Non-protected connection? Tell us about it.
Jul 22nd, 2008, 11:34 AM
#21
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I was flying from Rome to Montpellier via Nice with a company which has since disappeared. Nice was their hub for France and I had to change planes there. The plane was delayed in Rome and I was afraid I would miss my connection. When we landed in Nice, a staff member was waiting for me and rushed me through endless halls and doors skipping police and customs controls on the way. When I finally made it to the plane which was waiting on the tarmac and sank out of breath into a seat next to a little old lady, she told me that they had been waiting for a while and did not know why. When I told her very matter of factly: "the pilot was just waiting for me" she looked at me with a very strange look in her eyes. I am sure she did not believe a word of what I said.
Jul 22nd, 2008, 11:45 AM
#22
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Even protected connections can be nerve-wracking, can't they?
I've been met by "runners" (either airline or airport staff) at CDG (inbound from ATL) who collect offloading pax headed to a particular destination and hustle everybody en masse to the connecting flight. Some very speedy walking indeed, but I've never missed a connection at CDG (with plenty of connections under an hour, and most of those without a runner). Luggage, on the other hand, pretty routinely gets left behind. Oh well, that's what carry-on's for, isn't it?
I've been met by "runners" (either airline or airport staff) at CDG (inbound from ATL) who collect offloading pax headed to a particular destination and hustle everybody en masse to the connecting flight. Some very speedy walking indeed, but I've never missed a connection at CDG (with plenty of connections under an hour, and most of those without a runner). Luggage, on the other hand, pretty routinely gets left behind. Oh well, that's what carry-on's for, isn't it?
Jul 22nd, 2008, 12:16 PM
#23
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And speaking of carry-on luggage, some of you who've been around a while will likely remember that I'm a big proponent of packing light (whether you elect to carry-on or check), and that turns out to be an important element in this story.
Since I was travelling with the whole family and pretty much always insist that we all travel carry-on only, I decided to get an early start, on Thursday AM before leaving for work. My kids had long since left to catch the bus to school, and my husband was on his way to his office, so the house was nice and quiet. I got out our trusty suitcases (I've got three of the same model, red Eddie Bauer models from Target that I love: 19" x 14" x 9" and about 6 lbs each) and unzipped them and made sure that nobody had left something silly like a pair of scissors in any of the extra pockets. All clear, so I laid them out in a row on the floor of my bedroom and proceeded to the next step of the process.
And it was at that precise moment that everything went terribly, terribly wrong.
Since I was travelling with the whole family and pretty much always insist that we all travel carry-on only, I decided to get an early start, on Thursday AM before leaving for work. My kids had long since left to catch the bus to school, and my husband was on his way to his office, so the house was nice and quiet. I got out our trusty suitcases (I've got three of the same model, red Eddie Bauer models from Target that I love: 19" x 14" x 9" and about 6 lbs each) and unzipped them and made sure that nobody had left something silly like a pair of scissors in any of the extra pockets. All clear, so I laid them out in a row on the floor of my bedroom and proceeded to the next step of the process.
And it was at that precise moment that everything went terribly, terribly wrong.
Jul 22nd, 2008, 01:44 PM
#24
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The next step was to head to my closet, where I keep a nice collection of foreign currency as well as my children's passports. Mine is in my purse, always, and when we travel I transfer their passports to the same pocket of my purse where I keep mine.
And so that's what I started to do, but since I'm a sentimental sort I decided to first check out their photos, as they were taken several years ago and they were very, very sweet, and it reminds of that first trip with them to Venice.
So imagine my horror when I realized that it really had been quite a while since that first trip. Almost five years exactly, in fact. Which meant that these passports had expired about a month previously.
Did my heart stop beating? Well, yes, but just for a few seconds.
And so that's what I started to do, but since I'm a sentimental sort I decided to first check out their photos, as they were taken several years ago and they were very, very sweet, and it reminds of that first trip with them to Venice.
