By Maggie, from Montréal Airport.
Screwed twice, before even leaving: the first time by my first-night Delhi hotel, who managed to charge me about three times the already-expensive online price, due to a flaw in the booking system plus a 31% tax/surcharge; the second time by Air India, who has changed, without notice, my flight from London to Delhi. My layover in Heathrow was going to be a dull but manageable 5 hours, but now it’s scheduled to be 12 hours. I was to land in Delhi in the middle of the night, hence the expensive hotel, but now I will arrive at 11:30 am, eliminating the need for the hotel.
My first urge was to try to get my flight changed, but my luggage is checked through to Delhi, and in avoiding a day at an airport I risk never seeing my bag again. (My trust in Air India is rather low just now.) Maybe I can cancel the Delhi hotel, or at least my credit card might offer cancellation insurance for it, though that might mean having to phone from India. Argh.
The upside is that I’m travelling business class, the result of some years of saving up points. That means that I’m comfortable the whole way, and that I can get food and a shower and maybe even a nap in the Air Canada lounge at Heathrow. The downside is obvious: more than 35 hours in transit.
I’m a fairly well-seasoned traveller. I’ve planned and taken lots of trips to lots of places. I know things can change, especially when it comes to air travel, and I know to roll with the changes. But I haven’t been to Asia, not to India. My anxiety level over this trip has been several notches above my usual butterflies about whether I’ve considered all the details. In the past weeks, I’ve experienced more stress than excitement, without really knowing why. This episode has made it clear: I don’t know how much I can trust in things going the way I expect. I feel like I have to be on guard, even before leaving home.
So here’s the question: is this the first and last of getting the runaround, or this just a sample of what’s to come?
Three Canadians heading for South Asia. Two well experienced with the sub-continent over many years, the third a newbie to this part of the world.
Annie Annie Annie! Arghhhhh!!!! This is just the first of many unexplained changes to travel in Asia. Once you relax into expecting the unexpected it will all go much better.
ReplyDeleteYes, Sheilagh, you're right. I definitely un-expected the airlines to mess things up, silly me!
DeleteThe adventure has begun! As they say about doors closing and windows opening... Don't know what time you are at Heathrow, but 12 hours is long enough to get out of the airport if you want. I did a fun mini-trip once in Doha with a 7-hour evening layover going to the Maldives. Here's some inspiration: http://www.layoverguide.com/2016/01/london-heathrow-layover.html and from someone who actually did this in 2014 http://www.traveladdicts.net/2014/06/london-on-a-long-heathrow-layover.html and a long discussion on how to do it, itineraries: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/europe-uk-ireland/topics/long-layover-at-heathrow?page=1
ReplyDeleteThank you, "Unknown." I did consider doing just that, but I was sleep deprived and I ended up sleeping for 4 hours in the lounge, badly needed. I rather enjoyed the day, actually.
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