Made any travel mistakes lately?

[Beano]

My mistake was to turn up to a building site in Melbourne for an inspection to find there was non-one there because they had been sent home at 40C temperature.

 

[cove]

Well I thought I had seen it all when a lady dropped her apartment keys down the gap at the foot of the lift door.
Now today a chap had his phone in his top pocket drop down the gap at the luggage scanner Qantas conveyor belt where there is no easy way of fishing it out. We weren’t sure if he would make his flight which was in about 40 minutes. You cannot get a hand or tongs down there so it looked like a job to disassemble the luggage scanner/loader.

 

[VPS]

Well I thought I had seen it all when a lady dropped her apartment keys down the gap at the foot of the lift door.
Now today a chap had his phone in his top pocket drop down the gap at the luggage scanner Qantas conveyor belt where there is no easy way of fishing it out. We weren’t sure if he would make his flight which was in about 40 minutes. You cannot get a hand or tongs down there so it looked like a job to disassemble the luggage scanner/loader.

I dropped my phone in my J seat coming back from LA once. The FA's were not pleased about having to pull the seat apart and made their dissatisfaction very obvious.

 

[Beano]

My travel booker once booked me into a hotel in a city at the same time I was booked to fly from the same city. Luckily I noticed before I left home.

I am sure many of use have stories about travel glitches. The interesting bit is when you found out and could do something about it?

 

[Seat0B]

Landed in HEL from Bangkok. Frozen wasteland. Catching connection to Düsseldorf.

Oh oh. Bus gate and in and I’m in my shirtsleeves alone from all the other passengers in the gate lounge most who are not only jacketed but most of them have beanies etc. Some in furs.

Onto the bus standing by the door to make sure I could be one of the first up the airplane stairs and not have to stand on the stairs in my shirt sleeves.

Freeze for about 10 minutes while everyone boarded the bus with me standing by the open door.

Travel mistake of course was not to bring my jumper on the flight from Bangkok anticipating what was at the other end.

I’ve done the same in reverse travelling from CBR in winter to Darwin! A frosty -7 when leaving home a o dark o’clock and then a sweaty 35 degrees and humid on landing in Darwin. No fun at all. I’m with the plane load of Taswegians cheering for the 13 degree weather on landing @Stealthflyer

 

[Seat0B]

Well I thought I had seen it all when a lady dropped her apartment keys down the gap at the foot of the lift door.
Now today a chap had his phone in his top pocket drop down the gap at the luggage scanner Qantas conveyor belt where there is no easy way of fishing it out. We weren’t sure if he would make his flight which was in about 40 minutes. You cannot get a hand or tongs down there so it looked like a job to disassemble the luggage scanner/loader.

I have nightmares about doing this sort of thing!

 

[Seat0B]

My travel booker once booked me into a hotel in a city at the same time I was booked to fly from the same city. Luckily I noticed before I left home.

I am sure many of use have stories about travel glitches. The interesting bit is when you found out and could do something about it?

Once when travelling home from Darwin to Canberra for a government client that insisted on doing all travel bookings for contractors, they were supposed to book me on the red eye that departed at 0045 Saturday morning but instead booked me on the 1245 Saturday arvo. It mattered because I had a kid thing to go to on the Saturday morning. They repeatedly told me I was booked on the morning flight. I was only emailed my ticket a couple of hours before the flight (arghhh - after I had waited for hours after finishing work at 1600, with no room t9 go to). I went to the airport anyway, hoping to get the flight, but no chance. Went back to my hotel about 0130 and begged for a room. Got it, but they wouldn’t give me a late check out, so had to get out again by 1000. And insult to injury, when I claimed for the additional night accommodation, a different area of that department told me they wouldn’t reimburse as it was my choice to stay, when I could have caught the 0045 home .

From this I learnt:
- never, ever, ever let anyone else book my travel - they just don’t care
- never accept work that clashes with kid commitments
- never, ever, ever take a red eye anywhere (I knew this from a previous PER-CBR for a different kid thing - but call me a slow learner)

 

[Beano]

Once when travelling home from Darwin to Canberra for a government client that insisted on doing all travel bookings for contractors, they were supposed to book me on the red eye that departed at 0045 Saturday morning but instead booked me on the 1245 Saturday arvo. It mattered because I had a kid thing to go to on the Saturday morning. They repeatedly told me I was booked on the morning flight. I was only emailed my ticket a couple of hours before the flight (arghhh - after I had waited for hours after finishing work at 1600, with no room t9 go to). I went to the airport anyway, hoping to get the flight, but no chance. Went back to my hotel about 0130 and begged for a room. Got it, but they wouldn’t give me a late check out, so had to get out again by 1000. And insult to injury, when I claimed for the additional night accommodation, a different area of that department told me they wouldn’t reimburse as it was my choice to stay, when I could have caught the 0045 home .

