TIA...A: This Is American Airlines

I knew traveling in Tanzania and Kenya could be challenging. After all, it is TIA - "This Is Africa." I didn't expect traveling would be so difficult in the US...

July 1:

We got to the Charlotte Airport in plenty of time to leave on time. I hadn't flown since the new security measures would put in place, so I didn't quite know what to expect. My friend had a hip replacement years ago, so his metal hinge sets off some bells and whistles. He is starting to get used to getting padded down. (Not all of the airport check points have the X-ray machines in place. Some still use metal detectors.)

We were scheduled to depart at 17:35. For this of you who don't know military time, that is 5:35 PM. (I am still getting used go military time.) The departure time was changed to 6:10. I went up to the counter and asked the lady what time we would be getting in to Chicago. I was concerned because we had a connecting flight to London... She said that we would have to hustle, but she didn't seem too concerned about it.

We are traveling light so we can carry on our bags. The lady at the counter announced that many people would have to "valet check" their bags because they were too large. She glared at me. (I think she was a school teacher in her previous life because she had that "mean teacher look.")

I went back to the counter and asked her if I needed to valet check two bags. I explained that they fit in measuring bin right next to her. She said that didn't matter because we were taking a smaller American Eagle plane. (The flight number had changed.) I said that we did't have time to check our bags; we had to "hustle" to catch our flight to London. (She reminded me of the Soup Nazi from "Seinfeld.") There was no way that she was going to let me get on that Plane without checking my bag.

We got to Chicago around 7:00. Our flight to London was scheduled to leave at 8:05. Because the stars were not aligned properly, our seats were near the very back of the plane. We happened to be sitting next to an off duty flight attendant who was very nice. She told us not to worry, but we would need to hustle. She asked me what airline we were flying to London. She seemed to assume that we would be flying American Airlines. When I said British Airways, she gave me a disappointing look. She said that we would have to take a train to get to the international terminal. I asked her where we were supposed go catch the train. She showed me a little map in the back of the American Airlines magazine. That map proved not to be helpful...

We finally got off the plane, but it took way too long to our bags back. While my friend waited for the bags, I tried to find where we were going to catch the train. There was nobody from American Airlines to meet us. There were no visible signs. Of course, there were signs for taxis, busses, hotel shuttles... I didn't see anything about a train to an international terminal.

I went to an "Information Counter" to ask about the train. The woman there said, "I don't know where it is." Never mind that it was an "INFORMATION" counter. She pointed to a map on a board... I waved down a TSA guy and he said, "Go down there all the way, take a right, down the escalator, out the door, across the street, up the escalator catch the train." by now it was about 8:00. We were not going to make the flight...

We finally got our bags, eventually found the train, got to the international terminal, and the British Airways counter was all dark when we got there. We went back to the domestic terminals, found the American Airlines information desk, waited in line with all of the other disgruntled travelers who also missed their connections and I was on the verge of bursting into tears right there... We had an 8 hour layover in London, so there was a chance that we could get there for our next flight...

It was finally our turn at the ticket counter. The man at the counter was very young, but sympathetic and he did try to help. He realized that we would need to get to London in a timely fashion to catch our other flights. He found a later flight to London, but we would "have to hustle" and fly standby. We got there on time, but the flight was full. The people at the gate said that we could go back to the American Airlines counter or pick up a phone and call to reschedule. The woman on the phone said that we could fly to London the next night at 6:00. I questioned the connecting flight to Dar. It was clear that we weren't going to make that. I also let her know that I would be missing my flight to Zanzibar. She questioned, "Do you have trip insurance?" I said, "Nope, and I certainly did think that I would need it on the first day of my trip." She rescheduled everything except the flight to Zanzibar; I would have to do that. I asked her if American Airlines could put us up for the night. She assured me that they would...

We went back to the American Airlines counter and it as blocked off. However, there were three people milling about. A short plump man with a crew cut approached us. "We are closed." I said, "I need a travel voucher." He said, "WE are closed." I said, "I heard you the first time. I NEED a travel voucher." he said, "WE ARE CLOSED." I questioned, "Tom, what is your last name? Your name tag doesn't have that." He questioned, "What do you need my last name for?" Armed with my best "mean teach look," I said, "When I write my official letter of complaint to the American Airlines executives, I want to know exactly who went out of their way to help me and who refused to help me because you were closed at 9:55." (The "mean teacher look" does come in handy from time to time.) We got the travel voucher, but it was only for half off the Chicago hotel...

After we checked in, we went to the bar a traded war stories with all of the other stranded American Airlines passengers... There were some funny stories... We discussed what would have worked better, "The mean teacher look" or "tears."

I emailed Abdullah in Zanzibar to let him know that I would not be arriving until July 5. Flights to Dar Es Salaam go every other day. I emailed Shafiq (the owner of Emslies Global, the travel company) to ask him to exchange my original flight to Zanzibar to July 5. He went out of his way to call me from Tanzania to let know not to worry.

We checked out of the Chicago hotel around noon the next day. After going through security, we hung out and had lunch... We boarded the American Airlines plane and got to London in the morning.

That sorry will need to wait a bit...