Given that FunnelScope is an innovative, new travel search site with a social twist (exciting social features coming in 30-45 days!), we decided to launch a new theme for folks to share funny (and not-so-funny) travel stories.
Admit it—we all have them….whether it’s the horror story about your recent Northwest flight where your pilot(s) overslept and overshot the airport by ~200 miles or that painful story of the cleaning lady who kept knocking on your hotel room even when you had the “Do Not Disturb” sign posted.
Please share your stories with us by sending an email to me at kul at funnelscope dot com. I would love to hear your stories and share them on our blog.
Given that I founded FunnelScope because I love to travel, I certainly have my share of stories. So I’ll kick it off, but hopefully we’ll hear yours soon so we can post them on this blog. Here goes mine…
A few years ago I was heading to Punta del Este, Uruguay for New Years. For those who don’t know Punta, it’s a very popular destination for South Americans (especially Argentines) over their summer holidays. The issue for Americans is that it’s a hassle to get there. From New York, it’s a 10 hour flight to Buenos Aires, an hour flight to Montevideo, and then a 2 hour drive to Punta. A lot of traveling but it’s worth it once you get there (see pics below).
My friend and I were flying from JFK airport in New York on American Airlines. Waiting at the gate, we learned the flight is delayed due to mechanical problems. It was unclear if we could even fly that evening. My friend and I were concerned since 1) we would miss our connecting flight, and not guaranteed we would get a seat on another flight; 2) we found the last available rental car in Montevideo and would probably lose it; and 3) our hotel only guaranteed our room if we showed up on the day of our booking due to some strange high-season policy. So we needed to get there on time or our trip would be ruined!
After some hours delay, an American airlines official announced they found a new plane but that none of the luggage would arrive until a couple days after. My friend freaked out due to fears we may not see our luggage at all. Given the logistics of the trip, there was a very high risk of that happening. He went to the check-in counter and demanded we get our luggage (in somewhat threatening language). The short-tempered supervisor looked at us and said “Guess what…given that outburst I’m not letting you fly at all tonight. Come back tomorrow!”
My friend backpedaled and tried to explain our situation but the supervisor refused to listen. With tickets already in hand, we decided to sneak back into the concourse and board the plane anyway. After approximately 30 minutes, we saw the supervisor walking down the concourse with a security guard looking for us! In desperation we hid. We actually hid (how embarrassing)!! People were looking at us like we were terrorists. Can you imagine what it must look like to see two guys in an airport clearly trying to hide?
We successfully hid until they announced boarding. Then we tried to conspicuously get in line to board, but the supervisor nabbed us. I tried to calmly reason with him and explain my friend’s outburst. I described how much effort it took to find the rental car and hotel…and if we did not take this flight, we would miss our connection and likely not have a car or hotel. The supervisor could care less. He wanted to take his revenge in the midst of a long holiday season. With a security guard in tow, we walked back toward the exit when he suddenly stopped and said, “I’m going give you guys another chance and let you on this flight. You got lucky I’m in the holiday spirit.”
Even though the supervisor was clearly on a power trip, we were elated to get on the flight… and with no luggage. I don’t think our hearts stopped pounding until we were well over Florida. It took 5 days before we saw our luggage, but it didn’t matter. We still had a blast! We came inches from the trip being a complete nightmare. Travel lesson #1: Take what you get, especially when traveling over the holidays!
