The best laid plans and all that.
We began our journey eastward on the busiest travel day of the year right after a winter storm crushed air travel for most of the country. At least we weren't traveling via Southwest. And as bad as things got for us, we had a flexible(ish) timeline and all 5 of us were together. It was so much worse for so many other people.
We arrived at Denver International Airport with plenty of time, but at check in we got the first hint that something was wrong. The very nice man at check-in asked about our final destination. We said, "Dubai." He said "I only have you booked to Doha. Your flight from Doha to Dubai was dropped."
"Dropped?"
"Well your ticket still exists and the flight is flying at a different time but you're not on it." He said, "I can get you to Doha and then you'll have to figure it out from there. The only people who can change your flight are Qatar airways."
We got on our flight to Dallas knowing we would have to scramble to talk to someone from Qatar Airways as soon as we got to Dallas. Smooth and easy flight into Dallas, a full 2 and 1/2 hours before our next flight. Plenty of time right?
As soon as we approach the desk for our next flight to Doha we could tell there was going to be trouble. The woman at the desk was already shouting at several other people. She took one look at our boarding passes and told us we weren't getting on the plane. Because we did not have a ticket OUT of Doha they would not let us on the plane. I said they needed to rebook us on a flights to Dubai and then we would have a flight out of Doha. She said no way she can do it. Only American Airlines can do it. The help desk for American Airlines is on the other side of the terminal. (She actually snapped at a very pregnant woman who was in the same boat that she needed to run across the airport as well.)
It's not often that you see a gigantic man sprinting through the airport. It's quite an alarming site. Like teetering on the edge of disaster, but unable to look away. But if you happen to be at the Dallas airport on December 27th, the speed generated by his powerful, pumping legs, was a truly incredible feat. 8.1 seconds later he arrived at the American Airlines help desk. Where they quickly and confidently said that there was no way they could rebook the flight because the reservation belonged to Qatar Airways. With Jen on the phone standing at the Qatar desk, and Chris on the phone at the American Airlines help desk, no one could figure out a way to rebook our flight out of Doha so that we could get on the flight. Jen and the kids watched the flight board and fly away while holding boarding passes in their hands while Chris stayed for 3 hours at the American Airlines help desk with Illiana. Literally at one point she walked down to the gate to speak directly with the people at Qatar Airways to try to solve the problem. No shot. Near the end of hour two, well after the flight had left, Illiana took matters into her own hands, hijacked the ticket and rebooked us for the next available flights. Unfortunately, the next available flights were a flight to London two days later, and then a flight to Dubai. Fine. Dallas must be a lovely city and Texas counts as a foreign country anyway, so we'll make the best of it. Now. We just need our bags back.
Unfortunately, Qatar Airways treated our bags the same way they treated our tickets. They were pretty sure they were sitting outside on the tarmac, but there was no way anyone could go look for them or bring them to a place where we could pick them up anytime soon. We had arrived in Dallas airport around 2:00 p.m. and finally left the airport to go to a hotel with no bags and no flight to Doha at 10:00 p.m. Fairly defeated. At least we were together.
The next day we spent at a local mall which the people at the front desk of the hotel told us was the number one local attraction. The mall itself seemed to be a thriving mall, but definitely straight out of 1991. Complete with a Cinnabon, a store selling CDs(No. Joke.), and a Rainforest Cafe. If you were born after 1991, you might need to google the last one.
Rigley was thoroughly jealous of this mall as the local Fort Collins mall is not nearly up to this level of awesome.
That night Chris and the two big kids went back to the airport to fight over our bags again. After waiting another 3 hours we actually found them ourselves sitting out in a darkened corner by themselves for who knows how long. Good thing we went looking because no one seemed to know where they were.
And now with bags in hand we are currently sitting at the Dallas airport again awaiting a flight to London. Spirits are high now that there is a plan for getting moving again and the option of a jet lagged day traipsing through London. Wish us luck. If all goes well we should arrive in Dubai around midnight on January 31st. Hopefully we can see the fireworks from the plane.
