My bad luck with air travel

I'm at Incheon airport again, awaiting a flight to Daegu. The trip back from Massachusetts has been thankfully uneventful. The trip there was another story. I got a call from Korean airlines on Saturday night telling me that my flight from Daegu to Seoul was cancelled due to weather. It had been raining nonstop. I was frankly relieved. It's quite easy to get from Daegu to Incheon, especially one that there's an express train from the airport to Seoul station. My travel office is rigid about me flying to and from Daegu for some reason, so I always end up getting up early so that I can it around Incheon airport for four hours. There are worse places to be, but I'd rather sleep a little longer. Right now I am waiting four hours for a flight when I could be home in three on the train.

So I took the train to Incheon, trying out the new air express for the first time. It was spotless and efficient, with several smiling attendants to help me. I always want to ask these nice, English speaking customer service reps to come work for me. The Korean customer service I see in the travel industry hasn't made it to the Korean army civilians yet.

So I flew from Incheon to Narita, Japan with no problems. When I got to the gate at Narita, there was a plane at the gate. Always a good sign. Well, after our boarding time came and went, the captain got on the intercom and told us that there was an undiagnosed electrical problem with the plane, which would be delayed for some period of time. It turned out to be an hour delay, which put me in trouble for my connector. Shortly after we took off, I discovered that the screen on my aisle seat didn't work, and reluctantly moved to the back middle seat. I was next to a basketball-player-sized guy whose elbows wouldn't fit inside of his own seat area. Sigh.

When we landed in Chicago, attendants rushed me through customs and to the baggage rechecking area. Someone spent a long time scanning my bag, then sent me to the counter, where they told me my flight was cancelled due to equipment failure. There were a few more flights to Boston that day, so I decided to go on standby for one of them.

As it turned out, there were three flights cancelled for equipment problems, all United. Standby was a free-for-all, with people going from gate to gate hoping to catch a flight. I was number 38 on the standby list for an overbooked flight. I decided to cut my losses and take my confirmed flight for the following day, complete with free hotel room.

The next day, I went to the gate early to reconfirm my seat. There was no plane at the gate! I know that means trouble. Sure enough, the plane was late. A severe thunderstorm passed through and shut down air traffic for awhile. After an hour delay, we boarded. The captain told us we were twentieth in line to take off. After awhile, the engines shut off. The captain told us that a central air traffic control station was evacuated due to the weather, which had gone east, and that we were on the tarmac until further notice. About an hour later, we left.

I got to the conference in time for dinner, which was fine with me. The conference was fun, as far as conferences go. I met some fantastic people and learned a lot from them. We were in session all day, and would have had no time to see Boston if we were there instead of an hour away in Southbridge. We suggested to the bigwigs that we at least get a half day off to do some library related touring in the city next time. Library bigwigs tend not to be like other bigwigs, so perhaps they listened.

On my flight from San Francisco to Boston, the electronics in my window seat didn't work. I decided to suffer through a twelve hour flight with no movies rather than give up my seat. United really needs to overhaul their fleet.

Asiana Wins!

I have a new least favorite airline. I guess that means I can start flying Delta again. Asiana takes the cake for meanest airline. This comes as a surprise to me, since Korea supposedly sets the standard for airline service.

I guess I'll start by mentioning that I am still in Los Angeles. It's Saturday. I was supposed to leave on Thursday, if anyone is counting. On Thursday, the Continental agent who booked my flight called Asiana to confirm my seat, since his coworker mentioned that they were quirky. Later on, Bobby called Asiana to find my baggage, and said that my baggage was set to fly with me on Friday, the 27^th.

Fast forward to Friday. I waited in the check in line, only to discover that my reservation had been cancelled. The shift manager put me on standby. I waited patiently. I watched other people get kicked off the flight. One group of young adults showed up at 12:15 and were booted. I was not aware of this, but Asiana will kick people off a flight if they show up less than one hour before the flight leaves, which in this case was 12:10. Had I known LAX well and rushed to my gate, I probably still would not have made my flight on Thursday. In a normal airport, 1.5 hours is plenty of time to make a transfer, but LAX sets the bar.

