as it felt like an extended vacation. I was fortunate enough to be in such an amazing and romantic city, and got home safely and comfortably.
I hope that this trip report has been interesting. Feel free to leave any comments and questions.
Scheduled departure: CDG/1400
Scheduled arrival: HKG/0725 (+1)
Status: Cancelled
Flights were beginning to resume in Paris and I felt confident that my flight would depart as scheduled on Wednesday, abeit with an 8 hour delay due to delay in inbound aircraft.
21 April 2010 (Wednesday)
Scheduled departure: CDG/1400
Actual departure: CDG/2200
Scheduled arrival: HKG/0725 (+1)
Actual arrival: HKG/1700
I headed out to the airport 6 hours prior to departure, as I was worried about overbooking and the chaotic situation at the airport. Turns out that many travelers also arrived at the airport very early, and there was a long time at the rebooking desk. I got my boarding pass with a boarding number of 250s (it means that 250 customers have checked in ahead of me at the airport, as online check in was suspended). The queuing system at check in counters were very organized and there were staff policing priority check in counters to ensure only those ticketing in F/J cabins on that flight would get on. There was also staff policing the Economy Class lines, which stretched all the way outside the door, to ensure only ticketing customers were in that line. There were also lots of frustrated customers at the rebooking desk which also stretched all the way outside the doors. I asked about availability on Thurs/Fri and Saturday as my father was rebooked on Sunday and my mother was rebooked on Saturday, which is not an ideal situation. But i was told by different agents at airport and over the phone the earliest availability for 2 seats in Sunday for all cabin class.
The CX Lounge in CDG is extremely small and it is filled to beyond capacity. I mean people were eating standing up, and there were no seats available at all and customers are still coming in. I immediately head out to the Admirals Club in the same terminal and it was a lot larger in size with fewer people. It was more relaxing that the CX lounge.
The flight eventually left 10pm on 21 April and arrived in Hong Kong 5pm on 22 April. I was seated in the Economy Class cabin even though I was ticketed in Business. The flight was clearly full as there were customers seated at the flight attendant’s jump seat for the entire duration of the flight.
My parents who were not Gold members were unfortunately unable to travel with me. My mother arrived Sunday on CX, and my father canceled his CX ticket and purchased an MH ticket via KUL and also arrived Sunday.
After-thought
I was thankful that I finally arrived in Hong Kong safely. But I knew that I had the long journey of negotiating with the travel insurance company and Cathay Pacific about compensation. Unfortunately, the terms of the travel insurance restricted to a payment of a maximum of USD 125 for travel related delay, irregardless of days of delay. That clearly was not enough as that amount couldn’t even pay for one night’s hotel. Cathay Pacific initially was very reluctant to reimburse me for the downgrade. I do understand as the delay was caused out of their control, However, I was very frustrated at their slow response, and they refusal to reimburse me anything for the downgrade. Multiple emails, faxes, letters were exchanged back and fourth, and I was finally reimbursed six months later, however the amount of HKD 6000 reimbursement for the downgrade was way less than the difference between Business and Economy for a one-way CDG-HKG (It should be around HKD 12000). However, they also reimbursed all 6 nights hotel night stay as well as meals incurred during that time, which was something I didn't expect. Looking hindsight, I should have booked the executive level suite instead! I sent them a thank you email at the end. It also made me appreciate the perks of being a elite member of the program, as it provided extremely beneficial throughout the course. If I wasn’t a gold member at that time, I would have been stuck in Paris for 3 more days and waiting for over 1 hour for an agent to answer the phone. Overall, I have enjoyed my experience, as it felt like an extended vacation. I was fortunate enough to be in such an amazing and romantic city, and got home safely and comfortably.
I hope that this trip report has been interesting. Feel free to leave any comments and questions.
Last edited by pacificboot; Mar 7, 2011 at 7:56 am Reason: edited details of what CX reimbursed me
Mar 5, 2011, 3:31 pm
#5
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: UK & Ghana
Programs: BA, VS,
Posts: 224
every time i read a report of trying to travel during this period i am just so thankful.
