I’d like to think that I’m a pretty competent air traveler — I certainly have the experience and knowledge to navigate just about any situation, since I’ve been a frequent flyer for around two decades, have logged many millions of miles, and study this stuff endlessly.
Continue reading: Our Disastrous First Flight As A Family Of Four: I’m Still Mentally Recovering
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Can someone explain why AA forced you, in this situation, to claim your bags and then recheck them onto a flight that that they changed you to? Why can't their baggage handling system handle this?
@ Chris -- The bags had to be rechecked for the next flight, which was a separate ticket on Air France. American just moved the bags between its two flights, after it canceled the first one.
I am sorry but booking a trip like this with children of that age is just entitlement and is in no way for them. Bad parenting in my book.
It's kind of funny, this huge difference between traveling solo or as a couple vs family travel and all pitfalls. Obviously, you were not happy about the whole situation.
Ben, you have been very fortunate if this is the most stressful flying experience that you have ever had.
@ Mike W -- Only because of the family element! A trip that's 10x more complicated but where I'm solo would be less stressful than this.
@ Mark -- Sorry, it's "entitlement," what do you even mean by that? Funny enough, both kids were great, and the only issue we didn't have this trip was their behavior. They handled the whole thing in stride.
So far not a disaster, just a stressful travel day. Specifically, (1) no children were lost in airport for any period of time, (2) no family members got left behind, (3) no children cried all the way across the damn ocean, and (4) no children puked, multiple times, causing the entire portion of the plane in which you were sitting to stink, for hours, to the chagrin of those around you. If anything you had a decent mix of travel skill, good decision making and luck to keep your trip on track. Flying long distances with little kids often requires that. But people, even those not in a an AA club, will often rally to help you out when you’re with kids as long as they can see you’re trying your best.
Glad you made it! It was very interesting, to read things going wrong on a flight beyond just delays & cancellations and what you did to solve them.
I must say, being based in Europe, I feel they are much better with handling the cancelation part, as LH group just rebooks you automatically and also allows flexible rebooking on any ticket via AI chat, which works very well (even with alternate routings that give you extra status points if you have the time to take them 😉 )
Wow this is a crazy logistical journey. Frankly, I am shocked all your checked bags made it with the cancelled/rebooked flight and the tightish JFK connection. I am SoFL/NYC based and have experienced my share of nasty JFK T8 AA staff. Congrats to you!!!
I've booked similar multi-segment itineraries on separate tickets and I've not had a cancelled flight like yours (ok now I'm jinxing myself), but I always worry that it will become a situation like yours. And I doubt I would be as lucky as you. Your name is lucky so you are lucky.
In fact just a few weeks ago, I had 2 separate biz award tickets(1) Rwandair Kigali-LHR then (2) BA LHR-JFK. Since I arrive in LHR T4 then depart from LHR T5, I did the research that I'd have to (1) get the UK ETA (2) pick up my checked bag (3) clear UK customs/immigration (4) board the landside H30 bus from T4 to T5 (5) check-in with BA in T5. I allowed myself 4h20m connection to do that. I was really sweating it on the ride to Kigali Airport! Then at Rwandair check-in I got my version of the "AAngel". She asked my final destination, I said JFK on BA but it is on 2 separate tickets so it's OK, she said "can I have your e-ticket number?". She said "let me try to interline the bag to JFK". I was SHOCKED, as Rwandair and BA aren't partners and based on my online research don't even have an interline agreement! Well she did it, I took a pic of the checked bag tag and yup it showed my BA flight to JFK. This meant at LHR I could board the airside T4 to T5 bus and skip clearing UK immigration. I'd like a refund of my $20 UK ETA (LOL I kid). I made the connection with plenty of time in the BA Biz lounge (haha it wasn't worth spending 3 hours in).
I had to be creative to book this Kigali to LHR to JFK flight on Rwandair / BA with 2 separate tickets because my original Qatar Airways KGL-DOH portion of my flight back to USA was cancelled. Well, at least it worked out in the end. And THANK YOU to the Kigali Rwandair check-in angel!!!
stopped by with soup in hand, to try to get rebooked
This deserved a photo for posterity!
@ ted poco -- AirTags don't help with telling you how your bags are tagged, though. There was never a question of whether bags were at a particular airport, but instead, if they were tagged correctly.
Afternoon flights into JFK have high risk. You need to always book a flight that arrives at JFK before 2pm - regardless of when international flight leaves.
@ Randy -- Of course, I get there's some risk, but when you're traveling with two small kids, there's a balance of risk. I considered what are the odds of things going wrong vs. how unpleasant will things be if we're sitting at JFK for nine hours. That made the decision pretty easy for me. 😉
Not sure about domestic US rules, but the Montreal terms basically compel airlines to forward the bag to whichever part of the world you end up in regardless of whether you got there on a separate ticket or chartered a boat to a remote island. I would've left the bag there and dealt with the fallout later - in fact I've done exactly that in the past.
