These days, most everyone has a travel horror story. Whether it’s a random security check gone awry, lost baggage, missed flight, illness…the list goes on– these experiences are not uncommon. I’m publishing this post having just arrived in Costa Rica, after some airline-related drama of my own. After arriving in Panama City on a delayed flight from New York, my friend and I sprinted tot eh gate from which our connection was scheduled to depart any minute. We made it to the gate with about ten minutes to spare, sweaty and out of breath, only to be told that we had been bumped from the flight and put on the next one, departing three hours later.
After the requisite amount of pouting, my friend and I were handed our $10 compensatory airport food vouchers and sent on our way. Luckily (for us, at least), a few other parssengers from our flight found themselves in the same position, relegated to trolling the Panama City Int’l food court. The four of us settle dinto the nearest bar, ordered a few beers and margaritas, and ended up having a great time chatting and getting to know each other. One of the guys turned out to be from Portugal, a country that will always hold a special place in my heart. He had also traveled extensively in Tokyo, where my travel buddy’s family was from.
The hokey, corny moral of this story is– travel connects people. Sure, it sucked to have our trip delayed and the airline not seem to care, but we ended up getting some new friends (and some great margaritas) out of the experience. I’ve often seen people in this situation spend their entire extended layover yelling on the phone to higher ups at the airline. Sure, this could get you a free upgrade on your next flight, but for me, going with the flow and enjoying the experience usually works out fine. And now, I’m on the later flight, writing this post, and have a couple more friends on the flight than I would have otherwise.
little zuri, big world 