The conclusion I didn't include
Jul. 25th, 2006 12:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azuriteThis gets a whole new post due to the insanity of it all.
On the return flight back to Burbank (SFO -> BUR), I found out 5 minutes before we were due to arrive at the airport (approximately 1 hour before our flight was scheduled to take off, the recommended time to come in to deal with security and whatnot) that our flight had been cancelled. The automated message didn't say why. But we didn't turn around; being so close to the airport, we all just decided to find out what was what and see what we would be compensated with. The message DID say we had been rescheduled for a flight to Burbank the next morning, but that would mean schlepping all the way back to SFO and imposing on my mom-- plus unpacking, after we'd spent so much time PACKING!
So Scott, Mom, and I all got out while Gary guarded the car; Mom and I (more Mom, since she is not fun to deal with when you piss her off) talked to a customer service person. Mom went a little over the top, but in the end, Scott and I got our flight changed to one that was supposed to leave at 9:30 (instead of 7:15, our original flight). So it was a few extra hours at the airport, but SFO had lots of food and stores, so why not?
We noticed that on our new boarding passes, the original time for the flight (SFO -> LAX) was actually 8:07, and it had gotten rescheduled. But we thought nothing of it, so we went to get some food at the food court nearest our gate. As I went to the bathroom, I noticed there were no outbound flights to Los Angeles leaving at 9:30. There was one at 9:40, and after I checked with Scott, I confirmed the flight number-- our flight had been delayed by 10 minutes. No big deal, right?
We'd already hung out at the bookstore and I'd had a Noah's bagel from earlier; now after dinner, we just decided to head to the gate, about a half hour before our boarding time. But when we got there, the flight got rescheduled to 10:00. Then 10:20. Then 10:30. Then finally, 11:20. Initially, it was because of monsoon/thunderstorms over the middle of the state, which the airline refused to fly over. So why not fly over the ocean? We ended up doing that anyway. Then it was because they had no pilot, and even when we finally got a pilot, we didn't have enough flight attendants. Then the flight attendants came-- three more than we needed. We finally got underway, after five hours.
The plane was nice, and I even got some shut-eye, but when we got to LAX, there was more confusion. The rep from SFO had told us to tell a United Representative at LAX that we'd initially been scheduled for Burbank, and we had a shuttle waiting there for us. Since everyone from our flight had either been directed toward this flight or the one for the following morning, we wouldn't be alone; we'd all take the shuttle from LAX to BUR, and just take a shuttle from there, right? Wrong. 41 people from the rescheduled flight cancelled, so we had no way of getting any sort of upgrade or compensation. We basically waited HOURS for nothing.
On top of that, Burbank closed at midnight or so, so there was no point in having United shuttle us there if Super Shuttle wouldn't pick us up. So after standing in plenty of lines, schlepping our luggage around (I got a SmartKart for $3, but it made my life easier for a few hours), and talking to plenty of people, another United rep gave us a $51 voucher for the shuttle. We paid $31 for the shuttle from Burbank; from LAX it would have been slightly more, so the $51 *was* generous, but it hardly made up for all the waiting and the lack of information. Matter of fact, it almost didn't help at all, because Super Shuttle apparently didn't have enough shuttles (3 7-person vans -_-) to take us back to Northridge-- they were all going elsewhere, like to Glendale, Pasadena, and Anaheim. We had to do some juggling with Primetime Shuttle (the company I hate, because I feel unsafe with them), and we got to Northridge-- I even slept in the car, while Scott directed a driver who had NO idea where the hell he was with where to go.
And we got home... at 3:30am. It was still blazing hot though, so we slept with no blankets, the fan on full blast, and the air conditioning on. Neither of us got much sleep; Scott woke up around 9:30 or 10 to start getting ready to leave, and though I was still dead tired and even more overheated, I woke up with him, because I wanted to say goodbye and everything. And so it went, and we said "goodbye" or at least, "I'll see you later."
Scott seems to have made up his mind about the Peace Corps; he doesn't want to wait until next year to MAYBE get an Asian assignment, so he'll settle for whatever he gets in Central Asia, i.e. Kazakhstan or Azerbaijan. If I had to do the picking, I'd pick the latter, but... well, I just wish Scott wouldn't feel like he HAS to pick the Peace Corps because he got all those medical tests for it, did all that paperwork, etc. Yes, it looks great on your resume, and yes, it's longer, possibly more rewarding... but I just don't want him to be unreachable, or in danger because of wars in that area (very close to the Middle East).
He also has the option of getting something guaranteed IN JAPAN from the Oxford TEFL seminars, but who knows when and where that will pan out? I just hope he lets me know soon, and everything will somehow work out.
