The first clue that our trip home from the Caribbean might not go as smoothly as planned came with an American Airlines (AA) email arriving in my inbox the evening before departure.
“Adverse weather may affect your travel plans,” he warned solemnly, before announcing that storms expected in Miami the next day could disrupt flights. He advised that we could change our reservation without penalty.
As our 2.34pm departure to Miami from the Dutch Caribbean island of Sint Maarten was designed to connect to British Airways’ 22.30 Miami-Heathrow service, I couldn’t see how this offer would help.
We were supposed to get to Miami, but since we had a comfortable four-hour layover, I figured we could handle a little disruption, so I wasn’t unduly worried.
When we arrived at Sint Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport the next morning, our flight was a little delayed, but we still had plenty of time. Then I saw a news report stating that storms and flooding had caused the temporary closure of Miami International Airport. Tell our flight another delay, and then a third delay. Things were starting to look difficult.
The airport was packed, understaffed, and due to renovations there were only a handful of seats and no place to get coffee or a snack. Queues were snaking everywhere and tensions were rising as passengers realized important connections were at stake.
We waited in the so-called “priority” queue for over 90 minutes, and most of that time was spent watching a couple get into a heated fight at the table before quickly leaving. I knew we wouldn’t be able to connect until then. But the check-in agent found a later AA flight to London, leaving Miami at 11.40pm.
We passed through security overflowing with joy and relief. This feeling of euphoria lasted for 10 minutes until my phone rang with an alert from AA that our flight from Sint Maarten had been cancelled. It was like mental torture.
‘Were we going home, or were we?’
Third party ticketing staff blithely told us AA took no responsibility because it was a “weather event” and we would have to find our own accommodation for the night. I was shocked at how quickly they could wash their hands of us and feel abandoned.
In Europe, airlines are obliged to arrange accommodation in such cases under the Air Passenger Rights Regulations. Unfortunately, there is no such provision in US federal law, and it is up to individual airlines to decide whether to do so.
We were told AA would email new flight arrangements that evening, but nothing materialized and after hastily booking a nearby hotel online, we went to bed not knowing if or how we would return home the next day.
It was a tense night, but the next morning – it was Sunday when we were due to land at Heathrow – we headed back to the airport with a steely determination to get on any flight, no matter what.
AA confirmed that we were leaving for Miami at noon, which was good news. However, since all direct flights to London were full that evening, we would have to fly via Barcelona. Our hopes increased once again. We had a plan. Were we going home, or were we?
By noon, when we were supposed to take off, the AA flight crew still hadn’t shown up and no one knew where they were. Twenty minutes later, they gathered to the mocking applause of the waiting passengers and we began to board the plane.
But further delays from refueling (why couldn’t this have been done sooner?) meant we left 90 minutes late, putting our connection in doubt.
When we arrived in Miami, where we had to go through immigration and customs in endlessly long lines (this was the Spring Break holiday, one of the busiest times for US airports), our flight to Barcelona was only 10 minutes away. I have no luck.
Rerouted on different flights
Our phones rang with new messages from AA. Our reservation had been rebooked, but I was being rerouted to London via Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina, and my husband, who had a different reservation number, was being rerouted via Atlanta.
As we said goodbye, promising to meet again at Heathrow, we realized that connection times for both flight routes were only about an hour short, and since my flight had just been delayed, my connection had been reduced to 40 minutes.
Fearing that one or both of us might be stranded in different parts of America overnight, we backed out and lobbied AA to find seats if there were seats available on that evening’s flights to London.
They hadn’t, so we inquired about the next evening (Monday) and gave up on spending another night at the hotel. However, these flights were also completely full. Would we ever escape?
As a member of the British Airways Executive Club, I thought it was time to step up the ranks and highlight my Gold Membership status (BA and AA are both members of the Oneworld Alliance). Finally there was a development; The representative found a seat on the last AA flight to London at 23.40 on Monday night.
Our relief knew no bounds, but I couldn’t help but wonder if we would have made it to the plane if it weren’t for my priority status.
The next step was to reclaim our luggage somewhere in the vast depths of Miami’s baggage handling system, but we decided to stick with our carry-on luggage after an airport official told us it could take at least three to four hours to retrieve it. and buy toiletries instead.
From then on, all went well in the end and we arrived back at Heathrow 48 hours late after spending over £500 on hotels, taxis, food and other expenses.
When I later contacted AA about our nightmarish journey home, a spokesman said their options were limited in such cases.
“We often need to balance crew flight times, which are often affected by weather conditions, with determining safe weather conditions for the operation,” he explained.
“When things beyond our control cause a delay, we have to use the first available seats to rebook passengers; This may be limited if an unexpected disruption occurs. “Sometimes we can get lucky with seat/flight availability, but most of the time it is never as simple as rebooking.”
One last pain in the tail
There was one final pain at Heathrow: long-term parking in Terminal 5 charged an extra £63 for an additional two days, even though our late arrival was completely out of our control.
A Heathrow spokesman said that if customers overstay the allowed time without prior notice they will be charged the standard daily rate for the excess.
“If a customer changes their booking or contacts the customer service team via our website or the ‘manage my booking’ web form to discuss the issue, this ensures the cost remains at the pre-booking price rather than daily rates being applied.” said.
I wish I had thought about this when I was in America, but funny enough, I was busy trying to get on a plane back home. At least I’ll know next time, but I honestly hope there won’t be a next time.
What does our consumer expert say?
As she notes, Sara’s experience is a useful reminder of the value of European legislation that forces airlines to offer meals and accommodation to stranded passengers and, in some cases, offer compensation for delays and cancellations (compensation does not normally apply). weather delays). However, this legislation only applies to international airlines operating direct point-to-point flights to Britain (or other European countries).
Some travel insurance policies offer a certain amount of coverage for flight delays. It usually kicks in after 12 hours and pays a fixed amount per hour of delay, so Sara can claim on her policy. Another thing that might have helped in this situation was to have Sara book a package tour; The operator would then have to look after him, make sure he had accommodation if necessary and organize the return flight for him.
– Nick Trend