Talking about a return ticket to be able to board the aircraft...
This reminds me of a trip I took with my AC. I'm not too good at putting together a TR after my trips. Always say I will, and never end up putting one together.
But in short..
Last min vocation to Panama City from JFK(NY)
Flights were really expensive, ranging from $500-700 for a nonstop flight and timing that made sense. So spending $1k for 2 OW flights wasn't on my agenda. So, putting ItaMatrix to work, I found 2 flights going to Costa Rica with a 19 HR stopover in Panama for $170 each with a bag, Bingo found the perfect flight, and had then booked 2 minutes later. In the past, on a flight overnight with a 19-hour stopover, I've got my luggage back. I had no reason to think otherwise. (Yes, I had
Two checked bags with me.)
Fast forward we rush to the airport and literally minutes away for Check-in closing, the agents tell us being that it's a full flight and we were last to check in, our luggage will go on standby in-case they overbooked. They stuck some yellow tag that clearly said standby (This was a huge help, as I'll explain later in my story). She also asks for a return ticket? I tell her, "Oh, I'm not sure how long I want to stay, so I didn't book a return yet." She tells me we can't let you board unless you have a ticket, so book one now! So I slid out my phone and booked 2 refundable Jetblue tickets from Costa Rica to JFK and the rest went smooth.(This ticket being the reason for my post and saving the day.) Now at boarding I ask the gate agent to confirm that I'll be able to get my checked bags for the night( saying to myself, so I can sleep like a mentch with my PJs and all, vs in my clothing and without any toiletries.) She tells me nope, you don't have to worry the bags are checked in for you to your final destination. I mentioned that I would like my clothing and ect to refresh in the am. She tells me there's nothing we can do but speak to the gate agents when you land, and they may be able to help you. Fast forward to when we land. And of course, each person I ask tells me to try here, and they tell me to try there. Running around the airport like a chicken without a head, I'm not sure where to go to get my bags back for the night. (In essence had no plans to go to Costa Rica and just booked as a hidden city and scrap that flight, so bags were here to stay in Panama, all I needed was to get ahold of my bags.) After each person I asked having given me different directions, A few did mention try the check-in agents when you walk into the airport. To me, that seemed like the last resort, as I was practically out of the airport already. To boot every person I spoke to could barely speak english, while in a country where they primarily speak spanish.
With not many options left. I did just that. Left security and all and went out of the airport practically and headed over to the check-in counters. The guys overther spoke a broken English, but enough for me to understand them and for then to understand me. This was about 10pm at night, and there were no more flights taking off that night. So the place was pretty deserted.
While I did see one agent still working at the computer, I went over to him and told him i needed my suitcase and had some medicine and ect that I needed for the night. He tells me I don't think there's much to do, but I'll call my manager over. He goes to get his manager, The manager tells me, "Nope, sorry." We can't do anything for you. Never did we ever get anyone's bag back. So there's absolutely nothing we can do. It's checked into Costa Rica, and you'll have to get it. At the next stop. I told him that's crazy. It's a nineteen hour stopover, and everything I need is inside my suitcase. In the past, I've always gotten my suitcase back. I never did expect that my suitcase would be checked into my final destination. We smoozed for 5-7 minutes, and he was pretty firm that I shouldn't expect to get my suitcase back. Should I even get them back, it would require someone to manually shift through all the bags to find mine. Then again, an idea popped into my mind and would definitely help me push to get my bags. I needed some identification on my bags that would differ from all the other bags on that plane. So, my last-minute planning and arrival at the check-in counter would actually pay off its dividends.
I told him we arrived last to check in JFK airport, and both our bags were tagged with this bright yellow tag that said Standby. So it should be pretty easy to spot ours from all the bags. After mentioning that and talking for a bit, he went from not wanting to do anything to now, seeing if, in fact, something can be done...
So that's where he threw the curve ball, And said, okay. Let me see your return ticket. If not for that gate, agent when I checked in at JFK, good chance my luggage would have ended up in costa rica and with shabbos around the corner that's the last thing I wanted to happen. He looks at it and...
Now, at that point, he changed his attitude a bit and got on the phone, After about five minutes, he told me ok, I can manage to get you one suitcase back. Which one do you want. I tell him I want the bigger one. He's like which one is that? I told him I had no clue. I just want the bigger one. He's like, "Which tag number?" I'm like, I have no clue." You tell me which one's the bigger one. So he gets back on the phone for another five minutes. And then he tells me to sit down and he'll be back. Around ten-fifteen minutes later,I see him and a helper come pulling my two bags. From him telling me never did we get someone they're bags, to him personally wheeling me my bags. All I could say is BH, and don't try this with your AC and on a hidden city in a foreign c0untry. It was a bad move on my end. But the one above was good to me, I must say.
It's definitely a good ending. But what would have been really cool was to get money back for the 2nd leg. The 2nd leg going to Costa Rica ended up being delayed over 6 hours and was going to fly on Friday night. Now, with that delay and flying on shabbos. I would have had to cancel my plans to go to Costa Rica and request compensation for the trip that they caused to go south.
Being that it was erev shabbos. I was glad to make it to Panama, and it was only sometime later that week that I happened to glance at that flight going to Costa Rica and notice that it was delayed. So essentially, a 25-hour stop over with no luggage. Good chance I could have been reimbursed. But it wasn't on my mind till a week later that it hit me to try to get reimbursed. I just let it slide.
Just my little Airport TR from my Panama Trip!
I have lots of stories from traveling. I just never get around to document them and post them. I personally enjoy doing things a bit different and see how it goes! Like my Uber Story!
If you guys enjoyed the read, I can definitely "try" to post some more after traveling!
