I usually allow for 10% of my flights in any given year to have substantial delays, cancellations, etc. Out of 100,000+ miles of air travel annually, that gives me 8-10 flights to have severe issues with. Why it is that a two day cancellation had to surface during a personal trip, my first in who knows how many years, is something I'll never understand.
I spent Wednesday and Thursday packing, picking up a few things at West Marine, and studying for the American Sailing Association written exams that I'll be taking once I reach St. Vincent. After getting everything set yesterday, visiting the bank for cash and triple checking that I had packed all that was needed, I walked to my front door to await the arrival of a friend who would take me to Boston's Logan Airport. It was while I was standing at the door that JetBlue called to inform me that my BOS to JFK flight was cancelled due to weather, and that they had automatically rebooked me on a flight for Saturday, nearly 40 hours later. This did not sit well with me.
Scrambling to find alternatives, seeing that my JFK flight to Barbados was still on time, I repacked my checked bag and carry on into one large carry on bag and headed out the door. As my friend drove to the airport I used my Delta iPhone app to book another flight, finalizing the purchase with air miles as we pulled up to the departures door. TSA PreCheck was closed, a huge surprise as I've never seen it closed at Logan before, so I begged and pleaded my way through the normal security line with 10 minutes to go before the boarding doors for my new flight to New York closed. Making it through security quickly thanks to the kind hearted other travelers who let me through, I rushed to the gate itself only to find out that that flight, too, was delayed due to weather. It took me only 43 minutes from flight cancellation phone call to walking back out of Logan after the valiant effort to get on another plane to New York. I never made the Barbados connection, which ironically didn't take off until well after midnight. Had I stayed at Logan and waited out the delayed Delta flight I would have made it to Barbados a few hours late, but would have missed my puddle jumper connection flight to St. Vincent.
After a few long phone calls to JetBlue this morning in an attempt to find other ways to Barbados, I'm taking a 0730 flight tomorrow which will get me to the island around 1500hrs. It cost $237 to book a one-way ticket on a different regional airline to get to St. Vincent, as the only flight remaining had one seat open, and leaves at 1600hrs tomorrow. I'll get to the marina where I had reserved a little oceanfront hotel room by dinner time, and in the end will hypothetically make it to where I need to be on time.
I'm frustrated over losing out on a few hundred dollars of non-refundable travel costs, but am most disappointed to have lost the two days of "me" time on an island I've never seen in a hemisphere and region of the world I've never been to before. Not that I'm a cocktail on the beach kind of guy but I had hoped for some relaxing sunset photo shoots with lazy palm trees and white sand, and especially some exploring on a lush green volcanic island. We'll see, maybe I'll find time to make it work.
That's all from me for now... I'll keep you updated once I actually reach my destination :)
I spent Wednesday and Thursday packing, picking up a few things at West Marine, and studying for the American Sailing Association written exams that I'll be taking once I reach St. Vincent. After getting everything set yesterday, visiting the bank for cash and triple checking that I had packed all that was needed, I walked to my front door to await the arrival of a friend who would take me to Boston's Logan Airport. It was while I was standing at the door that JetBlue called to inform me that my BOS to JFK flight was cancelled due to weather, and that they had automatically rebooked me on a flight for Saturday, nearly 40 hours later. This did not sit well with me.
Scrambling to find alternatives, seeing that my JFK flight to Barbados was still on time, I repacked my checked bag and carry on into one large carry on bag and headed out the door. As my friend drove to the airport I used my Delta iPhone app to book another flight, finalizing the purchase with air miles as we pulled up to the departures door. TSA PreCheck was closed, a huge surprise as I've never seen it closed at Logan before, so I begged and pleaded my way through the normal security line with 10 minutes to go before the boarding doors for my new flight to New York closed. Making it through security quickly thanks to the kind hearted other travelers who let me through, I rushed to the gate itself only to find out that that flight, too, was delayed due to weather. It took me only 43 minutes from flight cancellation phone call to walking back out of Logan after the valiant effort to get on another plane to New York. I never made the Barbados connection, which ironically didn't take off until well after midnight. Had I stayed at Logan and waited out the delayed Delta flight I would have made it to Barbados a few hours late, but would have missed my puddle jumper connection flight to St. Vincent.
After a few long phone calls to JetBlue this morning in an attempt to find other ways to Barbados, I'm taking a 0730 flight tomorrow which will get me to the island around 1500hrs. It cost $237 to book a one-way ticket on a different regional airline to get to St. Vincent, as the only flight remaining had one seat open, and leaves at 1600hrs tomorrow. I'll get to the marina where I had reserved a little oceanfront hotel room by dinner time, and in the end will hypothetically make it to where I need to be on time.
I'm frustrated over losing out on a few hundred dollars of non-refundable travel costs, but am most disappointed to have lost the two days of "me" time on an island I've never seen in a hemisphere and region of the world I've never been to before. Not that I'm a cocktail on the beach kind of guy but I had hoped for some relaxing sunset photo shoots with lazy palm trees and white sand, and especially some exploring on a lush green volcanic island. We'll see, maybe I'll find time to make it work.
That's all from me for now... I'll keep you updated once I actually reach my destination :)
A ticket purchased, checked in, taken through TSA, canceled, and refunded in 21 minutes flat.
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