But needless to say, neither of us are flying United again if we can help it. I think I'll have to, for Japan, but I hope international flights are the exception. :P Still, I want to write a complaint letter. I also want to make sure my mom doesn't get charged for a shuttle we couldn't arrive on time to take, considering we weren't even at the right airport. :P
On the return flight back to Burbank (SFO -> BUR), I found out 5 minutes before we were due to arrive at the airport (approximately 1 hour before our flight was scheduled to take off, the recommended time to come in to deal with security and whatnot) that our flight had been cancelled. The automated message didn't say why. But we didn't turn around; being so close to the airport, we all just decided to find out what was what and see what we would be compensated with. The message DID say we had been rescheduled for a flight to Burbank the next morning, but that would mean schlepping all the way back to SFO and imposing on my mom-- plus unpacking, after we'd spent so much time PACKING!
So Scott, Mom, and I all got out while Gary guarded the car; Mom and I (more Mom, since she is not fun to deal with when you piss her off) talked to a customer service person. Mom went a little over the top, but in the end, Scott and I got our flight changed to one that was supposed to leave at 9:30 (instead of 7:15, our original flight). So it was a few extra hours at the airport, but SFO had lots of food and stores, so why not?
We noticed that on our new boarding passes, the original time for the flight (SFO -> LAX) was actually 8:07, and it had gotten rescheduled. But we thought nothing of it, so we went to get some food at the food court nearest our gate. As I went to the bathroom, I noticed there were no outbound flights to Los Angeles leaving at 9:30. There was one at 9:40, and after I checked with Scott, I confirmed the flight number-- our flight had been delayed by 10 minutes. No big deal, right?
We'd already hung out at the bookstore and I'd had a Noah's bagel from earlier; now after dinner, we just decided to head to the gate, about a half hour before our boarding time. But when we got there, the flight got rescheduled to 10:00. Then 10:20. Then 10:30. Then finally, 11:20. Initially, it was because of monsoon/thunderstorms over the middle of the state, which the airline refused to fly over. So why not fly over the ocean? We ended up doing that anyway. Then it was because they had no pilot, and even when we finally got a pilot, we didn't have enough flight attendants. Then the flight attendants came-- three more than we needed. We finally got underway, after five hours.
The plane was nice, and I even got some shut-eye, but when we got to LAX, there was more confusion. The rep from SFO had told us to tell a United Representative at LAX that we'd initially been scheduled for Burbank, and we had a shuttle waiting there for us. Since everyone from our flight had either been directed toward this flight or the one for the following morning, we wouldn't be alone; we'd all take the shuttle from LAX to BUR, and just take a shuttle from there, right? Wrong. 41 people from the rescheduled flight cancelled, so we had no way of getting any sort of upgrade or compensation. We basically waited HOURS for nothing.
On top of that, Burbank closed at midnight or so, so there was no point in having United shuttle us there if Super Shuttle wouldn't pick us up. So after standing in plenty of lines, schlepping our luggage around (I got a SmartKart for $3, but it made my life easier for a few hours), and talking to plenty of people, another United rep gave us a $51 voucher for the shuttle. We paid $31 for the shuttle from Burbank; from LAX it would have been slightly more, so the $51 *was* generous, but it hardly made up for all the waiting and the lack of information. Matter of fact, it almost didn't help at all, because Super Shuttle apparently didn't have enough shuttles (3 7-person vans -_-) to take us back to Northridge-- they were all going elsewhere, like to Glendale, Pasadena, and Anaheim. We had to do some juggling with Primetime Shuttle (the company I hate, because I feel unsafe with them), and we got to Northridge-- I even slept in the car, while Scott directed a driver who had NO idea where the hell he was with where to go.
And we got home... at 3:30am. It was still blazing hot though, so we slept with no blankets, the fan on full blast, and the air conditioning on. Neither of us got much sleep; Scott woke up around 9:30 or 10 to start getting ready to leave, and though I was still dead tired and even more overheated, I woke up with him, because I wanted to say goodbye and everything. And so it went, and we said "goodbye" or at least, "I'll see you later."
Scott seems to have made up his mind about the Peace Corps; he doesn't want to wait until next year to MAYBE get an Asian assignment, so he'll settle for whatever he gets in Central Asia, i.e. Kazakhstan or Azerbaijan. If I had to do the picking, I'd pick the latter, but... well, I just wish Scott wouldn't feel like he HAS to pick the Peace Corps because he got all those medical tests for it, did all that paperwork, etc. Yes, it looks great on your resume, and yes, it's longer, possibly more rewarding... but I just don't want him to be unreachable, or in danger because of wars in that area (very close to the Middle East).
He also has the option of getting something guaranteed IN JAPAN from the Oxford TEFL seminars, but who knows when and where that will pan out? I just hope he lets me know soon, and everything will somehow work out.
But needless to say, neither of us are flying United again if we can help it. I think I'll have to, for Japan, but I hope international flights are the exception. :P Still, I want to write a complaint letter. I also want to make sure my mom doesn't get charged for a shuttle we couldn't arrive on time to take, considering we weren't even at the right airport. :P
