Demented Hamsters
26-02-2007, 14:36
Anyone had very irritating incidents from Airlines?
Feel free to share your stories. Give us all a dose of schadenfreude.
Here's mine, as what 'appened to me tis friday just gone:
We were in NZ due to fly back to HK, via Seoul on Korean Air.
We got up at 6.30am so we could get have a leisurely breakfast and still get to the Airport before rush hour. Our plane was due out at 12pm, but we found when we got there that it had been delayed until 2.30pm.
Which then turned into 3pm and then 3.30 and finally 4.15pm.
So we were at the airport over 7 hours before we finally got on the plane.
But our trials and tribulations were only just beginning.
One of the reasons for my trip back to NZ was to get some outrigger paddles made. There's only a few places in the world that make good paddles to suit and one of them's NZ. These are pretty expensive items. 3 paddles + 2 paddle bags cost over $600US, so obviously I want to take damn good care of them.
At 9am when we checked our luggage in, I told them I was taking paddles on with me (at $600 I wasn't about to let them chuck them about in the back!). No problem, as I expected, since I did take my old one onboard 18 months ago without incident. They have a special locker onboard for things like this (guitars, strollers, wheelchairs etc).
Got through customs with them without a problem.
Stood waiting right at the check-in counter for 90 minutes with them slungover my shoulder, right in front of the boarding staff.
Then, finally, just as we're getting on the flight, one of them comes up to me and tells me I'm not allowed to take them on board!
Apparently, they could be used 'as a weapon'. This from an airline that hands out metal knives with it's 'food'. Evidently a wooden paddle's more dangerous - who knows? I might hold one of them down and spank them until they cry 'uncle'.
When I told them they'd okayed it at luggage check-in, they accused me of lying and gave me two options: either they take them or I wasn't flying.
I then asked them for a written statement accepting full responsibility for any damages but they refused and reiterated the two options they were offering me.
In the end I gave the paddles to them (not much else I could do at this point) and told them I wanted to pick them up when we landed in Seoul, where we were transferring. I didn't want them chucked into another hold and have bags piled ontop. This they agreed to.
Trials and tribulations didn't end there of course.
(before I go on - one good thing about the flight to Korea was that it wasn't fully booked. I had a whole row to myself so stretched right out and managed to get some sleep)
When we finally got to Seoul at 12.15am (5 hours late, meaning we missed our connecting flight and had to wait until 8.30am for the next one), I asked for my paddles. Blank stare followed blank stare followed blank stare until finally we got hold of someone who called around and found the paddles were out in the baggage claim area - meaning we had to go through customs and apply for a visa just to go get them!
They wouldn't collect them for us, as that's against the law. Nor would they accept my solution of an immigration official going with me to collect them so I wouldn't need to go through the whole customs thing just for 10 minutes on Korean soil. That's too reasonable a solution I guess.
Much arguing and brick-wall headbanging finally had us going to customs (since it was now 1am and they were closing which would mean we wouldn't be able to pick them up at all) when finally a knight in shining armour appeared. Or rather just yet another official but this one thankfully realised how farcical the whole situation was, yelled at the official who was being obstinant and ordered someone to go get the paddles.
Happily and finally reunited with them, we then had to spend the night at the transit airport hotel (who charge like wounded bulls and forgot to give us our wake-up call at 6.30am - luckily I had enough foresight to set the alarm on my cellphone, so we didn't miss the flight).
Oh, and as for the flight from Seoul to Hong Kong? I walked straight onboard with my paddles without incident. Handed them over to a flight attendant who stowed them for me and then gave them back when we landed.
Unsurprisingly, a rather surly letter is in the making to be sent to Korean Air about the above.
It's little things like this which make one not want to fly certain airlines again. (Also bitch and whine to all and sundry about said certain airlines but that's by-the-bye)
Feel free to share your stories. Give us all a dose of schadenfreude.
Here's mine, as what 'appened to me tis friday just gone:
We were in NZ due to fly back to HK, via Seoul on Korean Air.
We got up at 6.30am so we could get have a leisurely breakfast and still get to the Airport before rush hour. Our plane was due out at 12pm, but we found when we got there that it had been delayed until 2.30pm.
Which then turned into 3pm and then 3.30 and finally 4.15pm.
So we were at the airport over 7 hours before we finally got on the plane.
But our trials and tribulations were only just beginning.
One of the reasons for my trip back to NZ was to get some outrigger paddles made. There's only a few places in the world that make good paddles to suit and one of them's NZ. These are pretty expensive items. 3 paddles + 2 paddle bags cost over $600US, so obviously I want to take damn good care of them.
At 9am when we checked our luggage in, I told them I was taking paddles on with me (at $600 I wasn't about to let them chuck them about in the back!). No problem, as I expected, since I did take my old one onboard 18 months ago without incident. They have a special locker onboard for things like this (guitars, strollers, wheelchairs etc).
Got through customs with them without a problem.
Stood waiting right at the check-in counter for 90 minutes with them slungover my shoulder, right in front of the boarding staff.
Then, finally, just as we're getting on the flight, one of them comes up to me and tells me I'm not allowed to take them on board!
Apparently, they could be used 'as a weapon'. This from an airline that hands out metal knives with it's 'food'. Evidently a wooden paddle's more dangerous - who knows? I might hold one of them down and spank them until they cry 'uncle'.
When I told them they'd okayed it at luggage check-in, they accused me of lying and gave me two options: either they take them or I wasn't flying.
I then asked them for a written statement accepting full responsibility for any damages but they refused and reiterated the two options they were offering me.
In the end I gave the paddles to them (not much else I could do at this point) and told them I wanted to pick them up when we landed in Seoul, where we were transferring. I didn't want them chucked into another hold and have bags piled ontop. This they agreed to.
Trials and tribulations didn't end there of course.
(before I go on - one good thing about the flight to Korea was that it wasn't fully booked. I had a whole row to myself so stretched right out and managed to get some sleep)
When we finally got to Seoul at 12.15am (5 hours late, meaning we missed our connecting flight and had to wait until 8.30am for the next one), I asked for my paddles. Blank stare followed blank stare followed blank stare until finally we got hold of someone who called around and found the paddles were out in the baggage claim area - meaning we had to go through customs and apply for a visa just to go get them!
They wouldn't collect them for us, as that's against the law. Nor would they accept my solution of an immigration official going with me to collect them so I wouldn't need to go through the whole customs thing just for 10 minutes on Korean soil. That's too reasonable a solution I guess.
Much arguing and brick-wall headbanging finally had us going to customs (since it was now 1am and they were closing which would mean we wouldn't be able to pick them up at all) when finally a knight in shining armour appeared. Or rather just yet another official but this one thankfully realised how farcical the whole situation was, yelled at the official who was being obstinant and ordered someone to go get the paddles.
Happily and finally reunited with them, we then had to spend the night at the transit airport hotel (who charge like wounded bulls and forgot to give us our wake-up call at 6.30am - luckily I had enough foresight to set the alarm on my cellphone, so we didn't miss the flight).
Oh, and as for the flight from Seoul to Hong Kong? I walked straight onboard with my paddles without incident. Handed them over to a flight attendant who stowed them for me and then gave them back when we landed.
Unsurprisingly, a rather surly letter is in the making to be sent to Korean Air about the above.
It's little things like this which make one not want to fly certain airlines again. (Also bitch and whine to all and sundry about said certain airlines but that's by-the-bye)