Return nightmare flight advice needed

thanks for the kind thoughts. This isnt my first nor my last trip back to Germany as my wife is from there and she has family there also. By far this is the worst experience I have ever had thus the reason I threw it out there to see if any others might have experienced something similar and had some hints of what to do or what not to do.

I had to chuckle at those saying I should have planned better considering we were scheduled to get back last Saturday and instead getting back this past Monday night. Building in an extra day is planning. Saying I should have built in 2 days is ridiculous. I guess the same people also leave for work 4 hours before clock in time on a 1 hour trip just in case something happens. lol.

I guess you could blame whoever caused the fog. Do you think one of the airlines was somehow negligent? One thing many have suggested is that when you get into a delay situation like you describe that you call the airline to rebook rather than waiting for the airport personnel to get to you.

Here's the problem...you didn't book with one airline. You booked using bank points through a booking service (Travelocity). No loyalty to any airline or alliance.

EU rules are much stricter than U.S. rules which is why you got cab, hotel and food vouchers there. In the U.S, airlines are not responsible if delays are caused by weather. You would have gotten nothing.

However, here's the problem. As you stated, none of the flights were codeshare. Whoever was supposed to fly you home from Europe just wanted to get you there and put you on any available flights they could find. (Again, stricter EU rules.)

Basically, none of the airlines are at fault because you didn't have a connecting ticket. It looks like they booked you on three separate flights. And I'm guessing, the BA flight from London was late or was it your fault you arrived at the IAD gate late? (BA is the only airline not in the Sky alliance and that's where the glitch occurred.)

You could try Travelocity or see if USBank has any kind of policy about things like this...but...other than that, you won't get anything from the airlines.

I cant blame the fog on someone - that's one of those "acts of God" that's just unfortunate. Having to wait for 11 hours to be rebooked is excessive though. We were also told that if we left, regardless if it was to eat or go to the bathroom, and our number came up and we were not present we would have to get a new number and start all over again.

Calling wasnt an option eiither. First, I was in Germany with no way to call. Secondly, our flights were with USAir and booked on their codeshare so we had to go thru their booking people on site (or at least that's what we were told).

Our missed flight in Washington is a big question mark. We did everything asked and didnt even stop for a break from the time we left the BA airplane until we arrived at the door of United. If I had booked the flight myself, then its my problem I missed it but it wasnt me that booked it - it was Lufthansa. Still, their codeshare partner, United, wouldnt recognize this only helped increase the problme.

Who to approach for what? What are you ask? What do you want? That is one of the problems of current airlines. They are flying so closed to capacity that problems cannot be easily absorbed.

When you're traveling with a person diagnosed as bi-polar and they are without medication for 2 days and all the customer service agents says is "you should have planned for it', it tends to add to the frustration factor.

When you've sat in one seat in an airport for 11 hours with no money waiting to be rebooked only to miss a plane because they didnt give you enough time between flights, it tends to elevate the frustration factor.

All I am looking for is someone to say 'oops - let us make this right'. We followed everyone's rules yet it was my family that had to suffer. You dont go on vacation and take extra money for an additional 2 days. No money, no food, no medication. I only want someone to make it right whatever that might be.

Lee, I am sorry you had such an awful trip home. It sounds hideous. Unfortunately, with travel, there is always the possibility that something can go wrong. Sometimes it's someone's fault; sometimes not. You should always take enough money, medication, etc. for extra days because you never know. And you can't always expect someone to "make it right" when things go wrong. Life just doesn't work that way. Thanks for posting this - it may help someone else be prepared for the unexpected.

Wow, that must have been very unpleasant. I am so glad that I don't fly. At least you missed any rioting.

What was your number? 11 hours sounds awful. On the other hand if you were number 1000 and it took them 660 minutes to get to you that means they were cranking out one every 40 seconds or so. Of course if it was a much smaller number they would have been much slower.

I guess that the real culprit was travelling in Autumn when weather systems and fog can be a factor.

Sorry it went poorly for you. Hope it didn't dent memories of an otherwise pleasant holiday.

Lee, you story is absolute nightmare. That's why I always take travel insurance when going overseas. They cover price of ticket if you have to cancel for valid reason, health insurance while traveling, missed connection, delays, lost or delayed baggage etc.

I will only address the comments about planning for surprise extensions to trips. I always take enough meds to last me an extra week on an trip longer than a few days. I am off to Florida tomorrow morning, and coming back monday...gone only 2 nights. But I am taking a 7 days supply of pills. Of all the extras I always seem to take unnecessarily, my maintenance medications are the most important. The emotional security this provides is important to me. What is I drop a pill while traveling and cannot find it? I don't think planning to take extras of important meds is overkill.

