Christmas flight from hell. What could I have done better (UA/SQ)
 

*******I didn't mean to antagonize anyone. I'm just asking for calm advice on how to avoid delays like this.******* On hindsight I should perhaps have posted this in the newbies lounge but I saw "simple questions" and thought this was a little more complex.

My Christmas flight from hell.
This was a few years ago.

I would love to hear how I could have done better.

Expected 30-40 hour travel time from MSN-KUL.
Actual travel time: 58 hours.
19-year old student at the time. Not sure how I didn't break down crying.

My travel agent booked me on a UA/SQ ticket from MSN-KUL.

Snow delayed me in MSN. Got to ORD and I missed my ORD-IAH flight. I figured that I would probably miss my international SQ flight.

Ran to United customer service. 2 hour queue wait time. I called UA phone support. Phone queue was 1 hour+ so I gave up. SQ said nothing they can do, talk to UA.

Waited the 2 hours in line for United customer service to rebook my flight. They wanted to put me onto the next flight to IAH.

Luckily I had called SQ customer service before this. Otherwise I would have been completely screwed over.

SQ had no seats available on their international IAH outbound flight for the next THREE(3) days. SQ rep told me they should reroute me to LAX which United agreed to. Thank god for SQ phone support.

Got to LAX, and had to wait till the next day in LAX.

===About 12 hours have elapsed===

This is christmas eve and I'm stuck alone at LAX. 19 year old me is tired from running ~2 miles in ORD airport. I'm also exhausted from dealing with the United reps at ORD. I'm on the verge of full out crying at the airport. Phone is dead, I can't call anyone. Just want to collapse and never see the world again.

Neither UA/SQ/*A support would pay for my hotel or give me anything. After a lot of arguing, someone gave me a discounted hotel rate of $80/nt at LAX. Didn't even pay me for dinner.

Arrived in SIN, slept overnight in the airport.

Arrived in KUL, bags are missing. Got my bags two days later with stolen items. Filed a missing items report with SQ and never heard back.

Summary: 58 hour travel time on a single ticket. Incompetent UA airline support. Running across terminals in ORD with baggage. (probably a good mile or two) Overnight in LAX on my own expenses. Stolen luggage with SQ ticketed flight that they never gave me money back for. Valuables stolen.

What could I have done better in my situation?

It sounds like the crux of the problem was weather at ORD. That caused cascading problems - long lines, long telephone hold times, no paid hotel - that are pretty standard when weather messes up holiday travel. So I could say "don't connect through ORD during snow season" but that's not really helpful if you're going to fly UA from MSN.

Decent chance if you'd flow DL through MSP or DTW that you would have had a better experience. Those airports don't lock up like ORD during weather and DL has much better IRROPS handling.

Did you file a lost baggage claim with SQ? They're the ones responsible for delivering your luggage even if they didn't lose it.

• Don't put valuables in a checked bag.
• Learn that weather is not something any human can control.
• Not wait 10 months to ask questions about the situation.
• Carry travel insurance if the expense of an unexpected dinner or hotel room en route is going to be a burden.

Seems that the original itinerary had a whole lot of connections anyways (MSN-ORD-IAH-(DME)-SIN-KUL???) so the reroute via LAX isn't that big a deal and you got lucky that an airline was able to find seats open in peak travel season.

I also would have started the rebooking process at MSN rather than waiting until getting to ORD. Why were you waiting in line at ORD unless you'd already missed the connection there? That part of the timeline doesn't make sense.

I agree. Be proactive in this situation. The protections should've begun in MSN.

Cut out the extra sections, even its paying a little more for less flights. This whole itinerary is a disaster, even before weather hit.

I too am wondering why you bring this up now..

Was this on one ticket or two separate ones on UA and SQ? If the latter, technically SQ isn't obligated to do anything, and they went above and beyond in your case.

SQ follows *A delayed luggage rules. You were entitled to $50/day for delayed luggage in KUL.

1. Book as few connections as possible. This probably means booking early especially for flights near the holidays.
2. Do whatever you can to avoid ORD in the winter. If you have to transit ORD, schedule a longer layover to account for delays.
3. Don't put valuables in your checked luggage.
4. Consider insurance to cover delays for winter flights from the midwest.

To answer those who are wondering why the OP posted this question now, it's entirely possible that they are anticipating another similar trip for Christmas and is, laudably, being proactive.

I'd like to hear what the original routing was, and why it was chosen. Perhaps there's some good advice that can be given when making future selections that keep in mind the OP's constraints.

Did I fall into a time warp? Christmas is still two months away (it's October 24th isn't it?) so either this happened last year and it's rather late to do much other than toss it up to a real life learning experience. Not to dump on the OP, but as others have noted, this happens all the time since airlines cannot control for weather delays and mis-connections. And if flights are sold out during peak travel periods, there's little that can be done to accommodate you unless someone no-shows. Considering this was a weather issue, OP'd be one of thousands facing the same problem.

Get a better a travel agent and a weather control machine.

My experience is that UA does not handle operational meltdowns well. You may want to think about other carriers. I happen to like Delta a lot better, mostly because of their better ability to get problems solved if things go wrong, and get you on your way without incredible wait times.

Buy a club pass for $50 where there's a customer service desk, and even during the busiest times the lines are 10-20 minutes versus hours, and the agents will spend a little more time reconstructing a ticket. And can also relax and be less stressed (usually.)

Or, politely ask a person entering solo if you be "guested" in. If someone asked me nicely I'd be more than happy to help, and have done it proactively myself (Most recently I brought in an older couple on a canceled ORD-DEN flight that would have missed their connection to SNA - they were able to get seats on the next DEN flight making it in time, which most likely would have been gone by the time they waited in the regular line.)

Also, book long connections, especially in winter. I have family I travel with from Michigan, originating from regional flights (often delayed). They are retired, and do not mind a connection of 4 hours versus 1-2. Being young and a student during the holidays you're probably in the same position where time is more ample than that of a busy professional. Can spend time reading, relaxing, and most importantly reduce connection stress significantly, especially if connecting to a once daily int'l flight. It may sound like an excessive contingency, but it puts you ahead of the game and if further delays you're in a place to be more proactive.

And agree with above, book a more streamlined ticket next time.

One of the reasons I try to avoid flying at Christmas internationally is almost all flights are booked solid. Living in Canada, plenty of chances for snow delays and weather problems.

As others have suggested book less connections and longer layovers on such a long journey in the winter.

One final thing is, prepare yourself ahead of time for disruptions like this during peak travel times. Travel is just this way sometimes. There isn't anything you can do (or anyone else for that matter) other than roll with the punches and enjoy the unique adventure you're experiencing. You will get there eventually and when you do you'll have something to talk about.

Four tips:

Don't book risky connections to low frequency flights at airports that are delay prone in the winter if you have a low tolerance for delays.

The late delivering carrier (UA here) always has responsibility to book you to your next stopover (KUL) on whatever airlines you agree with them on. SQ had nothing to do here and any calls with them were just a distraction.

Have access to money for meals and hotels, since airlines won't cover them when your flights are disrupted by weather.

Never put valuables in checked baggage.