Another challenge to travel

[aggiedog]

Dh and I are going on a Classic Journeys trip to Morocco, leaving March 24. We've had our tickets with AirFrance changed several times which I expected, but the latest notification came yesterday that we are now booked to return home a day early. Not ideal for a package group tour.

I had thought that this close to the trip flights would be more stable, but apparently not. The upside is the trip is down to 3 people, dh, myself, and his cousin. I am still not 100% sure it will even go if we can't get there and back in a way that is compatible with the scheduled trip and our work schedules. I really didn't think this would be what I worried about.

 

[sayhello]

Did you purchase the airfare through Classic Journeys or on your own?

I'd love to hear what you think about Classic Journeys. I've looked at them in the past.

Sayhello

 

[aggiedog]

They don't do airfare, so on our own. It's kind of funny, but for all they are branded luxury travel, they do not arrange airfare, include transportation to the meeting site/hotel, etc. They were absolutely willing to arrange transport to the site, but it's not included. Their tours start 9:00am at the hotel, with the expectation that you are already there and ready to go. I'm not sure if it's a way to say their tours really just include tour days, or if they expect their participants to be savvy enough to get there on their own, do some pre-travel, etc?

Dh's cousin has used them several times and loves them. They have been very easy to work with so far. One upside is that since the entire tour is just our "pod" as it were, and it's unlikely hotels, etc, are fully booked right now, they could possibly rearrange things if needed.

Dh's cousin is hell bent on flying United due to a huge credit she has with them. She's had more issues than we have with finding, and keeping, flights.

 

[sayhello]

Just wanted to be sure you knew that if the airline makes a change that is more than a certain amount of time (I think it varies by airline) like 4 hours or something, and you deem it unacceptable, you are entitled to a refund? That's how I ended up getting a refund on the airfare with Delta for my cancelled ABD last May.

Sayhello

 

[aggiedog]

Good point. Dh and I are going to work on it this weekend. We even have business class. grr.

 

[vakamalua]

Dh's cousin is hell bent on flying United due to a huge credit she has with them. She's had more issues than we have with finding, and keeping, flights.

LOL This gave me a flashback. When we went to Morocco a few years ago, United lost my suitcase for the first nine days I was there. I have some lovely things I bought there including a gorgeous Moroccan jacket--at United's expense!

BTW We would go back to Morocco in a heartbeat. Loved the people, history, culture, architecture and the food is fabulous.

 

[aggiedog]

That's good to know. Morocco honestly wasn't even my radar but that was the next best fit for time and expense.

I try to always fly carry on only. One vacation without clothes was enough for me.

 

[sayhello]

I try to always fly carry on only. One vacation without clothes was enough for me.

I just can't do it. But I try to make sure I have enough that I could survive on in my carryon & personal item. That way, if the checked bag shows up, great, if it doesn't, I'm no worse off than if I just did a carryon! But it's vacation, and I want to do more than survive! And honestly, I'm way better than I was. My checked bag is pretty small. Enough for my memory foam pillow, and extra changes of clothes, an extra pair of tennis shoes, etc.

Sayhello

 

[TXTransplant]

This is the one thing I’m worried about for our Alaska trip, especially the flight home (which is a red-eye that isn’t supposed to leave until 10:40 pm). Any change to the schedule will throw a wrench into our plans (but at least it’s a wrench I can deal with).

Domestically, I’ve even had issues with Southwest on the last two flights my son has taken to visit his dad.

A few weeks before his Thanksgiving flight, they cancelled his non-stop. Problem was, they rebooked him on a flight with a layover instead of rebooking him on the new non-stop flight (I’m guessing they were trying to resell the new non-stop flight at higher prices than what we paid). Had to spend an hour on hold to get it corrected, because this is not something you can fix online.

Christmas flights were both changed by several hours (thankfully, they remained non-stop).

Non-stop spring break flights (he leaves next weekend) were also cancelled. And they were NOT replaced with another non-stop flight. This is a route we have been flying for 10 years, and the city my son flies to has historically been a hub for flights to Orlando and DC.

We had to change those flights to a non-stop at a totally different (and less convenient) airport.

Overall, Southwest has been great to work with, but there is a lot of uncertainly, and I’ve just decided I have to expect any flights we book will be changed.

 

[aggiedog]

I expected they'd be changed, but maybe not so close to the trip. We're now leaving a day later, same flight. Fingers crossed it sticks. As it is we may get a hotel in the arriving city, since it's 90 minutes from home, we land at midnight, and I have an appointment I can't miss or reschedule at 1:00 back in the city the next day.

 

[aggiedog]

And our return flight has been changed again...

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

This is the one thing I’m worried about for our Alaska trip, especially the flight home (which is a red-eye that isn’t supposed to leave until 10:40 pm). Any change to the schedule will throw a wrench into our plans (but at least it’s a wrench I can deal with).

Domestically, I’ve even had issues with Southwest on the last two flights my son has taken to visit his dad.

A few weeks before his Thanksgiving flight, they cancelled his non-stop. Problem was, they rebooked him on a flight with a layover instead of rebooking him on the new non-stop flight (I’m guessing they were trying to resell the new non-stop flight at higher prices than what we paid). Had to spend an hour on hold to get it corrected, because this is not something you can fix online.

Christmas flights were both changed by several hours (thankfully, they remained non-stop).

