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Hawaii Babies
travel nightmare!
so we are finally back from our trip to PR.... we had quite the time getting back though... here's how the day went for us yesterday
6am - wake the baby up to get ready and head to the airport
7am - leave for airport to catch our 8:40am flight (5 min drive from where we were staying)...have to stop and drop off the keys to our rental first (goes off w/o a hitch!)...stop to get half tank of gas for rental car (told DH to do this the night before to save time but he didn't listen! 
). slight delay at the gas station b/c the pay at the pump isn't working and when DH goes inside to pay the cashier won't take his word on how much gas we got and insists on walking outside to verify the amount!
7:15am - get to airport (1 hr and 25 min before flight, not bad) and rental car return isn't at airport like DH thought it was, it was only for avis, budget, hertz etc (basically most every company except Dollar!). so, DH drops me off at the curb while he goes to return the car. meanwhile I get all the bags inspected by USDA agriculture so we're all ready to go when DH gets back.
7:45am - getting antsy that DH isn't back yet, call him - no answer.
7:50am - DH calls me back and says that the rental car company is holding him "hostage" and won't drive him back to the airport b/c they say we damaged the car and need to pay for the damages first. turns out there is a long scuff along the undercarriage of the car under the back passenger door. we didn't see it when we picked up the car b/c it was 9pm and we didn't take a flash light to the car to check it. they insist that DH signs a form saying that we'll pay for the damages but he refuses and says he'll just dispute the charges with AmEx. they give him the form to sign and on the signature line he write "refuses signature"
7:55am - they finally shuttle him back to the airport, he arrives about 7:59am
8:00am - we walk inside to the self service check in kiosk to check 1 bag (the travel crib) and it won't let us check in! we then look and it says on the screen "checked bags must be checked in at least 40 minutes prior to flight, please see agent." !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we look at our cell phones and it is 8:02am 
we walk over to the line and the agent goes to check and then comes back and says "sorry we can't get the bags on the flight" even though we all know full well that they have time to get the bags on the flight if they want to 
we tried to see if they would just send the bag on the next flight but they said they can't send a bag on a flight w/o the passenger on that actual flight...... so, we have to fly stand by on the next flight, which is over 4 hours later at 12:45pm!
8:15am - they put us on the stand by list as #1 and #2 but say that if any gold/platinum/executive AA members want on the stand by list we'll get bumped. they also tell us that the flight is already overbooked by 1 person. GREAT.
8:20am - we get through security (no line) and then I am stuck trying to entertain a toddler in the airport for 4 hours! she is good and was great about it but I get grossed out by how dirty airports are and really wished I could have stopped her from touching everything.... but, as long as she was happy I let her run around and do whatever she wanted. I fed her breakfast (which I had packed), she ran around, climbed on the chairs, played with our suit cases, played with her book, stood by the windows shouting "Bird! bird!" etc. and we did our best to kill the time....
12pm - I go to check with the gate agent to see how it's looking for us to fly stand by...she says "it doesn't look good. everyone has already checked in except for 1 passenger. you're also #2 and #3 on the list now." since the flight was overbooked by 1, this meant that all the seats were taken and if 1 was open, the other person would get it first they told us if we didn't make this flight, we could get confirmed on the next flight at 5:30pm connecting through Miami for $50pp (getting in at midnight!!!). so we sit and wait and I'm thinking there is no way we get on this flight
12:20pm - they page us to the desk and tell us that we got on the flight!! 
we're not seated together but we're in 2 adjacent rows with DH in the seat right in front of me. we board the plane and Miss A is soooo tired from being woken up early that she takes her afternoon nap 2 hrs earlier than usual and sleeps through all the announcements and beeping made during take off even though these usually wake her 
she napped 2 hrs so I only had to entertain her for 3 hrs more. the lady next to me was a grandmother and was really great at helping me entertain her. as a side note - pringles or lays stax make a great travel snack! you can leave the crumbs in the container and it makes a great "rattle" for baby to play with afterwards 
I think she was easily entertained with the container for at least 30 min. another 1-2 hrs was spent rummaging through the pages of all the different magazines in the seat pocket as she would put them back, pull them out, put them back, pull them out, etc. over and over! and then the last bit we spent snacking on food.
4pm CST (6pm PR time) - we arrive at the airport..... home sweet home. soooo glad to have such a long day (12 hours!) of travel behind us. Miss A was a trooper and traveled great. she only fussed when I left to go to the bathroom (she no longer has separation anxiety when going to bed/napping but still has serious separation anxiety during the day). this completed her 12th flight (6th trip) since she was born. I previously wasn't sure if we'd ever make it to farther destinations w/her but after this I think anything is possible LOL
we're still not sure what is going to happen w/the rental car. I still think it's absurd that they wouldn't take MH back to the airport and essentially made us miss our flight (even though we arguably should have gotten there earlier). DH asked me why I didn't just check the bag while I was waiting for him and I told him, "I'm going to carry the diaper bag, car seat, 2 carry on bags, and 1 large checked bag from the curb to inside the building by myself? yeah, so not happening!" plus we never check bags when traveling so I had honestly forgotten about the 40 min rule. if I had remembered, I'm sure I could have gotten a sky cap to help me w/the bags.... live and learn I guess! I am just glad we finally got home after that whole ordeal!
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Re: travel nightmare!
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
WOW girl! What a nightmare! I really could not imagine dealing with that, I would be such a stress case!!!!!!!
Glad that you all ended up getting home safe and sound, what a relief!
| Olowalu, Maui ~ August 6, 2008 |
| Family of 4 ~ April 2, 2011 |
| Family of 5 - October 24, 2012 |
What a nightmare!!! I still find it amazing the way Airlines treat people. Glad you made it home in one piece!
Wow crazy! What a struggle just to get home! But I'm glad you guys are back home!
That really sucks about the rental car =( Hopefully, you guys won't have to pay for it.
looks like the rental car company put a charge on our CC this morning for $500. Dh just got off the phone and since we put it on our AmEx Business card they said they would put it in dispute for us but even if the AmEx insurance adjuster finds us at fault/liable for the damages, they cover up to $50,000 worth of damage to the car w/no deductible!
so... the moral of this story is.,.. make sure you have a CC with a good rental car insurance policy! it still doesn't make up for the fact that we missed our flight b/c of them but at least we're not out $500 now.
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
I love Hawaii!
Tara & Ian . 4/24/2008 . The Kahala Planning . Married
Malia & Dave & Alexa
Happily married since 2-17-08! Three since 9-9-09!
Baby Blog
yeah it just did not occur to me b/c we never check any bags when we travel... i thought as long as it was 30 minutes before we were ok... apparently i thought wrong LOL
but yeah, definitely glad it is over!
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats