FYI: I had insisted on staying one more week in Maine without Dave simply so that I could have some more family time, shopping time, and driving time. "Flying back to Morocco by myself with 2 more checked bags in tow should be simple", I said when we booked our flights...
FYI: In an effort to save several hundred dollars, we booked international round trip tickets from New York to Casablanca...and then separate domestic round trip tickets from New York to Maine with a non-partnering airline. Even with the cost of paying for extra luggage twice as a result of booking this way, we were still saving tons of money. Until...
- Bad weather in NYC prevented all flights from departing/arriving. My 12:50PM flight was delayed for 1 hour...and then another hour...and then another hour
- ...and then another hour
- I departed Portland, ME [finally] around 6:30PM. My international flight was scheduled for 6:50PM.
FYI: The international flight we booked was non-refundable. Further, since the domestic/international airlines that we booked our flights through were not partners, there were no attempts by my domestic airline to put me on a new flight to Casablanca. It just wasn't their problem. The international airline was equally as helpful in this matter. "Not our fault", they said on the phone when I called them in tears.
::edit:: Thank you, Ma, for creatively allowing me to talk to Dave in the midst of this flight nightmare!
- I arrived in New York around 8:00PM. Clearly, I had missed my international flight. I still didn't have a new flight plan and the airline guy I spoke with on the phone didn't seem so optimistic about me getting one very easily...so I decided to cry even harder to an actual airline representative.
- The airline representative finally decided to "do me a favor" by allowing me to pay $300 for a new flight itinerary that would depart at 5:55PM the next day. What a favor, eh?
- There were absolutely no hotel rooms available in the area. I was directed to the only terminal open 24/7 to spend the night. Of course, I still had my two 50lb. checked bags and 45lb. carry-on in tow.
- I managed to find a cramped seat on a stone bench...and slept for no more than 1 hour.
Needless to say, the rest of my trip was uneventful [thankfully]. Once time passed and it was finally 5:55PM the next day, I boarded my plane and left that dreadful NYC airport. I had an uneventful and boring 5-hour layover in Madrid and then finally arrived in Casablanca about 48 hours after my trip first began in Portland, Maine.
So now I'm finally 'home' and ready for year two! Our apartment looks great and I will try to post pictures soon. We still have no internet hook up; however, so communication may be a bit sparse until we figure that out.
-Nicole
P.S. I will never attempt to fly by myself internationally again unless I have to. Nor will I ever book separate domestic/international flights again. [lesson learned]
No comments:
Post a Comment