So imagine my horror when I realized that it really had been quite a while since that first trip. Almost five years exactly, in fact. Which meant that these passports had expired about a month previously.
Did my heart stop beating? Well, yes, but just for a few seconds.
Jul 22nd, 2008, 02:38 PM
#25
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<i>Even protected connections can be nerve-wracking, can't they?</i>
Especially when I thought we were going to have to spend our first night on safari in AMS instead (yes, we had cancellations coming and going and another example of not listening to my own advice about building in a buffer day). I asked for transfer assistance at CDG but nothing materialized but in the end we made it, sprinting through both airports. Bags caught up with us a day later. During this process, I left my camera bag with camera, video camera and GPS in the boarding area and didn't even realize it until some kind person turned it in and the FA handed it to me on board, so I don't know who to distrust more in terms of handling my bags, me or the airline
A passport issue would be horrifying!
Especially when I thought we were going to have to spend our first night on safari in AMS instead (yes, we had cancellations coming and going and another example of not listening to my own advice about building in a buffer day). I asked for transfer assistance at CDG but nothing materialized but in the end we made it, sprinting through both airports. Bags caught up with us a day later. During this process, I left my camera bag with camera, video camera and GPS in the boarding area and didn't even realize it until some kind person turned it in and the FA handed it to me on board, so I don't know who to distrust more in terms of handling my bags, me or the airline
A passport issue would be horrifying!
Jul 22nd, 2008, 02:57 PM
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Sounds like your safari trip was a near miss, Patty. I've got one like that coming up, actually: I fly out of Atlanta to Boise on a Friday night, and then have to drive 3-4 hours in order to meet my family and leave the next morning (well, later that morning) on a rafting trip. Everybody else will, of course, have arrived the previous day, but I've got no more vacation days, and it was either do it this way or miss the trip entirely. No way to hook up with them once they depart, as it's too remote.
Jul 22nd, 2008, 03:07 PM
#27
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So, passports. Some of you may know that it is, in fact, possible to get same day passports, either new or renewals. And some of you may also know that there are 16 passport offices in the U.S. Unfortunately none of them is in Atlanta. The closest are in Miami and D.C.
Of course, I didn't know quite this much about the process when this all started, so after I finished having my mini-breakdown, I called my husband, and he agreed with me that it was worth trying to figure out how to get the passport issue resolved. His first option, of course, was to just see whether we could wing it. "I mean, they're kids, right? And they do have passports, they're just expired, right? They'll probably just let it go."
And so I explained to him that there wasn't a snowball's chance in h*ll that "they" would let it go.
Of course, I didn't know quite this much about the process when this all started, so after I finished having my mini-breakdown, I called my husband, and he agreed with me that it was worth trying to figure out how to get the passport issue resolved. His first option, of course, was to just see whether we could wing it. "I mean, they're kids, right? And they do have passports, they're just expired, right? They'll probably just let it go."
And so I explained to him that there wasn't a snowball's chance in h*ll that "they" would let it go.
Jul 23rd, 2008, 02:47 AM
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Before embarking on our passport adventure, I needed to (more or less simultaneously):
1. Call work and ask a colleague to cover for me, not only Thursday but Friday (as I'd anticipated going in very early to get in most of a day's work). This was far and away the easiest thing to arrange, as my collegues are terrific.
2. Contact the passport people and see (a) how much time it really took to obtain a passport and (b) what was needed in the way of documentation. More about those details later.
3. Arrange travel to and from the passport office.
4. Arrange lodging for the trip if necessary.
5. Get passport photos of the children.
6. Pack our suitcases.
1. Call work and ask a colleague to cover for me, not only Thursday but Friday (as I'd anticipated going in very early to get in most of a day's work). This was far and away the easiest thing to arrange, as my collegues are terrific.
2. Contact the passport people and see (a) how much time it really took to obtain a passport and (b) what was needed in the way of documentation. More about those details later.
