Cost of Travel Delays

Here I am on day three of four in my journey back to Afghanistan.

I should already be in Dubai but we were held at the gate for too long last night and those of us on flights to Dubai and Delhi missed our connections. At first none of the airlines wanted to take responsibility, but eventually the group of about ten managed to get hotel, shuttles, dinner, and breakfast out of the airline.

I’m now online to cancel my reservation in Dubai, as I arrive at 11pm and must be back at the airport at 5am. In my book it isn’t worth three hundred dollars for around 4 hrs of sleep. Plus, after staying up all night in the Boston airport, the night before last, I managed to sleep the entire flight across the Atlantic. Last night’s sleep was also blissful.

The lessons here in travel and money are:

1) Make sure to get adequate compensation in the case of delays and so forth – this is likely to increase in frequency in the future.

2) It is worth the time/money to arrive early. Two of the guy on the Delhi flight missed their own engagement parties. Plus, if you travel early with some flexibility then you can also take that time to get bumped on a flight and earn you travel vouchers.

3) Take time to consider what things are worthwhile to you in travel. For me, I would rather not spend so much money for a few hours sleep – though luckily I can sleep on flights

I did however have to pay three pounds for a half hour of email to cancel my rez. To me this was well worth it.

Wish my luck on the last legs of my travel.

Cheers,

Miel