VVC: Travel woes

[thuviaptarth]

I am separating the travel and lost luggage report from the actual con report because I care. To make it easily skippable, I will even cut tag.


On my way back from Wiscon a couple of months ago, I missed my flight so they rebooked me onto a later flight. My flight had had a stopover and total travel time of way too long. My rebooked flight was nonstop and got me into New York two hours earlier than the original flight.

I think this trip is the consequent luck rebound.

1. Plane delayed two hours.
   
   Honestly, I was grateful it wasn't four. The attendant kept making harassed loudspeaker announcements: "The plane we will be on is still in Baltimore. It has not yet taken off. I will let you know when it is in the air. I have no further information."
   
   "Baltimore, where is Baltimore?" said the woman next to me in a Caribbean accent, to her phone. "No, the plane is in Baltimore, it isn't even in the skies. You mean it will be an hour and a half after it is in the air?" She had been planning to go out clubbing when she got to Chicago, because she is clearly way more energetic than me, but I do not think this plan survived the delays.
   
   
2. The airline lost my luggage.
   
   You would think that would be hard to do with two hours to load it onto a nonstop flight to Chicago. But American is resourceful! Not resourceful enough to scan luggage before loading it on a plane, but resourceful enough to charge $15 for checking and losing it.
   
   
3. The hotel didn't have me on the reservation, even though nestra had given them my name, so they called her at 1:30am to verify that I wasn't her stalker. They gave me toiletries not including contact lens solution, which I eventually figured out I could buy at the front desk, but only after wailing about the lack thereof to the entire con. millylicious heard my pleas and tried to deliver saline solution this morning, but nestra didn't recognize my user name and sent her away. I slept through the whole thing and therefore was not able to provide illuminating commentary.
   
   
4. When I called the airline today, they said they had found my luggage this morning, but hadn't called to notify me, and also there was a 1-6 hour delivery window, so my luggage would probably arrive in the next two hours, if it hadn't arrived already. I did not attempt to discuss the six-hour delivery window. Life is short.
   
   
5. I called the front desk. The airline had already attempted to deliver my luggage, but the hotel refused it because they did not have me registered. Because the front desk attendant from last night, who checked me in and provided toiletries, did not add me. For some reason. Also, they had tried to call my cellphone (thoughtfully put on vibrate for the vidshows) but had not left a message because "they were unable to get through."
   
   
6. I called American again and they will redeliver. At some point. Probably tomorrow. What may have been the world's only helpful American Airlines employee atttempted to reach the dispatcher to request an immediate redelivery for me, but she wasn't able to get through.
   
   
7. Anyway! I coerced the very kind minnow1212 into taking me to Target for emergency supplies, but I will be very unsparkly at Club Vivid tonight.
   
   
8. Update: The front desk called Nestra to let know her luggage was here. "Thank you," she said grimly, and we went down to retrieve my luggage. And to add me to the room registration, although at this point it seemed moot.
   
   "Oh," said the front desk clerk, "your name is on the room."
   
   "Uh," we said. "What?"
   
   "Your name is the secondary name, not the main name, so if you search by the main name, it doesn't show up."
   
   "Thank you," I said carefully. "That was helpful. Can I have my luggage now?"
   
   
9. So I was moderately sparkly for Club Vivid, as planned. And today I am in my own clothes and I am showered and washed and brushed my hair, and I am happy.