3. Arrange travel to and from the passport office.
4. Arrange lodging for the trip if necessary.
5. Get passport photos of the children.
6. Pack our suitcases.
Jul 23rd, 2008, 07:15 AM
#32
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Yes, Sue, the lecture in New Orleans was well-attended. I, of course, went out to dinner with the other speakers after the lecture, but managed to get to bed by 2:00 AM or so, so not too late a night for me.
Jul 23rd, 2008, 07:42 AM
#33
<i>A link to Gardyloo's train adventure would be nice, since I don't recall it.</i>
Took me a while to find it. Fodor's indexing seems to skip over the entire years of 2003 and 2004.
The story starts around the 4th or 5th post.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34407485
Took me a while to find it. Fodor's indexing seems to skip over the entire years of 2003 and 2004.
The story starts around the 4th or 5th post.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34407485
Jul 23rd, 2008, 10:59 AM
#38
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My initial efforts to figure out just exactly what I needed to do to get my children's passports renewed in time for our flight the next evening took me to the U.S. State Department web site. This web site's actually undergone some changes in the interim (and now includes some crucial info that was not available at the time that these events took place), but the basic info is the same:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html
I'd been to the site previously, as I'd renewed my own passport (by mail) a few months previously, and had even called Customer Service the previous year to clarify whether or not my son (who was turning 17 that summer, and I knew there was something magic about turning 16 when it comes to passports) needed a new passport (it turned out that he didn't, but the representative encouraged me to renew before he turned 18, as it would count as an adult passport but be easier to obtain---in retrospect this conversation was one of the things that contributed to my not realizing that the kids' passports were due to expire).
I called the Customer Service number and gleaned the following:
1. Yes, it is possible to get a passport made the same day that you submit your application. It takes about two hours. The last appointments are scheduled for 3:00 (she thought).
2. No, the Customer Service agent cannot make an appointment for you, nor can she forward you directly to the reservation number. You have to call the Regional Passport Agency of interest and endure an incredibly lengthy and incredibly tedious set of phone instructions (including Spanish options) before finally being permitted to access the unbelievalby awkward automated reservations system. Under no circumstances should you attempt to speed up the process by "stacking" the numbers if you've already been through the instructions once, as the system will break down completely and you will have to start over. And since you're pretty sure that the appointment schedule is filling up (and it is, believe me) while you are listening to the instructions it is all very, very stressful.
The Customer Service agent didn't actually give me all that detail about the reservations system. That's courtesy of me and my direct experience with it.
She did, however, give me some additional information that just about put me right over the edge: this was not a matter of me collecting my children's passports and their photos and supporting documentation and hopping up to NYC or D.C. that morning. No, no, no. That would be waaaay too easy.
No, what I needed to do was collect all of the above listed stuff AND my children AND my husband, and then and only then would anybody be hopping up to NYC or D.C. Because this process required that the children actually present, and that furthermore their father also be present. In person.
http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html
I'd been to the site previously, as I'd renewed my own passport (by mail) a few months previously, and had even called Customer Service the previous year to clarify whether or not my son (who was turning 17 that summer, and I knew there was something magic about turning 16 when it comes to passports) needed a new passport (it turned out that he didn't, but the representative encouraged me to renew before he turned 18, as it would count as an adult passport but be easier to obtain---in retrospect this conversation was one of the things that contributed to my not realizing that the kids' passports were due to expire).
I called the Customer Service number and gleaned the following:
1. Yes, it is possible to get a passport made the same day that you submit your application. It takes about two hours. The last appointments are scheduled for 3:00 (she thought).
2. No, the Customer Service agent cannot make an appointment for you, nor can she forward you directly to the reservation number. You have to call the Regional Passport Agency of interest and endure an incredibly lengthy and incredibly tedious set of phone instructions (including Spanish options) before finally being permitted to access the unbelievalby awkward automated reservations system. Under no circumstances should you attempt to speed up the process by "stacking" the numbers if you've already been through the instructions once, as the system will break down completely and you will have to start over. And since you're pretty sure that the appointment schedule is filling up (and it is, believe me) while you are listening to the instructions it is all very, very stressful.