I arrived back in London from Ghana about 2 hours before the UK skies were closed, i had been telephoned the day of my flight to see if i could delay my return for 1 day as the flight was oversold. Thankfully as i was travelling with someone else who needed to get back to London ASAP i refused and caught the last flight, as it turns out, it was the last ever flight of that airline!
I arrived back in London from Ghana about 2 hours before the UK skies were closed, i had been telephoned the day of my flight to see if i could delay my return for 1 day as the flight was oversold. Thankfully as i was travelling with someone else who needed to get back to London ASAP i refused and caught the last flight, as it turns out, it was the last ever flight of that airline!
Mar 6, 2011, 4:17 am
#6
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York City
Programs: BA Gold Guest List; HH Diamond; Hyatt Diamond; SPG Gold
Posts: 2,832
Mar 7, 2011, 12:42 am
#8
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 13
That volcano has erupted in iceland but affected every part of the world, eveyone was very scared from this rocking eruption and of course has disturbed our environment too. But lot of people said that this is the reason of our unbalanced environment.
One thing is sure that it has caused great loss to our world and environment too, many flights got canceled for months and passengers were stuck on the airport and there is no way out for them. I hope that this thing doesn't happen again.
One thing is sure that it has caused great loss to our world and environment too, many flights got canceled for months and passengers were stuck on the airport and there is no way out for them. I hope that this thing doesn't happen again.
Mar 12, 2011, 8:33 am
#9
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: MSP
Programs: DL SkyMiles, UA Mileage Plus
Posts: 319
I was stranded in Istanbul, Turkey for 5 days because of Eyafjallajokull. I had been all over the country of Turkey for 3 weeks and finally I was in the southeastern city of Mardin as the airspace was closed. I was due to fly back to the USA via Amsterdam in 2 days time, which was clear now that this was not going to happen. The next day I flew back to Istanbul and that is where I waited it out.
I made the long journey to the KLM ticket office in Taksim. I was having people in the US calling for me also trying to get me out as I really needed to be to work in a couple of days. The most frustrating thing was that they could put me on the Delta Air Lines flight from Istanbul to JFK Airport in New York but they would not get me to my final destination. This was in part due to the fact that I had bought 2 separate tickets. One from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, where I was originally going to spend my entire 4 weeks holiday with family. But after some searches found a really cheap deal with KLM to Istanbul -- so a second ticket was bought. During the rebooking process, they said that had it been one PNR they would probably have gotten me all the way back to MPLS... The more frustrating thing was that everyone was capitalizing on this " well, you didn't buy this direct flight so we're going to charge you the difference in fare, even though there are seats open."
In the end I was an extra 5 days in Istanbul (not that one should complain, but i was not prepared for the extra $900 in food, hotel, etc). and I missed 4 days of work which cost me an additional $900 in pay....
But it was an experience that I look back on with fond memory.
There is a little bit about my tale on my blog http://travelingtheworldaround.com/e...e-end-is-near/
I made the long journey to the KLM ticket office in Taksim. I was having people in the US calling for me also trying to get me out as I really needed to be to work in a couple of days. The most frustrating thing was that they could put me on the Delta Air Lines flight from Istanbul to JFK Airport in New York but they would not get me to my final destination. This was in part due to the fact that I had bought 2 separate tickets. One from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, where I was originally going to spend my entire 4 weeks holiday with family. But after some searches found a really cheap deal with KLM to Istanbul -- so a second ticket was bought. During the rebooking process, they said that had it been one PNR they would probably have gotten me all the way back to MPLS... The more frustrating thing was that everyone was capitalizing on this " well, you didn't buy this direct flight so we're going to charge you the difference in fare, even though there are seats open."
In the end I was an extra 5 days in Istanbul (not that one should complain, but i was not prepared for the extra $900 in food, hotel, etc). and I missed 4 days of work which cost me an additional $900 in pay....
But it was an experience that I look back on with fond memory.
There is a little bit about my tale on my blog http://travelingtheworldaround.com/e...e-end-is-near/
Last edited by dereiziger; Mar 12, 2011 at 8:38 am
