Our day today would make a good test of young management students. Let them see how to handle what we have undergone since about 8AM today.
0800: Text from Delta, our 2330 flight out of Kona to Seattle was delayed to 0930 local Saturday morning. Would get into Seattle 5 minutes after the flight to SLC left. No more flights to SLC. Resort fully booked. Went to work on alternatives.
0900: Spoke to Delta rep, asked for alternatives from Hilo - all the way across the Big Island (but really only an hour away). Agent said there was a flight leaving at 2326 out of Lihue. Agent apparently didn't know there are only two airports on the Big Island and Lihue was on Kawai, a two hour flight away - I said that won't work - she verbally confirmed there was a flight out of Hilo to the mainland tonight, we said sign us up. An hour later, we were going about our merry way, doing the stuff we planned to do before the flight, and something tells me to check the flight. Agent had booked us on the flight out of Lihue and not out of Hilo.
1000: Worked the phone with Delta, very apologetic, no flights off the Big Island to the mainland. I said just get us to Lihue in time to catch the flight that WAS booked. Booked us on two Hawaiian Airline flights, one from Hilo to Honolulu, the other from Honolulu to Lihue. Told Delta I'm not paying for a Hawaiian Airline ticket because this is their screwup, not mine and we are also NOT going to take a bump down in seats because we paid for good ones, not going to sit in steerage with the goats, chickens, and crates of Maui onions.
1330: Arrange to drop the Jeep at Hilo instead of Kona and drive over. Drive the Saddle Road between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, very nice scenery. Have a nice lunch, head to Hilo for a 1642 departure to Honolulu.
1520: Flight to Honolulu delayed to 1730 guaranteeing we miss the 1725 connection in Honolulu. Call Hawaiian Airlines to see if other flights are available, there are two but she can't book us because it is a Delta ticket. Call Delta, spend 45 minutes on the phone, get the second flight rebooked out of Honolulu so we can make it with the late flight out of Hilo.
1600: Flight out of Hilo is now delayed until 1820, guaranteeing we miss the rebooked flight out of Honolulu to Lihue. Go to the counter and speak with the Hawaiian Air agent and he says Delta rebooked my wife all the way through but cancelled my ticked from Hilo to Honolulu. Also tells be the flight we were booked on - HA341 - is actually HA533, the same equipment that goes to Lihue from Honolulu, something the Hawaiian agent on the phone didn't tell me when I spoke to her at 1520. Says everything is late out of Honolulu because a military aircraft had to make an emergency landing at the airport. Also something the agent on the phone did not know. Gate agent can't fix it because - once again - it is a Delta ticket.
1620: Back on the phone with Delta. Explain the clusterf*ck and ask to be rebooked on the original itinerary, takes 40 minutes to do it for me - they now show Debbie doesn't have a ticket from Hilo to Honolulu. I say Hawaiian does show she is good because I'm now standing in front of the awesome gate agent who is helping with this mess. Delta guy asks me to confirm with him Debbie has a ticket before he books me - agent does, Debbie has a confirmed ticket, and now so do I.
1700: We are right back where we were at 1000 except we are in the Hilo airport and luggage has been checked.
1820: Flight HA341, formerly known as the flight leaving at 1642 finally leaves. I notice the plane is a B717, the renamed McDonnell Douglas MD80 that hasn't been built since 2006. Interior is showing its age and the accommodations are spartan to say the least - but these are two short hops, so if we get where we need to go without becoming an episode of Lost, I'm going to call it a win.
1920: First time today, something goes right. Flight HA341 lands, we get off to pee, and Bob's your uncle, when we get back the plane we just exited has become flight HA533 and is boarding first class.
1940: HA533 leaves Honolulu and about 40 minutes later bounces to a stop in Lihue.
2130: We have grabbed a bite of food, and are back at Gate 4, waiting to board DL975 to SeaTac at 23:25, hopefully now free from complications.
Membership has its privileges. I'm a Platinum Million Miler with Delta, so I can't imagine that they would worry too much about someone without at least my low status.
But yes, I intend to complain because Delta made this mess themselves. We had to jump through a shit ton of hoops to figure out a way to get home before Monday.
In a way it is funny - a comedy of errors, one might say.
We hope to be home tomorrow by about 1400 local.
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You should have waited until you were home to post this. The Delta gods may yet get their penance from you.
That is absolutely ridiculous.