When traveling as a group, always mix each person's items into other bags for situations like this. And also... 5 checked bags? There are laundry machines in Europe!
We traveled regularly for years with 1, 2, 3, 4 and then 5 kids between SE Asia and North and South America. Usually in economy class. We just learned to go with the flow. Fortunately as well, avoiding large US hubs makes travel much more bearable and often less problematic.
Ben, you’ll quickly learn that adding children and checked bags into the mixed makes travel VERY different. Miami to Greek isles via 30 connections sounds fun and doable on your own, but it’s a recipe for disaster. It won’t be long before you’re just taking Brightline to Orlando for your family vacations.
It's summer time which means weather is unpredictable. If you have a connection involved, particularly an International one you should do a bit of research ahead of time to know your options. Being in an AC you can easily get an agent to make changes versus being stuck in a terminal in a line with 200 other people.
And do not check bags. It will only make a complicated and bad situation more complicated and worst.
Why not just rent car seats at your final destination? Hell when I went to Scotland it was cheaper to buy a car seat than rent it for my two weeks. They're a pain to travel with so I will gladly pay a hundred bucks or whatever to avoid lugging that thing around.
What a great post lucky!! This is not easy to handle and my heart was beating for you in the story and I love all the appreciation you have shown to the employees in the post!
Sounds like you learned a few things.
Some tips that I’ve learned from traveling with two small kids:
First, direct flight whenever possible, if unable to do that, one stop, always one ticket.
For anything more complicated than that, you should have a single third-party travel insurance policy. There’s nothing quite as stressful as arriving at your layover, having a kid get sick, and having an airline tell you that there is no available award space for a period of time to continue your trip on (speaking from experience).
Second, everything you must have goes in carry on bags. For us that meant usually three days of clothing, any medical supplies, any essentials, which includes the stroller and car seat, are carry-ons.
Third, know the rules for car seats. This is one thing that that is done well for US flights and terrible in some parts of the world.
Around one year old is probably the hardest age to travel with. They don’t want to sit still, they want to explore, but you cannot discuss and reason with them yet. I did Australia and New Zealand with a five year-old and 2 1/2 year-old and even then sometimes the little one had tough times that we had to work through. It gets easier!
If you are doing an overnight flight, I recommend doing the bedtime routine in the lounge before the flight so that your kids board in their pajamas and more or less ready to do a special airplane wind down before sleep.
Hopefully you enjoy the rest of your trip!
Skiathos is a fantastic destination. I went there 17 years ago, after the mamma Mia movie came out, and it was incredible. As a Greek, I can tell you it’s a great balance of natural beauty, architecture, culture and food (although it has become quite touristy lately). Enjoy your time with your family.
Welcome to the joys of traveling with littles. You'll figure out how to pack differently, like avoiding bringing car seats, and how to carry on the essentials, and that you just have to pay more (and book in cash) for fewer stops. Things you'd endure solo or with other adults just can't happen with kids, they'll surprise you with needing a bathroom at the worst moment (or refusing to use the bathroom and writhing in pain for hours like our little once did). And when the kids are grown you'll revert back to the complicated routings as we're now doing, and somehow making it work with their spouses in tow as well, just waiting for renewed pain once their children are born and also travel with us...
You should have read the full article, he did have a night in the middle. Buy the three legs to get to the overnight was trouble. And even with fewer legs it was the first flight that was the problem, it could happen to anyone. Maybe the lesson is don't have multiple stops through known headache airports. Or maybe it was AA. Or maybe it was flying to Greece with littles. So many different points of failure means you'll likely have a problem at some point
The soup in the ACs has been on point lately! I had an outstanding mushroom bone broth the other month. Had a thai noodle soup last week. Toppings bar for the soups and everything.
But as someone that routinely travels as a family of 4, it was, uh, brave of you to book a 4 segment outbound trip. Just one of those where trying to prioritize a points redemption sounded good on paper but led to exhaustion in practice. Flying in business from JFK to CDG is awesome, but it's not worth routing for - it's a 7 hour flight, and kids that age will sleep whether in economy or business and never know the difference. From a very quick search, a number of one-stop options for your routing that would have been on one ticket, no?
Appreciate you highlighting the helpful AA employees - whether AA or another airline, I do think that the majority of employees really are trying to be helpful, even if it's undoubtedly the squeaky wheels that get the grease, or blog posts.
Look Lucky, we're both men of the world. We've each taken our kids on cool trips. I respect you, you respect me, but I gotta ask...
Why did you plan a 3 stop itinerary??? You're a madman! Even leaving aside the separate tickets, why didn't you just do something like MIA-LHR, day or two in London, then fly from LCY/LTN/STN/LGW to Skiathos?
