Posted by Before flying into another country, read this!
The above image is Manchester International Airport, UK. I have a love-hate relationship with this airport. It’s the hub that allows me to get to my English family quickly, but also where the average passenger gains a herculean amount of steps just switching terminals. Manchester is a typical example of why you should never make the mistake I made.
Have you ever had a bad feeling about a journey before it even began? I had plenty on this day. My full plane sat on the ground for 45 minutes because of a passenger who became ill. When we finally took off I knew I would miss my connection, and so would a lot of my fellow travelers. My journey did not improve when my neighbor sneezed all over me, took all my tissues, and begged me to request more food from the flight attendant! (Note: This occurred prior to Covid19. Always take hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes onto your flight)
Before the flight
Mistake #1: When booking a flight, pay attention to the details. In my haste to get my trip at the perfect price, I overlooked a few travel details. Three flights out and three flights back didn’t concern me. I focused on my outward flights and let the return journey take care of itself. The day before returning to the USA, I realized I had one hour and 40 minutes to land in JFK, and transfer to my next flight. JFK, a major port of entry into the USA, stretching miles between gates and terminals, what was I thinking? This involves heinous immigration and customs lines, a long baggage wait and a terminal change. I knew better but hoped for the best.
Solution #1: When flying, always expect the unexpected! Mechanical problems, bad weather, inexplicable hold-ups, all of these can delay your flight. When you are flying domestically this is annoying. When you’ve already flown for eight hours and are battling a time difference, it’s unbearable. It is vital to allow as much time between flights as possible, at least three hours between landing in one country and transferring through.
During the flight
Mistake #2: While I was kicking myself across the Atlantic, it never occurred to me to speak up and explain my situation. After all, others had the same problem, and it was my fault in the first place.
Solution #2: Airlines don’t want you to miss your plane! It’s in their interest to get you onto your scheduled flight. My guardian angel was shining down on me when a flight attendant approached me and announced that a message had been sent from my next airline, Delta. They knew I was short on turn-around time and wanted to move me to the front of the aircraft before landing so I could get a head start. I was impressed!!!! As promised, I was moved to Business class which was the best in-flight experience I’ve ever had!!! Even more impressive, I was met by ground crew who fast-tracked me through immigration, promised to take care of transferring my baggage, and took me to security. The security line at JFK was horrendous, with several hundred people in line and inadequate staff to expedite them. I explained my situation to the ground crew, who advised me to go through the first class and business line. Thankfully I was able to, but 30 minutes went by before I had the pleasure of being pulled aside and made to wait another 15 minutes for my luggage to be inspected, which had literally gone through security eight hours before. Side note: expect this, it makes no sense but they are just doing their jobs. It gave me just enough time to put on my shoes and run 30 gates for my connection. And I’m not a runner!
The moral of this story…
When you realize you are probably going to miss your connection, speak up! Ask your flight attendant about moving to the front. Ask if you can get assistance upon landing. On arrival, get off the plane as quickly as possible and look for the expedited/fast track lane through Immigration, which will take a lot of time off your turnaround. If you need to abandon your luggage in order to get your flight, do so. As long as you have labeled it well, and the bar code is still in place, it will get picked up and transferred. You may not see your luggage until the next day, and you may have to pick it up from your final destination airport yourself as it’s considered voluntarily abandoned. Use the airline app to monitor its location. I picked mine up the next day from my local airport.
When arriving at security, ask to be expedited through the fastest security line, get through, then move it! Ultimately, missing your flight is not the end of the world, but it definitely feels like it when it’s 1 a.m. your time and you have two more flights to go.
And credit goes to…
..the excellent customer service from Virgin Atlantic, Delta Airlines and the ground crew at JFK. This enabled me to catch my two remaining flights. If you find yourself in this situation, follow my advice and get those connections. Don’t be afraid to ask and be as pushy as you can get away with. You are the customer and have a right to good service!