Non-stop spring break flights (he leaves next weekend) were also cancelled. And they were NOT replaced with another non-stop flight. This is a route we have been flying for 10 years, and the city my son flies to has historically been a hub for flights to Orlando and DC.

We had to change those flights to a non-stop at a totally different (and less convenient) airport.

Overall, Southwest has been great to work with, but there is a lot of uncertainly, and I’ve just decided I have to expect any flights we book will be changed.

My family has flown back and forth between Anchorage and TX several times this year. They fly Alaska Airlines and I can't recall any of their flights that were changed.
(We had several changes on Southwest between TX and Orlando; and my mom had a bunch of changes flying up to Anchorage on Delta (but that had to do with the winter storm in TX.)

 

[TXTransplant]

My family has flown back and forth between Anchorage and TX several times this year. They fly Alaska Airlines and I can't recall any of their flights that were changed.
(We had several changes on Southwest between TX and Orlando; and my mom had a bunch of changes flying up to Anchorage on Delta (but that had to do with the winter storm in TX.)

Thanks...unfortunately, if we want to fly direct/nonstop, our only option is United. Plus, I still have credits left from our trip last year that was cancelled.

Southwest’s schedule has been dependably erratic the past few months, which is frustrating because they are my airline of choice.

 

[aggiedog]

Another challenge has been the required PCR Covid test. Air France wants the test performed within 72 hours of boarding. Most places are quoting me a 2-3 day turn around. Since we leave at 4:00pm on a Wednesday, the earliest I can have it done is Sunday late afternoon. Since I live in a rural area, that is hard to do. I found a local hospital with a 1-2 day turnaround and will get it done Monday first thing in the morning.

This is stressing me out. As someone who likes to plan and is typically organized weeks before I leave, waiting to have that last, critical piece of paper maybe just a few hours before I leave is making me crazy.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

Thanks...unfortunately, if we want to fly direct/nonstop, our only option is United. Plus, I still have credits left from our trip last year that was cancelled.

Southwest’s schedule has been dependably erratic the past few months, which is frustrating because they are my airline of choice.

You might want to check how many flights United has into/out of Anchorage from wherever you are each day. Aside from Seattle, Portland, maybe a couple other places, a lot of lower 48 cities only have one regular nonstop flight in/out of Anch a day. We always know exactly when my parents plane will arrive and depart here in TX (even with one stop in Seattle) bc it's the only flight. Obv that changes if you start adding in stops.

 

[TXTransplant]

You might want to check how many flights United has into/out of Anchorage from wherever you are each day. Aside from Seattle, Portland, maybe a couple other places, a lot of lower 48 cities only have one regular nonstop flight in/out of Anch a day. We always know exactly when my parents plane will arrive and depart here in TX (even with one stop in Seattle) bc it's the only flight. Obv that changes if you start adding in stops.

Yeah, when we were originally booked last year, I added a weekend at the front of the trip to stop in Seattle. Mainly because we were traveling to Alaska early enough in the season that United had not started their direct flights, yet (they are seasonal).

When the shutdown happened and things started getting cancelled, all that extra layover did was cause me headaches. Also, the longer the travel time, the more any kind of schedule change or delay disrupts the trip. So, I’m opting to just go straight there and back.

United has changed the flight to a 737 (I think last year it was a 777), so I’m hoping it will still go, even if it’s not full.

If the schedule does change, I’m thinking it would be a cancellation/reschedule to a flight on another day.

But, hopefully, with Alaska’s push to open up to tourists, that won’t be an issue.

 

[bless7ings]

Another challenge has been the required PCR Covid test. Air France wants the test performed within 72 hours of boarding. Most places are quoting me a 2-3 day turn around. Since we leave at 4:00pm on a Wednesday, the earliest I can have it done is Sunday late afternoon. Since I live in a rural area, that is hard to do. I found a local hospital with a 1-2 day turnaround and will get it done Monday first thing in the morning.

This is stressing me out. As someone who likes to plan and is typically organized weeks before I leave, waiting to have that last, critical piece of paper maybe just a few hours before I leave is making me crazy.

 

[bless7ings]

So, Are you on the trip now?
What ended up happening? I feel like I am in a cliff hanger...

I would love to know how the story ends and how the trip in Morocco went.

 

[laceltris3]

I am normally a person who books flights quite early. Usually right after the schedules are released, but for obvious reason I had delayed booking flights for our TB Wyoming and SD trip this summer. I booked yesterday and the nonstop flight from Houston to Jackson Hole was almost totally full. We had to upgrade on that leg to sit together because there were only a few scattered seats about in Economy. A little easier on the flight back, since we had to stop in Denver, but I was not expecting a flight in June to be so full.

 

[sayhello]

I am normally a person who books flights quite early. Usually right after the schedules are released, but for obvious reason I had delayed booking flights for our TB Wyoming and SD trip this summer. I booked yesterday and the nonstop flight from Houston to Jackson Hole was almost totally full. We had to upgrade on that leg to sit together because there were only a few scattered seats about in Economy. A little easier on the flight back, since we had to stop in Denver, but I was not expecting a flight in June to be so full.

I've heard that demand for domestic travel is *way* up for this summer. Also, the airlines are probably not back to running their full schedule of flights yet. So both of those contributed to flights being more scarce.

Sayhello