A wrong passport, a missing frequent-flyer number, and food poisoning turn a positioning flight to Denver into a chaotic scramble through Istanbul, Chicago, and Cairo.
Well done, mickyb! Slightly less 'electrocution' than part 1, though, that feeling of dread when a frequent flier detail is not attached may be more 'shocking.' (Glad you got that resolved, at least.)
The blank pages issue is why I've usually requested the larger US passport book (50 pages vs. the regular 26 page booklet, however, our State Department has plans to transition to one 38-page booklet option in the future, supposedly.) But, I understand not all countries provide more pages.
As for your ESTA situation, agreed, never hurts to blame the Brexiteers, regardless. I'm impressed by your relative composure and on-the-fly problem-solving (booking the alternatives via Chicago).
Also, as a fellow 'visually-impaired' traveler, I feel your pain (on the broken glasses). On the 'food poisoning' it can happen to the best of us; one thing I'd note is that DEN is 'at-altitude' and sometimes it's just our body reacting to that (not necessarily what we ate.) For instance, Kigali, Rwanda is similar altitude (5,200 feet, 1,500+ meters), and it gets me half the time.
Your OW Sapphire via RJ would've provided AA Flagship access at ORD? Might've been nice, if they honored it. Then again, new phone (and laptop), instead! Wow! You really 'packed' a lot into this world-tour! Thank you for sharing this. Looking forward to Part 3 and more!
I wasn't much of a traveller when I applied for my previous passport in 2017. This time around, I did pay £14 more for a 54-page (48 blank pages) passport instead of the standard 34-page.
I've used 14 pages in the 16 months since issue, so I might well get the opportunity to repeat my ESTA mistake regardless! At least a recent change means we no longer get stamped entering the EU.
The TK staff were very helpful with the rebooking, I'm not sure I should get much of the credit!
Not knowing the difference, I tried to access an Admiral Club at ORD. The staff member looked a bit confused, spent a minute or two investigating the situation, then redirected me to the flagship lounge. I'll admit to a slight sense of smugness from knowing that status with AA wouldn't have given me access!
My laptop was once broken when it fell down from the overhead bin due to someone pulling his bag but not being careful about my laptop bag being pulled along too. Since that incident, I have always kept my laptop bag under the seat in front even though it reduces legroom.
The number of things that went wrong during this trip is insane. It could make a good skeleton for an old school comedy!
It's good to know that you're writing this story means you made it through ok as that seems to be legitimate worry at this point!
Nice review @mickyb! My favorite bits:
- Your ESTA situation, which is a lessons learned for everybody to be extra careful with ESTA and their worldwide equivalents.
- "the blame for me being denied boarding to my flight to Denver lies squarely at the feet of David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage!" Sad LOL, plus 51.9% of voters.
- "I flagged down a staff member who, incredibly, refused to help me because I was merely Sapphire, not Emerald." Wow, did he/she actually say this?
Yes, she did. I think she told me my only option was to queue. Glad I'm not the only one to be slightly shocked at this!
I feel like there should be more Warby Parker's in airports. They can occupy small footprints and it's a great time to try on glasses. Can also sell sunglasses to those who do not need a prescription. And maybe they could try to help fix glasses as well.