Just back from the Rockies
 

Just got back from our 2 week holiday in the Rockies and had a fantastic time! The weather was a bit mixed, with some showery days but it didn't stop us from seeing everything we planned. We watched on the local news about the floods in Calgary - I hope no-one on here was affected by that.

We did all the touristy things, went up the cable cars at Lake Louise, Jasper and Banff, boats trips to Spirit Island and on Lake Minnewanka, the Icefields tour and numerous short walks round lakes, to waterfalls and gorges, etc. Saw lots of wildlife including grizzly and black bears (from a safe distance, not on trails), a moose, elk, deer, a coyote and loads of cute ground squirrels. I may write a more detailed report when I've got to the bottom of my post-holiday washing and sorted out my hundreds of photographs.

The only problem we had was an overnight delay at Calgary airport on the way back - our flight should have left at 7.30pm Sunday and actualy took of 9.30am Monday. They also amalgamated 2 flights, so we lost out pre-booked premium cabin seats :( I won't let it spoil my holidays memories but my letter of complaint will be posted shortly.

Thanks to all those on here that gave me advice before my trip, much of which was very useful. Maria

Hello Maria_H,

Thank you for your trip report. I'm glad to hear you had a good time. When it was raining in Calgary I thought about you in the mountains and wondered how you were coping. Glad to hear you managed to do what you wanted to do. :)

Sorry to hear about your delayed flight. I'm curious to know what the airline did about it, e.g., whether or not they put you up in a hotel for the night.

Hi Judy - you weren't flooded out then?

The flight back was a catalogue of disasters. Canadian Affair operate 2 flights from Manchester to Calgary and on to Vancouver - one run by Thomas Cook, the other MyTravel. We specifically booked Thomas Cook, as MyTravel have been having financial difficulties, and paid for pre-booked seats and premium cabin upgrades. Going out it was great, comfortable seats, good service and on time.

When we checked in at Calgary on the way home, we were told that 2 flights had been amalgamated and we were now on the MyTravel flight and in the standard cabin, as premium was now full. We found later that our plane had been used to take some passengers to London Gatwick who had been stranded for 20 hours!

When we got to the gate we found that the replacement plane was delayed. At first they said it would go 10pm and gave us food vouchers, we were just about to use those when they informed us it wouldn't go until the following morning. At this point they booked us into the Delta(?) hotel at the airport, we got a meal and were told they would update us with a letter at midnight. The letter came under the door telling us to be at the gate no later than 5am and they gave us an alarm call at 3.50am. We went down to check out, only to find a new letter they hadn't given out yet, saying we could check in at 6, so went back in the hotel for breakfast. Boarded the plane at 8 and finaly took off at 9.30, getting back to Manchester gone midnight UK time. Standard class was rather cramped and uncomfortable and the service not great.

It seemed that the plane clipped wings with another plane when it was on the runway at Vancouver, then also developed a computer fault. The passengers from Vancouver fared worse, as they got flown to Calgary at midnight and spent the night on the hotel lobby floor!!

Not a great end to an otherwise great holiday.

Maria - Glad to hear that you enjoyed your trip to the Rockies!!

When (what day) were you travelling back home?? I ask because one day last week seemed to be made for delays and probelms - it must have been "in the stars" :-) !! My husband was returning from Rome (with a connection in Toronto), his flight leaving Rome was delayed for two hours for some inexplicable reason, and in Toronto there was a thunderstorm which left all planes sitting on the tarmac for an hour and a half, (thank goodness for that or he would have missed his connection!!), and when he arrive home (Edmonton), his suitcase was missing. His wasn't the only one - a family of four from Switzerland was missing 8 pieces of luggage!!! It all ended well though, Air Canada found the suitcase and delivered it right to our front door.

I don't like flying anyway, and all these flight delay and problem stories make me want to fly even less.

>>>Hi Judy - you weren't flooded out then?<<<

We got 2 inches of water in our basement. It may not sound like much, but it actually was disruptive. It took us two weekeneds to move stuff out of our basement, clean up, let everything dry out, and then return it to the basement.

But there were people who got it a lot worse than we did.

Your delayed flight, the ever changing prognosis and the lower level of service on the plane sound as if they must have been uncomfortable. I'm glad to hear they at least put you up in the hotel for the night. It must have been very uncomfortable for the passengers of the other delayed plane who didn't get rooms.