(I count) 4 flights to reach your destination? This is just not a good idea with two young kids or 5 bags...why do you have 5 bags
Ben, I feel sure that you will totally ignore this advice, however, I am going to post it anyway just in case you actually read it. Why, oh why did you try to reinvent the wheel when there numerous experienced travellers with decades of experience reading your blog and willing to pass on the benefits of that knowledge?
Your immediate action drill should have been (months ago) to ask for advice about this very subject. Those with experience would have told you that the most direct route with the minimum of airport or hotel stops is the only way for you at present.
It may cost you more cash or points to fly as directly as possible, but what price is too great for peace and sanity? Never be too bleeding proud to ask for help from those who know, alternatively, suffer the consequences of your folly.
A great packing tip when checking multiple bags for multiple people. Split up everyone's items and put them in each bag. For 5 bags, each holds about 20% of each person's clothes. Therefore, if a bag or two are misplaced, you still have enough clothes to get by. I don't know how important the liquids in your bag were, but if you had your child's clothes in each of the other 4 bags, you could have left the bag behind.
Going through this post whilst travelling with a 4 months old from Australia to Bali. Any tiny bits of deviation from the plan gets me super anxious so I can totally feel your desperation in JFK! Can’t wait to see what happened after JFK
Everyone has a different way of planing travel so to each its own. My way of planning family vacation is to reduce any potential stress to a minimum. First, I only fly non stop from my home airport to a destination in Europe. In the worst case scenario of a flight cancelation, I simply go back home and sleep in my bed. All my checked luggage have AirTags on them. This has saved me twice in situations I would never see my bagas again if not for the AirTags. Once I reach an EU airport, I then leave enough time to connect to my final destination usually at an airport with at least one more flight after then one I am booked just in case. I will be honest, I rank stress level higher than flying business class to Europe in my ranking so I would rather fly economy for 8 to 9 hours vs flying across the US to another US airport, grab my bags at the carousel, check them back in, go to TSA again just to fly business class for a few hours. I am already going on vacation so I will have enough time to recover from a flight in economy. I also find it so much easier to get to Europe and there figure out alternatives. There are so many ways to move around Europe that you will find one to get to your final destination. Now, being stuck at JFK or other US airport won't help at all. Non stop US to Europe anytime.
@ Vin -- We have five bags because we are traveling for a month, and two of those are car seats. Then we have clothes, formula, diapers, etc. I don't think it's that unreasonable.
@ James K. -- Fair question. To be clear, I booked the VIE-JSI in advance, and then my hope was to get a one stop routing to VIE, which would otherwise be as direct as it gets, with one night in VIE. Without an airport change, there's not a one stop option from MIA to JSI.
That plan seemed easy enough, since we had an overnight in VIE to break up things. Having a single connection with kids isn't that complicated, especially since it's on one ticket.
You know a lot about booking awards as well, and we locked in that VIE-JSI flight way in advance. I was expecting I'd be able to get some good one stop routing to VIE, but it just didn't work out. You know how bad the award situation has become. So in the end, this was as good as I could do.
My mistake here was hoping that award seats would open up, something that has essentially always worked for me in the past. But with all the changes we've seen to awards in recent years, it's gotten to the point where even I can't reliably pull it off anymore. That's how we got to this point.
Oof, totally Ben, not Lucky, here. Used to live in South Florida, now based in NYC. Those 3-hour late-afternoon/early-evening flights from FL-NY are so frequently delayed and cancelled (airlines will blame it on whatever they want, weather, ATC, etc., and, when they cancel, all you get is a refund or a rebooking, because we don't have meaningful air passenger rights in the US; wish we had an EU261/APPR equivalent in the US, so that even if it was 'weather,' the burden is on the airline to actually prove it).
Otherwise, booking separate tickets for an international connection is a risk (Ben admits that he knew that). I'd mitigate risk by doing carry-on-only; flying up a day earlier, spending a night in NYC, having a comprehensive travel insurance policy (especially for loss of any prepaid accommodations). Or, ignore all this, and just 'self-insure' (aka pay extra when it all goes sideways), or post about it on your travel blog afterwards (content, content, content!)
Glad you all made it (with your bags)! Have a nice trip (can't wait for future posts!)
Didn't Austrian used to fly nonstop MIA-VIE? (Ahh, 2015-2020... a pandemic-era loss...)
Well I mean, MIA-ATL-VIE-JSI would still not be as direct as MIA-LHR/LGW-JSI, but obviously would have been better than what ended up happening (and I haven't even read Part 2 yet!)
But yeah, it's a different world isn't it? I booked (just with my wife not with kids) a DTW-ORD-FRA-FCO booking 6 months ago for 70k in J on Aeroplan and I keep hoping a one-stop will open up, but as of yet, nothing else has materialized
We agree on leveraging AC agents for help and doing carry-on-only (for most things), but Ben did mention he's traveling with the kids for a month, so I can't blame them for checking something this time, though, for a trip of that duration, doing some laundry during the trip may be a good idea.
Your real mistake was going to JSI in the first place. Volos is basically halfway between SKG and ATH and the ferry takes less than an hour and a half.
As long as you get to your destination with passports and a credit card, (ok and medications I’m getting older) everything else is solvable.
Glad you got to your destination in ONE PIECE.
I think you did make the most and did your best to try and recover from the situation.
Though not sure why you booked the VIE-JSI segment first before all the other segments...
Also your baggage incident and one of my own is showing that purely relying on the baggage tracking systems of the airlines is not good enough and pushing me to get cell phone baggage trackers...
@ Euro -- I booked the VIE-JSI flight first because that's what had most limited inventory. We are renting a home, and those rentals are typically Saturday through Saturday, and most Saturday arrivals were already booked out. Meanwhile there are endless ways to get across the Atlantic, though maybe not so efficiently, as I learned the hard way.
Advice --Don't fly American. Leave children home or just stay home. Don't check bags. Travel is ruined. You will be happier.
Hope you had an epic time in Rwanda (and that you saw the gorillas)! (Probably for the best to not route via DOH these days.) While RwandAir is not a member of the oneWorld, it does have an interline baggage agreement with British Airways. Not sure if your rebooking was via QR, or if independent, but, either way, ironically Qatar Airways has a 60% financial stake in RwandAir, including shared loyalty benefits and code-sharing. That said, you did get a great agent in Kigali, regardless, especially if the bags made it all the way to JFK. (And, yeah, that $20 for the ETA... sheesh! At least its good for 2 years.)
@ James K. -- Sure, but an MIA-ATL-VIE economy award on Delta would've cost more than I paid for a business class award from JFK-CDG-VIE, factoring in the transfer bonus. As a value maximizer, surely you wouldn't have wanted to book that either. :p
And good luck, hope you get a one stop routing as well.
@ Gene -- Thanks for the advice. At what age am I allowed to travel with kids?
Ben do you seriously not travel with airtags in your bags?!? It takes all the guesswork out of these things.
thanks for being honest and being subjected to the "I told you so" crowd, Ben.
The real question is how this shapes your travel planning as a family of 4. You know your kids and you also know what you will have to take for what lengths of trip.
Clearly more simple packing and a more direct itinerary are necessary the "heavier" the trip gets.
It would be interesting to hear your takeaways about how you change your travel approach w/ your whole family in the future.
Great post, great question, and great reply. Thanks for sharing. I learned a ton. Kudos for taking responsibility up front, too. Looking back, did hubris play a part in the planning process? (“I’m sure I’ can find a way to overcome/mitigate the risks.”) I think all of us have to be careful to stay humble, given the new award availability realities. And great move splitting with the family to accomplish check in. Not sure I would have thought of that, but very sure my spouse would have rejected the suggestion.
Yeah. Our kids are finally getting to the age where they can deal with layovers but until recently we had zero routing flexibility and had to (1) minimize change and (2) keep everything one one ticket. Which made miles and points harder and only possible exactly a year out or whatever with points game. So much easier with adults.
Very sorry for the stress. Truly.
The itinerary is too stressful for me traveling without children.
What would you do if you missed the Air France flight due to weather delay?
I use them, They don’t help you get your bags just identify where they are. The airlines don’t do anything with the information for the most part.
as a professional travel agent who specializes in the GDS and airfare specifcally, there are 1 stops from Miami to JSI. Now you may not want to fly on those dates or have to lay out cash, which is understandable. But these are the facts. It also leaves on June 22nd.
LH 463 18JUN MIA FRA 440P 755A¥1
LH*4428 19JUN FRA JSI 220P 550P
So nothing disastrous actually happened. You got rebooked, got your bags in time, and made your connection.
@ Jeremy Kenter -- We were traveling Saturday through Saturday based on when we rented a home, so for those dates I didn't see any one stop options. I understand that there are some one stops with an overnight on other dates, but that wasn't relevant to us.
@ Chris M -- While I'd prefer to not think of it as quite being hubris, yes, I think you're definitely onto something. Like, I'd never, ever send my family on this kind of an itinerary without me. But I have a really good track record with making stuff work, so that definitely played a factor in going with this itinerary, in the end.
That was my thought too--they made their international connection. That and the thought that being a well known travel blogger can certainly grease the skids when you need assistance.
I fully understand not everyone has the luxury to be able to fly non stop from their home airport to Europe but anyone that does, in my opinion, should take that option anytime. Yes, I can fly from MSP to AMS, CDG, LHR, FRA, DU and KEF year round and FCO and CPH seasonal. As I explained above, getting from home into Europe without having to connect anywhere in the US makes a huge difference since if the flight is cancelled you just go back home. Also, bags will have to be checked once so the likelihood they will make into Europe are much higher. Then when in Europe, it is o much easier to figure out what's next. There are so many ways to get to your final destination with main carriers, several budget allies, trains, etc... Same goes on the way back, if something goes wrong with the flight, I go back enjoy an extra day of vacation instead of being somewhere in the US that is not home.
@ben My longest trip so far, in terms of time: Boston to Skiathos! It took longer than flying from Boston to Sydney, Australia.
A couple of years ago I was booked on Lufthansa Boston-Frankfurt-Dusseldorf-Volos. Volos is on the mainland, a short ferry ride away from Skiathos.
Two days before leaving, Lufthansa canceled the BOS-FRA flight and then they didn't help in any way because this was an award flight booked through United. Fine, I contacted United and they sent me from Boston to Washington (IAD), then Frankfurt etc. There was a huge layover in Washington (eight hours) but the Polaris lounge was really nice.
The next flight, FRA-DUS, was delayed repeatedly, and I was convinced I'll miss my connection. No, that one was delayed as well, so I finally made it to Volos. In the end, the whole trip took 27 hours.
Oh, and Lufthansa paid the EC-261 compensation because I had to *leave* 10 hours earlier than expected. And this was as award ticket. The only issue was that I couldn't convince them to pay, so I used a third party service.
Enjoy Skiathos and the amazing plane spotting you can do there ...
Yeah, Miles (and Jet) should drag his own 15kg carryon behind them onto the flight and put it into the overhead himself. Lucky is spoiling his kids, how will they ever learn to be self-sufficient, functioning adults??
Very glad everything worked out for you!
June 11th was an awful day to fly in the evening. My AA flight was similarly cancelled at the last moment. I ended up flying southwest for the first time the next day.
Did you get a weather warning that day for free changes? I was traveling through different north-east airports and when i saw that i knew i was in for trouble.
My suggestion is daytime flights transatlantic. MIA-NYC/BOS previous day. overnight NYC/BOS-LHR on a daytime flight, overnight again, then your Jet2 LLC to your Greek Island. The daytime flights have better reliability and avoid the evening thunderstorms.
International travel is great for children and many countries are significantly more hospitable to children. When my daughter was younger we were so amazed at how accommodating Germany was for children. She loved the Trains, and the time spent walking to various playgrounds and other destinations instead of being stuck in a car. Kids menus at restaurants were significantly better at offering a large variety of food instead of just Mac & Cheese with fries. It's like they actually care about children there. Crazy concept.
@Ben - The advice of not traveling with kids is not a good one. You made it clear this will be a very long trip so absolutely bring your kids with you. I think the main mistake you made was not to fly MIA to Europe non stop. Yes, I understand you want to redeem miles for business class tickets but when traveling with small kids convenience tops anything else. Leave your place in Miami with enough time to check in and check bags, go to the lounge and get into your flight to Europe. As I said on my posts, worst case scenario you go back home and for your kids, it was just a fun trip to the MIA airport and you don't disrupt their routine. Once in Europe, then it is game on, you are already on vacation so if you miss a connection somewhere you can still go to a different city and make that part of your vacation. You will have your bags with you and any delay will be more enjoyable and less stressful. Enjoy your vacation in Europe. Can't wait for the reports.
Children are all different but after years of travel with my daughter, the biggest stress reliever for me was to buy them their own seat, and have them in a car seat if they are under 3. Our daughter was comfortable in the car seat and would fall asleep much faster than if we were holding her in our lap.
It’s nice to hear that American employees stepped up and made this situation work!
You’d think, if you hadn’t experienced it, that being a seasoned business traveler would make traveling with a family easier. Nope. You know the agenda and the ins and outs of managing difficulty but the family doesn’t. Something that’s manageable for a single adult may be impossible with a child.
UGH. . .I am hanging on the edge of my seat as this feels like a cliff hanger I can't wait to hear the rest of the story but sorry your trip went south 🙁
We too had amazing AA help and experience just a few weeks ago. We were flying PHX to MIA to catch a cruise the next morning. Skyharbor has brought back the remote bag check at the long term economy lots (yay) so happily checked our too bags and off to the Admirals Club, boarded the flight had Amazing FC FA service (the food was even good). Got to MIA and bag one popped off the convoy and then. . . well bag too wanted to spend more time in PHX. My wife spoke with the baggage agent who said it was loaded on the next flight and should be in MIA around 7:30 PM (it was about 4:45 PM now). We were staying at the new Omni in Fort Lauderdale and since we were getting on a cruise the next day, he said, might be best to wait (great advice BTW). So looking for a play to park it and eat that wasn't horrible, we asked the airport information guy, a frustrated stand up comic retiree who couldn't have been nicer. Pointed us to the Miami airport hotel which on floor 7 has a nice quiet restaurant with a view of the airfield and pretty good food. We hung out, ate, drank, tracked the flight and our bag was on the conveyor. So we were a few hours late to the Omni (which BTW, really needs to keep a restaurant or lobby store open past 8 PM) and the rest of trip was flawless (Thank you Princess, Omni and AA).
BTW fellow cruisers, the Omni has a free shuttle from the hotel to the terminal and an excellent breakfast. Also, the $29 shuttle via the cruiseline to the MIA airport is money well spent verses flying out of FLL!
Yes, if this is the most stressful a trip gets with children, he should count himself lucky (er, Lucky?). We had a 4 and 2 year old that we had only been the parents of for a week and that had never had a seatbelt on scream all the way from Addis to Frankfurt to western Canada (with an hour long refueling stop in Sudan at roughly 90 degrees in the cabin). Also, lost one of our 4 in the Hong Kong airport after sitting on a plane for 4 hours that then got cancelled and having another leave her backpack on the wrong side of security and having to wait another two hours for them to bring it out. Then having AA cancel our flight out of Beijing (after 6 hours of rolling delays), having our transit without visa expire while we were delayed (and held at exit immigration for two hours while they decided if we could leave), AA rebooking us on two different flights the next day, having one of those flights delayed again, finally meeting up in Los Angeles, then having our 8 year old booked on separate flight from the rest of us for our final flight home. And yeah, the puking in your lap thing is no fun either!
I had the exact same thing happen to my bag at AA JFK a few months ago (and no retags, just a simple domestic nonstop.) One bag shows up, the other does not and gets mysteriously held up in a back room. The bag tracking status was identical to yours. Eventually it's brought out after walkie-talkie & phone work. I was also not the only one on the flight that had a late bag. And the baggage office could not figure out the problem (no one picked up the phone on the other line) but an employee walking around with a radio did.
This seems like a problem with AA's JFK baggage handling and it's a waste of everyone's time.
Sorry for all the hassle, but this underlines the declining value of miles and points in 'real life' for people traveling with family and not wanting to get their 'real' tickets 36 hours before a trip.
A simple cash ticket in economy with no status from your origin to destination would have been less overall stress and less cost than... whatever this was.
You could have flown nonstop to Europe regardless and avoid this mess. Let's be honest with each other.
I have 2 and now 3 small children myself and would never subject them to this routing
Thanks for sharing this Ben. I feel like one of the takeaways is that no matter how much we may like hunting for premium award availability, it is critical to lock-in a simple itinerary first on a single ticket that we know we would be comfortable with if nothing 'better' becomes available and that is unlikely to go wrong. Then if award seats suddenly open up on some other itinerary we prefer, great! But we shouldn't be depending on that to happen because there is every chance nowadays that it won't.
If Ben can't make a reasonable miles and points itinerary work, nobody can. The game has changed and it's time to adapt.
@ben I have known Karol at the MIA Admirals Club for almost 30 years. She's definitely one of the best AA premium service team members in the AA system.
The MIA AA Premium Service team is close and dear to me. They helped me plan my surprise engagement at the original E concourse club in 1997. Literally family.
Glad everything worked out. Safe travels.
Interesting re: Rwandair / BA interline agreement. I couldn’t find it on their website (it’s bare bones) or thru Google search. I did read QR owns >50% of Rwandair. In fact that is how I was able to book the KGL-LHR biz saver ticket thru Qatar Avios. It would have saved me a ton of Avios (and anxiety) if I could book the entire KGL-LHR-JFK as one ticket thru Avios!!
Craziest thing is ~2 weeks before the Rwandair KGL-LHR flight, they cancelled it for “operational reasons”! I suspect it wasn’t full and therefore due to fuel crisis they just canceled. They rebooked me on the next day after me calling the Kigali office (thanks Google Voice!). Then I had to rebook my BA LHR-JFK award flight too and thankfully there were biz seats available. The whole trip has been a travel logistical nightmare but the trip was amazing and worth it!
On the outbound, I did fly Qatar JFK-DOH-Nairobi on a 87.5K Avios saver award in Q Suites. I was apprehensive, but in the end it was 100% fine.
Yes ours was an amazing Kenya Safari + Rwandair Gorilla Trek. It was memorable. And we were nervous about the Ebola outbreak causing us issues coming back to USA, but fortunately the travel ban didn’t extend to Rwanda. Given global instability right now, I do have second thoughts about traveling to more far flung places in future (having traveled to 80+ countries)...
He could've just gotten an one stop flight to Athens. I don't mind complex routings but I don't have to worry about toddlers and spouses!
*sorry it should read "Yes ours was an amazing Kenya Safari + Rwanda Gorilla Trek." I did not do the gorilla trek on Rwandair LOL
I 2nd beachfan.
They are useless if employees are not doing anything.
One time, which is ironically funny. They told me the bags were never loaded. I let the tag beep and 15 mins later they called me and found my bag beeping with a missing bagtag.
Your kids are named “Miles” and “Jet”? Eh….it’s a bit much for my sensibilities; it’s a lowbrow move. Not every parent needs to name their kids as a nod to the parents’ profession. I’m an attorney, so I should have named my kids “Justice” and “Paraclete.”
Glad those flights ultimately went well! I have an upcoming trip next month where the outbound has three separate tickets on four segments. And I've already had a few issues: 1) my first segment (purchased with points) was just cancelled because the airline is suspending the route. 2) The conflict with Iran made me uneasy to continue with my original routing through DOH. So, I ended up buying a refundable economy fare through SIN.
But yeah, I have three overnight layovers because I want to minimize any possible disruptions. All in all, this outbound flight will take 30 hours of butt-in-seat time + 53 hours in layovers. I just didn't want to take chances because this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips I'm taking with my family. And enjoying a 24 hour layover in SIN on the way is a nice little stop since we've never been there. Crossing my fingers that it goes smoothly!
I second this. I traveled with a Cosco-branded FAA-approved car seat, and the fuss of carrying it through the airport was absolutely worth it. Only time I wasn't allowed to use it was on a BA A319. I got mixed messages from the BA staff: ticketing and gate agent said no problem. Flight attendance said I can't use it and I think they stuck it in a lavatory that was broken. LOL
My home airport is HNL, which makes it harder to keep trips on one ticket if I want to go anywhere far. Best I had was UA from HNL-SFO-LHR. But, otherwise, I need to go on different tickets, especially if booking with points. With AS flying to Europe now, it's a bit easier. But I'm heading to South Africa next month, and it was a huge headache finding reasonably-priced flights with points for more than 2 people.
Glad you have this site to act as your own personal therapist which—after all the build-up—turned out to be fairly routine international travel challenges.
I fully understand that there are a lot of good reasons to book let us say interesting connections. Been there done that got the scars.
But once two very young kids are impacted…
Well it's a good thing they aren't your children. So your sensibilities don't matter.
You might be happier and a more enjoyable member of society if you spent less time thinking negatively about other people's choices that don't impact you.
Yes, when you see your children as your own cultural accoutrements — just extensions of your ego so you can really express yourself! — and not as little independent people who will someday have their own lives, then naming your children this way makes total sense. The zanier and wackier the name, the better! (for the parent, course)
"Mentally recovering"? A bit over the top for a complicated itinerary with two small children. You arrived safely with all your bags. Why all the drama?
@weekendsurfer , that looks like an interesting diversification strategy by COSCO [the China Ocean Shipping COmpany]!
@Jeremy, as a travel agent would you really advise your clients to take three connections on three separate ticket and a route that doesn't operate daily over an one-stop through ticket followed by a 3-hour drive and a ferry that's quick, frequent, cheap and reliable?
@UncleRonnie , OS only allow 8kg carry ons so the kids wouldn't have to do that!
My experience as far as travel with young kids goes is, leave as little to chance as possible. Take direct flights or maybe one stop at a reliable hub. Pick good departure times.
I simply don’t understand why you would have any checked bags, let alone five of them, even with two small kids. We have traveled the world with our three children (most recently to Egypt from the US with kids aged seven, four, and two) and checking a bag never even crossed our minds, nor was it ever necessary. Purchase inflatable car seats that fit in your carry-on. Do laundry at your destination. You don’t need as many diapers as you think you do, etc.…
i've had this sort of thing happen many times, but it's a completely different story with just myself and p2 - we've been digital nomads before and it's at most an annoyance when (like last week) the itinerary gets disjointed and we've got to stay the night in a city we weren't planning to. glad this one ultimately had a happy ending!
...and then all the holes in the Swiss cheese lined up...
That's what we call the part in a post-incident report that ignores all the slices of Swiss cheese and all the holes and focuses only on the last thing to go wrong.
What sadist would take a one year-old on this trip. What sadist would subject "all those wonderful people" like Karen in the Admiral's Club to YOUR kids, let alone all the other pax.
And then my favorite gemis that downgrading is ok because one year-old. Perhaps you should take another look at your masthead.
Love a happy ending, but now I'm curious as to what kind of clothes was in that lost bag that would make or break an entire vacation
Sounds like a rough day! Totally one of those things that had you been by yourself, or even just you and Ford, would be a "well, this is suboptimal" type thing but easy enough to roll with the punches -- but with two little kids was a different ballgame.
I don't have kiddos, but had a somewhat similar situation when a friend tripped and broke her ankle in Venice on the day we were due to fly home (with overnight at LHR). Remarkably, we managed to get her in and out of the hospital (with strict orders to get to the hospital for surgery as soon as we got home) in time to make it to the airport for our BA flight to LHR... only to have to figure out how to navigate wheelchair assistance and for ground staff to almost not allow us to fly because they thought my friend had a fresh cast (rather than just a splint). Managed to clear that hurdle. Then the airport hotel we booked didn't have the 2-bed room I reserved -- again, would not have been a big deal any other time, but with my friend's need to now elevate her leg all night, a double bed for two of us wasn't ideal. Navigating wheelchair assistance at LHR was another exercise in patience. Then our AA flight to LAX the next day was delayed. And delayed. Then cancelled just as boarding was about to commence. Due to the delays, there were no further flights to anywhere in California that day. Managed to get AA to rebook us onto a BA flight headed to LAS that had two business seats still available--I figured I could get us to Northern California from there. Then the BA flight was delayed. I watched our window to catch a flight home diminish. Once in flight, I booked us on the last flight out of LAS to anywhere in northern California (a Spirit flight to Oakland) so my partner could pick us up and get us home. We made it to LAS. More wheelchair drama. Also, our bags were lost. We had packed carry on only, but chose to check them at LHR because we had learned in Venice that wheelchair attendants sometimes leave you stranded and trying to push a wheelchair with two backpacks and roller bags is a real challenge. I said screw it to the bags and we focused on making our connecting flight. We just made it. It was easily the most stressful travel experience I've ever had, but in hindsight a lot of that was the responsibility I felt to my friend and the generalized anxiety from the shock of the injury. Heck, in other circumstances I would have been thrilled to get a free night in London plus the prospect of EU/UK 261 compensation!
Anyway, glad you all made it to your destination in one piece, even if a bit frazzled, and hope you had a great trip. I love that the captain kept his word to Miles despite the circumstances.
Easier said than done when you're trying to stitch a redemption itinerary together.
This is a great cautionary tale about chasing award tickets for families. It’s just not practical even for the pros.
When you talk about “value maximising”, you’re only looking at the points and the business class seat. But real value, especially when you have kids, is time, simplicity, and less stress.
A straight flight to Europe is worth more than a fancy routing just to sit in business. Any mother would know that instinctively, comfort is nice, but the real value is getting your children there smoothly.Anyway what about paying for hotel rooms ? Is that free ? I think as a mother , that Delta would have been the best decision !
I totally agree. I have been through much worse with family on much easier itineraries
I was flying from Rhinelander, WI to PHL 26 years ago, with my 3-month-old daughter and 2-1/2 year-old son. It was the end of July or beginning of August, which is peak vacation time in northern Wisconsin, which meant full flights. It is also when the EAA hosts a fly-in/air show in Oshkosh, turning that airfield into the busiest airport in the world for a week. Rhinelander is a small airport, and only accommodated smaller aircraft, so it was a packed United flight, scheduled to make a stop in Oshkosh, en route to ORD where we would change planes for the next leg to PHL. Mind you, Oshkosh is having an airshow, with aerobatic daredevils, historic fighter planes, modern jets, and experimental everything. Our United flight had to circle while the airspace cleared to allow our commercial flight to land. Typical deplaning and embarking passengers, and finally back into the air. All this put us behind schedule, big time. Arriving in Chicago, the connection was tight, and I had to go from one terminal (servicing smaller aircraft) to the next terminal, where the larger aircraft taking us to PHL was boarding. With my son in a Kelty kid carrier on my back, and my daughter secure on my chest, plus carrying a diaper bag and a backpack of our travel essentials, I fast walked and ran to the next terminal, knowing that if I did not make that flight, it could be an overnight stay juggling 2 kids. We made it, thankfully. A month or so later, a friend of mine asked me if I had been in Chicago. He told me he had seen me running through the airport all loaded with kids. He was duly impressed.
Ben, I'm not going to read 116 comments a day later, and I'm as big a fan as your usual posse, but you're a dope. Two little kids, two nights enroute, separate ticketing, TATL, child separation on board the domestic AA flight? Really? For an optional vacation?
Good reminder that combining tickets has risks. After being stranded in more cities and countries than I count by AA, I dumped then for Delta. Yes I am paying more but at least I am getting stranded less often. Noticeably absent in your report, is any comment on AA canceling your first flight for reasons of weather despite you monitoring conditions at both the departure and arrival airport, and not reporting any adverse weather.
Ben - been a reader of OMAAT since the early 2010s. Just want to say it's been a pleasure to see the arc of this blog from fantastic and new 1st class redemptions to Ford coming into your life to niche travel and redemptions and now to having a family and the adventure that that brings. Thank you for sharing it with your audience and being pretty open about things.
Was a whole article required for this story that could have taken a couple of paragraphs? I also wonder the point of the article.