If you're flying to the UK, don't take British Airways. Virgin may cost more, United's seats may not be that comfortable, but they will get you there eventually.
I woke up at 5am on Friday morning to check if there had been any cancellations. This kind of backfired spectacularly, as checking schedules while one is still half asleep and has the vision of a bat with a concussion is not particularly effective and can lead to false alarms. In this case, I ended up calling my parents in a panic because I thought my flight from LAX to Heathrow had been cancelled; it turns out I was looking at the status for the same flight, but for the previous day. Later, a couple of hours before leaving, I decided to double check my flights again and make sure that I was fully checked in. So I logged in.
“Your flight BA 1448 LHR-EDI has been cancelled.”
Well, fuck a duck. Now it was time to panic.
I made a second panicked call to the parents, and was told that I should try and get another flight through BA once I’d reached Heathrow, and be prepared to spend a night at the airport. Now that didn’t sit very well with me, because I didn’t like the idea of flying to Heathrow while thinking about the possibility of being stuck there for hours and trying to get another flight before classes start. I wanted some confirmation now. But no luck.
Hallelujah for the very patient BA staff member at LAX whom had overheard the counter next to me booking a British Midlands flight for a Edinburgh student in the same position of having her connecting flight cancelled. She managed to get me a spot on that same flight, at no extra charge.
On arriving at Heathrow, it turns out that BA had cancelled all flights to Edinburgh, Newcastle and Manchester. Bizarrely, its flights to Glasgow and Aberdeen were still operational. What gives? The first indication of snow and it shuts down at major airports, but keeps its flights open to an airport even further north?
Long story short, after delays, technical issues, and last-minute panic about whether the flight would be cancelled even after everyone was on board (which had happened to the previous flight to Edinburgh), I arrived at Edinburgh five hours late.
Could've been worse though. I've safely arrived, meet some cool people at orientation, and start classes tomorrow. Will probably hit the hay soon.
I woke up at 5am on Friday morning to check if there had been any cancellations. This kind of backfired spectacularly, as checking schedules while one is still half asleep and has the vision of a bat with a concussion is not particularly effective and can lead to false alarms. In this case, I ended up calling my parents in a panic because I thought my flight from LAX to Heathrow had been cancelled; it turns out I was looking at the status for the same flight, but for the previous day. Later, a couple of hours before leaving, I decided to double check my flights again and make sure that I was fully checked in. So I logged in.
“Your flight BA 1448 LHR-EDI has been cancelled.”
Well, fuck a duck. Now it was time to panic.
I made a second panicked call to the parents, and was told that I should try and get another flight through BA once I’d reached Heathrow, and be prepared to spend a night at the airport. Now that didn’t sit very well with me, because I didn’t like the idea of flying to Heathrow while thinking about the possibility of being stuck there for hours and trying to get another flight before classes start. I wanted some confirmation now. But no luck.
Hallelujah for the very patient BA staff member at LAX whom had overheard the counter next to me booking a British Midlands flight for a Edinburgh student in the same position of having her connecting flight cancelled. She managed to get me a spot on that same flight, at no extra charge.
On arriving at Heathrow, it turns out that BA had cancelled all flights to Edinburgh, Newcastle and Manchester. Bizarrely, its flights to Glasgow and Aberdeen were still operational. What gives? The first indication of snow and it shuts down at major airports, but keeps its flights open to an airport even further north?
Long story short, after delays, technical issues, and last-minute panic about whether the flight would be cancelled even after everyone was on board (which had happened to the previous flight to Edinburgh), I arrived at Edinburgh five hours late.
Could've been worse though. I've safely arrived, meet some cool people at orientation, and start classes tomorrow. Will probably hit the hay soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment