After a luxurious shower and a quick scrumptious breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon ( thank you United for the food voucher) I was ready to seize the day. What would the day bring? Definitely some joy as my host insisted I spend the day with her.

“What will you do after you check out at 11?” she asked.

I told her I’d wait at the airport till my flight departed.

“Are you nuts? The airport won’t allow you to check in your luggage 11 hours before your flight!!!”

I suppose she was right. So I waited for her to come and fetch me. And I’m glad I did because I spent another lovely day in the company of my generous hosts rather than wander around the airport like a lost soul. I didn’t bother to check whether passengers were allowed to wait at the airport for so many hours. Besides, there was nothing to do before checking in baggage. In hindsight, waiting at the airport WAS a bad idea.

Time to take off

This time round, I was keeping my fingers and toes crossed. After all if rumours were to be believed, United was facing a major software glitch and mine wasn’t the only flight cancelled that night. Of course lightening never strikes twice but with my current mode of travel set to delays and cancellations, I wasn’t too sure that I’d really be on my way to Dubai till I really was!

Perhaps, the last time round I hadn’t taken the name of the Lord so this time my host and I said a loud ‘Jai Shri Krishna’ before setting off in her Jane Bond Car. The anxiety in the car was palpable though we did talk about things that didn’t relate to my journey. This time, however, I insisted that in case the flight was cancelled, she should not bother with me especially since she had a scheduled doctor’s appointment the next day.

Baggage Check

Since I’d already checked in the day before, I was familiar with the procedure and even though my flimsy, limp boarding pass didn’t stay still the first time I scanned it, I didn’t miss a heart beat. Luckily it did get scanned.

It was time to check in my luggage.

“Where’s the baggage tag?” asked the lady, as I put the bag on the weighing scale.

“Well, I just took it off and threw it in the trash so that you won’t mix it up and send it to Delhi.”

“But you’ve already checked in the bag. I need the tag.”

“But that was yesterday and my flight was cancelled.”

My heart sank at the thought of going outside the airport and looking for the baggage tag in the trash. Which bin did I throw it in?

Luckily, she seemed to understand my dilemma and the bag was checked in with a new tag. But I was already wondering if the bag would still go to Delhi while I went ahead to Mumbai……..

Having had the experience of missing my dinner the day earlier, I decided to encash the vouchers sent to my phone. Unfortunately, I couldn’t locate them on my phone and decided to splurge on a Pepperoni pizza. This was for Ms. Papaya who loves pepperoni pizza. So I sat down at Forno Magico for an American style Pepperoni Pizza.

The tables were filled with grouchy passengers busy scrolling on their phones while waiting to be served. I wondered about the service though because there wasn’t a waiter in sight.

I spotted a QR Code pasted in the corner and figured that I had to scan the code, get the menu and order my meal. While I was waiting for my meal, I found the vouchers hidden somewhere on my phone and tried to get the order placed on the vouchers. But after talking to two waiters, decided to encash the vouchers for chocolates from Cibo Express.

Alas! the pizza was a major disaster. It was thick and stodgy and quite tasteless. Besides it was ridiculously over priced.

Why is it that food and beverages sold in places where customers have little choice, are always so over priced? Airports, especially, should be aware that passengers are already harried and are likely to spend more if the food was reasonably priced.

So I wasn’t in the least bit surprised when my $40 voucher from United only got me three small Toblerone bars, 3 Tic Tacs and 2 Kit Kats. Well, I suppose that was better than letting the vouchers lapse.

Calling all passengers to Board UA 164 to Dubai

I was waiting at the Gate happy to read that boarding would begin in 5 minutes. Five minutes became 10 and there was no sign of the plane at the end of the airbridge!

The flight crew came to the gate and waited to board the plane that wasn’t there. By this time I knew that something was up and quite prepared to spend another night in another far off hotel.

This time there were whispers that they were waiting for a Gate. When the plane did come 10 minutes later, I heaved a sigh of relief. There would be a delay of 20 minutes but that would leave me enough time to board my next flight to Mumbai.

But……

Now that we got the plane, we were waiting for the cleaners! There was no cleaning staff available to get the plane ready for take off. My heart started beating faster.

Finally when we got to board we were an hour late but the Cabin crew assured me that we would make good time. I really had no choice but to go with the flow. This time round I was all prepared to spend one night in Dubai.

Emirates flight EK500

By the time I landed at Dubai International Airport, I was more than convinced I would miss my onward flight. I had just about an hour to check in and with no boarding pass in hand, things were looking difficult.

The airport looked quite empty and I couldn’t find a single manned Emirates counter. Finally I did spot one and ran towards it. Of course there was a glitch.

This time United hadn’t booked me Premium Economy while my original booking reference number with United had me as a premium economy passenger. I told the lady at the counter that it didn’t matter to me even if I was booked as cargo.

I just wanted to get home.

The minutes ticked by as the time for boarding became less. Dubai airport was huge and there was no way I could run anywhere to board the plane!

But it seemed that my Delay & Cancel flight mode had changed. The Emirates staff bent backwards to help me, even sending someone with me to take through Security and right up to the air train. Of course, they reminded me that this was over and beyond their duty because United was still not responding to their calls to sort out the ticketing issue.

I will always be grateful for this help because I finally did board the plane and make it back home!

Takeaways

Life’s lessons are never learnt until they are truly learned and there are several things I learnt on this trip.

• You can never be prepared for everything or for every eventuality. Life always springs surprises. Embrace them.
• On a more practical note, always check out the layout of the airports you are going to be using. Find out where the escalators and elevators are. Find out where the food and beverage outlets are.
• It will be easier for you to navigate the concourse. Find out if you will be allowed to stay in the concourse without checking in your baggage and what facilities there are for such passengers.
• Plan on what luggage to take. Try and take only ONE bag. Avoid a carry on bag. It is easier to navigate unknown airports where porters aren’t available.
• Check out the hotels near the airport and make a provision to spend more money than you had budgeted for. You never know when your flight will be cancelled.
• Always carry a fresh set of underclothes with you in your carry on bag or purse. I was lucky I could at least shower even though my departure was delayed by a day.
• Have a battery pack or different cables with you because I found that my Universal cable didn’t fit the port in the aircraft ( my phone was newer than the plane). Luckily the passenger in the neighbouring seat had 5 cables with her and let me charge my phone during the flight. Some of the ports at the airport were not working and the ones that were, were obviously full.
• Always have a print out of your boarding pass, vouchers etc in case your phone dies or you can’t find messages on your phone.
• Stay calm. Avoid alcohol. Don’t hesitate to ask strangers for help if you need it.
• Keep your spectacles handy.

“Don’t waste another moment crying over what went wrong! If it wasn’t a blessing – it was a lesson.” ~ Paula White

So all’s well that ends well.

Do you have any such travel stories to share?

Ciao

From tomorrow I’ll be posting about the simply marvellous time I had in New York despite the travel glitches so do continue to visit this space.