From this I learnt:
- never, ever, ever let anyone else book my travel - they just don’t care
- never accept work that clashes with kid commitments
- never, ever, ever take a red eye anywhere (I knew this from a previous PER-CBR for a different kid thing - but call me a slow learner)

Totally agree except for the first. I have no choice when on business but then it is in-house so easy fix. I'm sometimes looking over their shoulder when bookings made.
On second and third, been there, done that!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I booked first class on Singapore Airlines website from SYD-SIN and wanted to add a stopover to Penang since they don't do mixed class bookings(redemption). I also had to manually call up to add the 2 infants and pay the 10% of the adult fare which wasn't a problem. I left it a few days to add the stopover because I am busy with 2 infants and the Mrs decided to choose Penang instead of Bangkok. Getting the stopover flight added on was a pain. I had to pay a change fee and the taxes which was fine. No one knew how to process the infants but to their credit they called back in 24 hours and rectified.

Lesson learnt and that is to book it all in one go.

They’re supposed to do mixed class redemptions (KF), otherwise you wouldn’t be able to combine F with 3/4 of asia!

 

[drron]

On Tuesday on our flight to Bangkok there was a young boy in the seat in front of me who was playing games on his device. He dropped it down the back of his seat. There were 3 crew members trying to retrieve it. They found it near the floor just in front of me. Eventually called in the smallest crew member who had fingers small enough to reach in and grab the device. One grateful father.

 

[RSD]

I have nightmares about doing this sort of thing!

Would be completely stuffed if it happened in China!

 

[jordyp123]

They’re supposed to do mixed class redemptions (KF), otherwise you wouldn’t be able to combine F with 3/4 of asia!

Yes but you have to call up and its very a painful process if you don't book it in one go.

 

[Flyfrequently]

As she was feeling unwell, we decided to visit Daughter Flyfrequently and the gkids yesterday - being Friday afternoon.

The 107 km across Melbourne usually takes 85-90 minutes, it took over 2 hours! The traffic with " Victoria's Big Build" is a shocker and so much beautiful parkland has been dug up, pretty much all you see are cranes and hoardings - at one point I had no idea where we were!

 

[p--and--t]

As she was feeling unwell, we decided to visit Daughter Flyfrequently and the gkids yesterday - being Friday afternoon.

The 107 km across Melbourne usually takes 85-90 minutes, it took over 2 hours! The traffic with " Victoria's Big Build" is a shocker and so much beautiful parkland has been dug up, pretty much all you see are cranes and hoardings - at one point I had no idea where we were!
View attachment 418513View attachment 418514View attachment 418515

Try coming to QLD and trying to get from BNE to the Gold Coast. At least twice it's taken us 2.5hrs when allegedly its less than an hour.

 

[Franky]

As she was feeling unwell, we decided to visit Daughter Flyfrequently and the gkids yesterday - being Friday afternoon.

The 107 km across Melbourne usually takes 85-90 minutes, it took over 2 hours! The traffic with " Victoria's Big Build" is a shocker and so much beautiful parkland has been dug up, pretty much all you see are cranes and hoardings - at one point I had no idea where we were!
View attachment 418513View attachment 418514View attachment 418515

Post automatically merged: Today at 1:43 PM

Some call it progress!!

 

[Flyfrequently]

Try coming to QLD and trying to get from BNE to the Gold Coast. At least twice it's taken us 2.5hrs when allegedly its less than an hour.

We did Coolangatta to Surfers in March and we thought that was pretty ordinary @p--and--t
Niece says it takes 20 minutes just to get out of her street to the highway near the Creek

 

[dairyfloss]

Try coming to QLD and trying to get from BNE to the Gold Coast. At least twice it's taken us 2.5hrs when allegedly its less than an hour.

It might be an hour to where it begins (near Dreamworld)… but definitely not to Surfers or even Main Beach

 

[p--and--t]

It might be an hour to where it begins (near Dreamworld)… but definitely not to Surfers or even Main Beach

Last Xmas it was 2hrs just from West End to Hope Island.

The 2.5hrs was to friends place at Nerang. Google maps says 1hr4m

Reminds me of SE Freeway in Melb when I first moved there. Always left home at 8:30. Most mornings got to work around 8:55. But the slightest incident (flat tyre) and rubber neckers turned that into 10:10 arrival

 

[dairyfloss]

Last Xmas it was 2hrs just from West End to Hope Island.

The 2.5hrs was to friends place at Nerang. Google maps says 1hr4m

Reminds me of SE Freeway in Melb when I first moved there. Always left home at 8:30. Most mornings got to work around 8:55. But the slightest incident (flat tyre) and rubber neckers turned that into 10:10 arrival

Ouch - it’s been about a year or so since I was last there, but that was about 1hr 45m to hotel at Broadbeach from BNE airport car rental pick up; seems I was quite lucky!

 

[RSD]

Last Xmas it was 2hrs just from West End to Hope Island.

The 2.5hrs was to friends place at Nerang. Google maps says 1hr4m

Reminds me of SE Freeway in Melb when I first moved there. Always left home at 8:30. Most mornings got to work around 8:55. But the slightest incident (flat tyre) and rubber neckers turned that into 10:10 arrival

I don't miss the notorious Monash Freeway Carpark