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It was Easter sunday (or so the calendar said....it really didnt feel like it and that meant it was the day we were to begin our journey back to the states. The plan was that we would catch a flight from Papeete, Tahiti at 7:30 p.m. and arrive in LA at 6:25 am on Monday. We would then leave LA at 10:35 and after a layover in Cleveland, arrive in Wilkes-Barre at 8:08 p.m. I was to return to work on Tuesday and Kim and Sue were going back on Wednesday.
WELLLLL, you know what they say about the best laid plans. So we checked with the VIP staff about our travel plans and apparantley, Air Tahiti Nui scheduled us for departure from Bora Bora to Papeete on a 7:35 p.m. flight. As you'll see above, we were supposed to be on a plane in Papeete 5 minutes before we were to take off on our domestic flight from Bora Bora. Now, this would probably not be a big deal except that French Polynesia was in the midst of an oil strike so shuttles, and flights were being consolidated and cancelled.
After MUCH discussion it was decided by the management of the resort that we should take the boat shuttle from the resort to the Bora Bora airport (a building with NO AIR CONDITIONING or doors and kittens and chicken running through it) at 3 p.m. for a 7:35 p.m. flighht. We arrived at the airport at 3:30 and got in the line to check in for A flight. [We were told if we got there early we could tell them we needed to be on an earlier flight and they would have plenty of room]. WELL, the first flight was FULL, and the 6 p.m. flight was over booked. So we had to take the 7:35 flight. After 4 hours in an 85 degree building we were ready to get on the plane and at least try and get cooled off. Well, that didnt work either. The AC in the plane was "not working".
We arrived in Papeete, and claimed our luggage to go get in line and try and get out on the next plane to LA. After standing in line for more than an hour we got to the counter and were able to get seats on the 11:00 p.m. out of Papeete. YEAH!!!!!
So, due to leaving Tahiti 4 hours late, we missed our connecting flights in the states. Our travel agent who was in Bora Bora with us, said that he would take care of getting us on another flight and to just check into the counter and we would be set.
Well, as was the case with their advice about getting to Papeete, they were also incorrect about this. When we got to LAX we were not rebooked on any flights. After many calls to Bora Bora with no reply, we decided to walk counter to counter to see if we could get a flight with any airline......we were finally able to get a red eye flight out of LAX. YEAH.....another 10 hours in an airport! Well, the travel agent came through and got us a room in the Sheraton across the street from the airport. So, we went and showered, ordered room service and took a nap. Then we headed back to LAX to catch our flight to Philly at 10:30 p.m.
Well, we got to the gate and determined that this flight was also overbooked! We had to wait to see if anyone was willing to give up their seats for us. Thanks to the Lord, we were able to get seats and travel to the East Coast. After three days of traveling and NO SLEEP, we arrived in Wilkes-Barre at 1:00 p.m. TUESDAY and began the hour long drive home.
Upon arrival home, we hopped in bed and slept straight through to the next day. Poor Sue had to go to work Wednesday so she didnt get much sleep. Kim took Wednesday off and I went in around 10:30. It took days for us to get caught up on our sleep but all in all, it was TOTALLY worth it. |
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Posted by TConklin on 2008-04-06 21:41:42 | Rating: | Views: 37
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