Anyways, someone came to me at 12:20 and told me that they were not accepting standby passengers. I got a little belligerent. I said, “but you cancelled my flight!” The manager came out and proceeded to yell at me: “we did not cancel your flight! We waited for you!” Perplexing, considering that I tried to check in on time, but I guess he was talking about Thursday. I hope he loses his job.

I went back to Continental, at which point the customer service rep got peeved on my behalf. She said that Asiana has been canceling reservations all week. I saw a woman who had her reservation canceled on Thursday, so I guess it was my turn. She also mentioned that she saw space on the flight I had just been denied, so I'm not sure why they wouldn't let me on. Maybe they didn't like the way I looked. (Pregnant woman, flying alone...where's her husband? I may not have mentioned this yet, but if I had no husband, I would have been denied treatment at most Korean hospitals) . Continental put me up in yet another airport hotel and confirmed me on a flight for Saturday. When I got to my room, I called Asiana to ensure that I was actually on a flight for Saturday. The agent told me that there had been no ticket number attached to my reservation—a technicality that was not noticed by either of the Asiana people I spoke to on Thursday, and absolutely Asiana's fault—and confirmed that I had a ticket number for Saturday. Apparently, if there is no ticket number attached, a reservation will be cancelled.

Since I saw people kicked off the flight I was waiting for, I can only assume that Asiana was again overbooked. It looks like they overbooked all their flights for the weekend, and were looking for a reason to boot some people. If someone had apologized profusely to me and offered me something nice, like an upgrade, perhaps I wouldn't feel so abused. As it is, I hope Asiana gets bought out and everyone who works that counter is fired.

Who's a bigger villain, LAX or Asiana?

My journey home has been extended by 24 hours. As I sit here in the airport Radisson after a full night's sleep, I find it hard to get too agitated about the whole thing. Traveling is tiring, doubly so since I've been getting over a cold, so the break isn't entirely bad.

It started when I landed at LAX. I flew Continental from Houston (from Kansas City, from Charlotte). When I landed in the terminal, I tried to find my flight to Seoul on the screen. No luck. Though my boarding pass said Continental—no gate assigned—the screens had only Continental flights, and none to Seoul. I wandered around for a bit and tried to find someone who could help me, with no luck. All of the counters with people behind them had long lines of boarding passengers. I searched the signs and tried to find a more general area, or directions to another terminal, with no luck. There are a couple of areas ironically marked “information,” with no people, no maps, no general “departures” screens, and only a few paltry markers that say things like “restaurants” and “restrooms.” I finally made it to the United area, where I found what I assumed was my flight on the screen. It had a different number, but the same departure time. As it turns out, the Continental flight became a United flight that was actually operated by Asiana. Under gate, it said “TBID.” TBD? I thought maybe it didn't have a gate. I searched around the boards for some kind of key that would decipher the letters—no luck. I wandered around the United area for awhile. I tried to find a map of the airport—no luck. There was a map of the terminal that said that United and Continental flights left from there, so I figured I could hang around the terminal. I sat down for a minute, then headed for the international part of the United terminal. I searched the gates for awhile. I tried to find an agent to help me—no luck. Finally, I found a person behind a counter who wasn't boarding passengers. I asked, “what's TBID?” She told me that it was the Tom Bradley International Terminal. She told me to follow the signs that said “ground transportation”--who would have guessed?--and catch bus A to the terminal. I was rushing at this point, and I followed a sign to a dead end. I got on the elevator, since the lady told me to go to the ground level, and pushed 1. The elevator wouldn't go. After some frantic mashing, I pushed 2 and ended up on the right floor. I rushed out the door and searched for the A bus. I found it, travelled to the International Terminal. My flight left while I was waiting in the security line.

I went to the Asiana counter pretty visibly upset, and told the lady I had missed my flight. There was another lady at the counter who had been on my connector and missed the same flight. Thanks, LAX. The Asiana lady asked me why I had missed my flight, and I told her I couldn't figure out where to go. She told me that this was my fault, and to come back at 7:40 (it was a little after 1) and get on standby for the next one. Then, just to kick me a little, she said that I would owe whatever the price difference was. I asked if I could find another flight through Continental, since that's who I booked the flight through. She told me to come back at 7:40, then left.

