I took a deep breath, prayed this wouldn't effect anything before June, and had flashbacks of the unfortunate Air France travel to Portugal last fall...
We were scheduled to leave on a Friday evening flight from Boston to Paris. Since I had recently quit my job and was enjoying a life of leisure, I was at home on the day of our departure getting some last-minute freelance articles complete before I had to pack. I wasn't meeting my girlfriends until 7pm, so I had plenty of time...or so I thought.
Thanks to the efficient travel reps at Expedia.com, I received an email informing me that my Air France flight had been changed. Important note: My friends who purchased the same flights through Air France did not receive any email or phone call alerting them to their changed flight. But I digress... Changed flight times are not usually a problem - happens all the time, actually, when airlines experience delays. So I called Expedia and was informed that my flight had been delayed ... until Sunday. Oh hell no.
After a frantic phone call to friend Sarah, who was organizing the Portugal trip, we arranged for Air France to fly us from Boston to New York, New York to Paris, Paris to Portugal, but we had
to leave in three hours. THREE HOURS! The psycho packing that followed really deserves an honorable mention. Not only did I remember all my clothes, shoes and toiletries - I got it all in a carry-on bag. (Get real, people. If you think I was going to check my bags through three cities you're insane. I don't have that much faith.)I rush to the airport and wait for my friends in the bar. We board the plane, get to NY on time and head to our connecting flight to Paris. On the way we meet Anthony, the one and only consumer-friendly person at Air France. Anthony gets all four of us seats together and secures us an early boarding pass to get comfy on the plane. Unfortunately for me, I was stuck in the middle. Fortunately, I was seated in between my girlfriends so extending across the two for a quickie nap wasn't an awkward thought, as it would have been if I were seated between strangers.
Finally, our seats. We can relax. Breathe. Take in a movie. Or not...
As if the day hadn't been frustrating enough, I was now on a packed flight to France in the middle seat with a busted TV. No movies. No games. No entertainment. 8 hours. God help me.
Alas, we landed in Paris with 45 minutes to get our connecting flight to Portugal. Let me say that again... 45 minutes to get our connecting flight. If you've ever been to the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport you know how very impossible this connection is, but there are four women on a mission: GET TO PORTUGAL. So we grabbed our bags and hauled ass across the airport.
Tip#1: Always wear running shoes when you travel. Your two-inch sandals that look great with your new vacation outfit will not hold up when you're hauling ass across airports.
We made it to the gate - with 15 minutes to spare!! And as the Air France air attendant closed the door in our face and said, "No more passengers," four overly-tired women had visions of homicide variations dancing through their heads.
The plane is right there!! It doesn't leave for 15 minutes!! But apparently, Air France can change the rules at any minute and thus, we were stuck in the airport for four hours until the next flight to Lisbon was scheduled to depart...not on time...apparently, delays are common with Air France.
Tip #2: Always start your conversation/complaint to Air France representatives with "Bonjour." If you don't, it's likely you'll get the available seat next to the lavatory on your next Air France flight. Just ask our friend Jenn.
We finally arrived in Selema, Portugal, 36-hours later. Lo and behold, those who checked bags had to wait up to three days for them to arrive. But there was wine, so we were happy.
Please airline Gods - Save Alitalia!! And please, if I may, would you keep our already booked flights the same because we just hired a car to whisk us through Rome during the five-hour layover before we head to Tuscany...
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