We seem to be faced with many reschedules, cancellations and delays to journeys these days, it is becoming a bit of a worry. Is this a thing now or is it just me?
Last year our flights to South East Asia were changed last minute, and we had a major re shuffle just days before flying. Now this year, similar things happened.
Chris had a flight booked, a through ticket, Auckland to Langkawi. We have had a couple of bad experiences with 3rd party booking sites in the past, so now we always make sure to book with the airline itself. Not sure if this is recommended by all, but we feel it must be a little safer. On the long journeys we like to book afternoon flights, so they go through the night and with a “get to the airport 3 hours prior” we don’t have to get up at stupid-o’clock to get to the airport.
So, Chris is booked for Sunday night 1800 take off, Auckland to Langkawi. A few weeks before, he received an email – your flight has been retimed. What’s this new word we keep hearing – retimed?? Hmmmm, is that to make it not sound so problematic? Anyway, his flight is “retimed” to 0630 Monday morning. Really? That means getting to the airport at 0330!! NOT our favourite thing to be doing.
The flight has two stops, Perth and Kuala Lumpur. Remembering this is a Through-ticket, the first 2 flights have been retimed but the KL – Langkawi leg remains the same – that is, it is leaving KL before it arrives. Well, this wont work. A couple of emails later, they change that leg to work with the rest. Nice.
4 days before the flight, another email to say the flight has been retimed. And again, only the first half changed, which means, again, that he would arrive in KL after the flight to Langkawi has left. No mention of this in the email, it is as if they don’t notice it, or mention it, then it isn’t a problem. It is a problem for Chris though, how is he meant to get to Langkawi? There is not other flight until the next day. So he chooses, this time, for full cancellation and refund. Cutting it fine though, this is 4 days before he is due to be meeting me in Langkawi to start a house sit.
A new ticket is bought, leaving Sunday night (no stupid-o’clock get up) arriving in KL in plenty of time to get a flight up to Langkawi – but via China! Oh Well, at least he will get there, though be it, the long way round.
Meantime, I am flying from Brisbane to Langkawi, a through ticket, booked through the airline, via Denpasar and Kuala Lumpur. And I DID have an early get-up! I Checked-in online so line up to drop my bag. Where is your onward ticket from Malaysia, she asks? Eh? You cannot board the plane without an onward ticket from Malaysia, she said. Really? We have been to Malaysia several times, is this new? I really think that different airlines have different interpretations of the rules. Chris did not have to have a forwarding ticket. But you cannot argue, you cannot question, they have all the power in the world to stop you from boarding the plane at the end of the day. So over to a chair I go to book and pay for a flight out of Malaysia. Done.
Back into line. You have to pick up your bag in Kuala Lumpur, she says. Dam, but this is a through ticket! Why? Again, you cannot question. Ok, whatever you say.
My plane was 90 minutes late leaving Brisbane, we didn’t get off the plane in Denpasar, 1 hour on the ground. I won’t have much time in KL to get to my Langkawi flight.
On arrival at KL, I see on the board that my flight has been “retimed” yay I have an extra hour to get through. I go through immigration, (by the way, he didn’t want to know about my onward ticket!!) I make my way to the carousel; my bag is nowhere to be seen. I ask at the lost luggage desk, he says that as I am effectively in transit, then I should have gone to the transit desk air side and my bag would have been there. Oh? I say, dam, missed that memo.
Ok so I have to get back through. By now I am running out of time and feeling a bit panicked. I am talking to Chris on the phone, he is here at the airport too but at terminal 2, and about to board his plane to Langkawi.
I finally find the place to go through to domestic departures and show my boarding pass to be told that my plane has left! Eh? Did I miss read the board? I actually did question this this time and took the lady to the board to show her, I had also received an email about the retiming, so I was pretty confident that I was right. So yes, the flight had NOT gone, and she let me through.
I got to the gate and told the attendant that I didn’t know where my bag was, that I was told to pick it up and it might still be at the transit desk at international arrivals, but I didn’t know where that was. He was so very kind and said, Madam, take a seat and relax, it will be fine, you bag will be on the plane. So, I sit, and the plane is delayed again, so I have lots of time to unwind the tight coil of worry that has wound up around me. At least I was at the gate, and I had not missed the flight.
I arrived in Langkawi and there was Chris to meet me and, to my amazement, there is my bag!! Miracles do happen.
David, our home owner, picked us up and we went to Cocos bar and that first Tiger beer did not hit the sides and was delicious.
We made it!
Thank you for reading our story!!
Kiwis Do Fly 