The Customer Service agent didn't actually give me all that detail about the reservations system. That's courtesy of me and my direct experience with it.
She did, however, give me some additional information that just about put me right over the edge: this was not a matter of me collecting my children's passports and their photos and supporting documentation and hopping up to NYC or D.C. that morning. No, no, no. That would be waaaay too easy.
No, what I needed to do was collect all of the above listed stuff AND my children AND my husband, and then and only then would anybody be hopping up to NYC or D.C. Because this process required that the children actually present, and that furthermore their father also be present. In person.
Jul 23rd, 2008, 11:13 AM
#39
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My next stop was Delta, on-line and via telephone with a SMS rep simultaneously. On-line to see shuttle availability between Atlanta and either NYC or D.C., and on the phone to see whether it might be possible to tack on an extra leg to our existing reservations and possibly re-route us through NYC (as there was a much later flight out, something like 9:30 PM instead of our exisiting 5:15 PM departure from ATL).
The answer, of course, is "no." Not without re-ticketing, that is, and re-ticketing would mean buying the ticket that day, at the very high walk-up rates. The SMS rep was very pleasant and very sympathetic, but couldn't do anything to make it all better.
By this time it was mid-morning , and it was clear that it simply wouldn't be possible to get to a passport agency on Thursday, so we'd be doing it all on Friday AM.
My blood runs cold all over again thinking about it.
The answer, of course, is "no." Not without re-ticketing, that is, and re-ticketing would mean buying the ticket that day, at the very high walk-up rates. The SMS rep was very pleasant and very sympathetic, but couldn't do anything to make it all better.
By this time it was mid-morning , and it was clear that it simply wouldn't be possible to get to a passport agency on Thursday, so we'd be doing it all on Friday AM.
My blood runs cold all over again thinking about it.
Jul 23rd, 2008, 12:04 PM
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Therese, you can't just leave us hanging....
And for a plesant note...
It was not an international non-protected but a domestic one..
My brother was someplace in California on business. My sister in law was at home on pretty much full bed rest for her pregnancy in Huntsville. (She had previously lost several babies) One of her FEW allowed outings was to the MD. On her way home she is rear ended and begins having contractions. They race her to the hosptial, she calls my brother office (probably slightly upset!) His office calls him. They found him a flight from whereever he was to LAX on SW. LAX to ATL to Huntsville on DL. He races to airport. They take off and circle and circle LAX. Brother seems upset, FA asks why and he tells her. Just before landing they move brother to the front row having rearranged a few folks. Plane gets to gate. FA opens the door, grabs my brother SHOVES him to someone and says "HERE" SW employee hustles him down steps, into a car and off across LAX. SW employee sends him up the stairs and he appears at the door to the DL Jet. As he got on they threw his boarding pass to the gate agent and said "where did you come from" By the time he gets home SIL is home and fine of course. SW went above and beyond for a passenger who had never flown them before....
And for a plesant note...
It was not an international non-protected but a domestic one..
My brother was someplace in California on business. My sister in law was at home on pretty much full bed rest for her pregnancy in Huntsville. (She had previously lost several babies) One of her FEW allowed outings was to the MD. On her way home she is rear ended and begins having contractions. They race her to the hosptial, she calls my brother office (probably slightly upset!) His office calls him. They found him a flight from whereever he was to LAX on SW. LAX to ATL to Huntsville on DL. He races to airport. They take off and circle and circle LAX. Brother seems upset, FA asks why and he tells her. Just before landing they move brother to the front row having rearranged a few folks. Plane gets to gate. FA opens the door, grabs my brother SHOVES him to someone and says "HERE" SW employee hustles him down steps, into a car and off across LAX. SW employee sends him up the stairs and he appears at the door to the DL Jet. As he got on they threw his boarding pass to the gate agent and said "where did you come from" By the time he gets home SIL is home and fine of course. SW went above and beyond for a passenger who had never flown them before....
