cancelled flight

I'm back in Seattle, but not without struggle.

My flight from Toronto to Seattle had a connection in Denver. Once I touched down in Denver, I found out that my connecting flight to Seattle was delayed by six hours. That really sucked. Luckily, I found a fellow amazonian who was in the same boat. Unluckily, five minutes later, the flight to Seattle was cancelled.

I haven't had the experience of a cancelled flight before. I was like a freshman entering an athletic high school.

We immediately found a customer service rep. They confirmed us on another flight...for Wednesday! Today is Monday! What about our bags? They'll arrive in Seattle before us with a chance of getting lost in the shuffle. Even worse, United Airlines said they would not provide us with a hotel to stink up for the next couple of days. Without luggage and toiletries, the smell will start to become epic.

We wouldn't have a chance to freshen up too much because we would be waiting at the airport in standby for the next available flight.

Standby....

That's what Simon (other amazonian) and I did. We were smarter than the average traveller. While other travellers went on standby for the next flight only, we went on standby for the next three flights. That way, we'd be ahead of everyone else if the first flight was full.

That's exactly what happened. The caveat is that we had to fly through San Francisco and wait 5 hours before heading to Seattle. In San Francisco, I found a section of chairs that were as flat as possible. I lied down, hugged my backpack so no one would steal my goodies in my slumber, and knocked out for a couple of hours.

I woke up worrying about my luggage. The luggage represented the generosity of friends and family during Christmas and my birthday. I would be no less than devastated if I lost it.

I didn't. Thank god.

Overall, it wasn't a pleasant experience. I was 12 hours late, but I guess that's better than two days.

One bright spot was that I finished a book that Leen and Teo gave me. It's called Tuesday's with Morrie. It's a touching story about a student and his incredible mentor during the mentor's last days on earth.

Check it out. Perhaps it will help you through your next flight cancellation.