After a few false starts, I found my way to the Continental counter. A nice gentleman there put me on the same flight the following day, and even got me back on a flight to Daegu. This was not without some toiling, and I was very grateful to him. There was no discussion of fault and no extra charge. As it turns out, the nighttime Asiana flight that I was supposed to go on standby for was overbooked. I could have waited around the airport for 8 or 9 hours, only to get the same result. I found a Traveler's Aid desk in the arrivals area, where a very kind lady found me a room at the Radisson. I am showing a bit, so people tend to be nice to me. The Asiana dragon lady's coldness stood out against the kindness of everyone else I dealt with, especially since I went to the Asiana counter after having run around the airport with bags.

So I'm not share who gets the lions share of my wrath: LAX or Asiana. It's a toss up. Los Angeles, congratulations on having the least traveler friendly airport in the world. I'll try not to be here again. Asiana, well, I wrote a complaint. You need to give your people customer service training.

(where I got this: http://www.zazzle.co.nz/i+hate+lax+cards)

Happy (late) Mother's Day

I'm at the tail end of a four hour layover in Incheon Airport, one of the best airports I have been to. Case in point: at the moment I am in the free wifi lounge. Wifi in airports is a common amenity, free wifi is not. I would also like to take a moment to thank Korean airlines. I have had some crummy experiences with airlines, and none of them were with Korean air. I have never had a flight delay the entire time I have been here, which is remarkable. In my last two years in the states, I had one flight cancelled because the plane was elsewhere, another cancelled because the plane was grounded by the FAA, delays for broken plane parts, delays because we were “waiting on the plane,” if you can think of an error in airline service that would cause a delay or cancellation, I have probably had it. As I was flying into Incheon today, I noticed that there are quite a few Korean Air planes in a plane parking lot. Viola! Korean air has enough planes in its fleet to pull planes out of rotation, give them proper maintenance, not fly one plane 8 times a day, and probably even provide a substitute if one plane doesn't arrive. Just a suggestion, US Airways: be more like Korean Air!

Alas, far more and better lines of text have been devoted to failures in United States air service than I can write. I wanted to mention Korean Air, and Asian air service in general, to note that it doesn't have to be that way. When I book trips here, I assume that the plane will be on time and I can make my connection. I can never assume that in the states.

In other news, happy Mother's Day! I can't top my post from last year. Or can I? Okay, full disclosure just shy of the recommended 12 weeks—I'm pregnant. 11 weeks so, to be exact.  My mother lost her mother this year, and she will gain a grandchild in November. And so the world turns. I am wondering how flying long distance will mesh with the almost-gone morning sickness that I struggled with weeks five through nine. Don't worry, I won't tell. Wish me luck!

My Return

I am way too jet lagged to write a comprehensive story at the moment, but I wanted to mention that the Seoul airport has little signs that say, "have a nice trip!" on the bottoms of all of the luggage baskets that you put through security. The Korean Airlines staff put a sticker on the seat in front of me telling me that I slept through the drink cart, but they would bring me something when I woke up. Mr. Pan picked me up at the airport, and Mr. Yu called when I got home to make sure I was in. There are many things I love about Korea, and I feel very welcome right now.

Here We Are

I know trips halfway around the world aren't the arduous journeys they once were, but this one was still quite a voyage. At 5:00 am Charlotte time, Bobby and I entered airport world, and 24 hours later we are sitting here in Seoul awaiting our final flight. There is something very surreal about spending so much time in airplanes and airports. Maybe it's the recirculated air. Anyways, obstacles we encountered on our journey were many: I got airsick for the first time, we were sent to the customs office in Seoul when I blithely reported that I planned to stay in Daegu for two years, despite my lack of a visa, and we quested for an ATM that would accept our cards once we arrived in Incheon. The fifth one worked, and we were rewarded with coffee and dinner.

I have already encountered a few strange and interesting things. There was a white noise machine in my bathroom stall. We had dinner at a Korean food court, which is nothing like the American variety. Bobby and I placed our orders at the counter and paid for our food. We then helped ourselves to some free appetizers and waited for our number to appear over the food counter. Once it did, Bobby retrieved two huge wooden bowls of food, still steaming, along with additional bowls of soup and rice, while I got our utensils: steel chopsticks and spoons. Our utensils all came from a UV heater, which I guess keeps them sanitary. The food was tasty, though spicy, and Bobby was pleased with his pork.

Next stop, Daegu! I can't wait to take a shower.