Look at all of this as a learning experience: 1) You asked who takes extra money for a vacation. Well, smart people do. Delays can happen for lots of reasons: weather, equipment problems, terrorism (remember how nothing flew for a few days after 9/11), strikes,etc. It's always good to have some extra money or at least access to it. And if you know you'll be going back to Germany, you can always use the extra cash on your next trip. 2) Medications. For the same reason you bring extra money, you bring extra medication. And never put it into your checked luggage. What good will it do if you need it and it's in your checked luggage? I always take an extra week's worth just in case. The medication won't go bad. You can still use the extra at home. 3) For future reference, it's best to phone either the airline or Travelocity rather than wait 11 hours to be called. The people on the other end of the phone and the people you talk to at the airport are basically looking at the same reservation system. 4) You need to be flexible and understand stuff happens. If you think every trip will run smoothly as silk, you just found out the truth. Weather delays are no ones fault. They cause havoc to airline schedules. Now, I'm not saying what you went through wasn't terrible. I'm saying that for next time, be prepared. Have some extra money. Have some extra medication. If you don't have a phone with you, have some extra coins or a phone card to use a pay phoneif you can find one. I've traveled enough where I've been rerouted a few times. Some have been ok, and some have been pure nightmares. When the fault is due to weather, there really isn't much you can do. If the fault is the airline's then send a letter of complaint.

That sounds horriblethat's a good story to post, since it will alert others to the pitfalls of booking with Flexperks points. But frankly the best I think you can do is write to the Flexperks program and ask for miles as compensation. But, I do have to agree with the "plan for the worst case scenario" folks. Think about the Iceland volcano earlier this year, or 9/11, or the French strikes that are still going on. Geez, just one cancelled flight can mean an extra day, and flights are cancelled all the time. There are so many ways that could lead you to be stuck somewhere, sometimes for a week or more.

Lee, that sounds like a real nightmare. I would write to Flexperks first and tell them the story. It is way too late for anyone to make anything right from your day, the next question is, can they do anything to make you less angry about the situation now and if so, what? What caused you to miss the gate in Washington? Getting through customs? While it's too late to do anything in your situation, for anyone else, make sure you speak up and let everyone around you know that you have to make a tight connection and hopefully they can get you through faster and call the gate to let them know you are on the way.

Lee, just be thankful that they paid for your cab hotek and gave you food vouchers. I traveled to Seattle earlier this month, my plane back was to leave at 2:53pm, and it was already posted that the plane would be leaving at 3:50pm. No one showed up at the desk at the gate to help until 3:20pm, of course there was a long line of people that was suppose to get a connecting flight in Denver. By the time I got help I had 2 minutes to decide, stay in Seattle and leave the next morning at 6am or go to Denver and as they said "take you chance". When the plane landed in Denver they annouced that they (Frontier Airlines) was holding all connecting flights, well that wasn't true so everyone missed their connecting flights. As, Frank mentioned they didn't give us anything. We had to pay for our own meals and hotel. I'm just thankful that I bought insurance for $10.45, I sent in my receipts and they will be sending me a check for the hotel and meals. Also, I took extra medicine with me, its just a wise thing to do.

Lee, There is still one avenue for redress that you ought to consider: Several travel magazines have ombudsmen that often help people get refunds when they have been wronged by an airline or hotel. I cannot supply the name of any individuals, but I did try googling "travel ombudsman" and several names came up, some of which I recognized. You could pass along your story to one of them and see if they can get the attention of the airline.

Lee, I certainly agree, that's a dreadful travel experience, and hopefully one that won't be repeated. There's an interesting article in the November issue of Travel & Leisure magazine concerning new regulations on "passenger rights". There's been some improvement in that area in recent years, and hopefully further changes in future. A few lines at the end of the article state "Congress is writing laws. The DOT is making rules". Maybe there's hope for improvement? I'm sure this experience was a huge "learning experience" and you'll structure your trips differently in future. This is one reason I always book international flights through a Travel Agent. If there are problems, I can make one call and get some help in sorting out the situation. You might consider adding a credit card to your travel list on the next trip. If one is faced with a long and unspecified delay, book a room in a nearby Hotel. Even if not compensated by the airline, I'd rather pay for the room and have a "comfortable" wait rather than sitting in an airport for many hours. As you've no doubt concluded, having an extra day or two of essential medications is also a good idea. I always pack some "backup" supplies in my Daypack (including a Toothbrush and shaving gear) just in case of situations like the one you encountered. Good luck with your future travels!

You went thru an ordeal, but rather than looking for someone to blame how about taking a moment to reflect on what you could have done differently? You could have travelled with extra supply of any meds so that would not be an issue had you been delayed. You could have kept some money for phone calls (or gone to an airport ATM and taken out some cash) and then sent one person to call Travelocity for assistance in rebooking while the other waited in the room in case they called your number quickly. You could have also tried calling the airline. Either option would have been better than waiting 11 hours to get a new flight. Maybe its just me, but before my trip I write down the toll-free numbers (or collect numbers) for my bank and credit card, for the airline, for my cellphone carrier, etc. so that if some snag occurs I can call somebody. You could have purchased travel insurance; on my recent trip I wasn't interested in covering trip cancellation and so on, so I get 3 weeks coverage for $45. With travel insurance you have another number to call for help with flight interruptions, and my policy had $500 per person benefits for missed connections which would have covered a room and food in Washington. Since this is an advice forum and you've asked for advice, rather than looking for someone to "make it right" I suggest chalking this up to experience and resolve to bring your own compensation in the event of something like this (eg. trip insurance that includes travel delay coverage) next time.