It's Worse Than Pulling Teeth!

Finally!

At long last, after much struggle and anguish, I finally have my ticket to Peru! I just can’t believe how difficult it was to get. Honestly, does everybody have this many problems?

First, I went to the internet – one of those Priceline.com type sites. I typed in where I was flying from, where I was flying to, and when I needed to go. They came back with a long list of flights going to Peru to choose from, so I picked the best one. Then they came back with a long list of flights coming back, so I again picked the best one.

I got the following message: “I’m sorry, that flight is not available. Please choose another one.” I went thru the whole process again, only to have that same message sent back to me. I actually went thru the entire list, one at a time, and got no where. Tell me, why the heck did they list all those flights if they aren’t available? I hadn’t even gotten to the point where I mentioned that I wanted to use my frequent flyer miles yet!

Grrrr…

My next plan of attack was to go to the airport and speak to an actual person. I took time off work one day and headed down to the Alaska Airlines Ticket Counter and waited in line for half an hour, only to be told that I’d have to go to the American Airlines Ticket Counter, since Alaska Air doesn’t fly to Peru. I searched the entire airport trying to find the American Airline Ticket Counter (it’s tucked back behind the baggage check-in kiosks, of all places) only to find that they were closed. A random uniform walking by was able to tell me that they don’t open till 4:00, so I should come back then.

I went back a few days later and stood in line for another half an hour – and never once saw anybody at the counter. Apparently, no body told THEM they were open at 4:00! I gave up in disgust and went home.

My third plan of attack was to call the airlines and speak to somebody over the phone. I must admit that by that time I was quite frustrated to begin with, but I called the Alaska Airlines Travel Agent and told her my story. She said that I’d have to call American Airlines (I knew that, but wanted to be sure) and gave me their number. I dialed it and spoke to the person on the other end of the phone, again telling my story. She said, and I quote, “You’ll have to call Alaskan Airlines, since it’s their miles you want to use.”

“I just spoke to them, and they told me to call you!” I cried.

This was getting my no where, obviously. As I mentioned earlier, I was frustrated to begin with so had absolutely no patience for being bounced back and forth between people who didn’t know how to do their job.

I threw in the towel at this point, and called US Travel. The lady was very sympathetic and said she’d get right on it. A week later, I called to check on her progress and found that SHE HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT ME!

Seriously?!

I took a deep breath, gave her all my information again, and said I’d be checking back with her in a couple days. When I did, I discovered that she was in a week-long training course!

Again, seriously?!

The person who told me that promised they would get her a message from me and that she would contact me on one of her breaks. She never did. So I called back and tried to get somebody ELSE to deal with me, but they just kept on giving me back to her.

When I told Rob what was going on, he got all upset (for me, not at me) and said he’d take care of it. He called American Airlines right then, and got found that they could get me to Los Angeles but no farther, so he called Lan Chile Airlines (they recommended them to him) and actually got a flight for me. The lady working on the itinerary for him got it all arranged and said she’d call back the next day to finalize it. She never called. So, I went on line to their website to make the arrangements myself – only to discover that Lan Chile does not fly out of Los Angeles!!! What the F@#*!!! Why would that lady SAY she could get me from Los Angeles to Peru if they don’t even fly out of Los Angeles? It just boggles the mind…

Which leaves me STILL trying to deal with US Travel.

Eventually, after trying numerous times to get something – anything! – out of them, I finally gave up and called a completely different company and spoke to a completely different travel agent. Not that it has any relevance: but it was a man this time. He was, again, very sympathetic to my plight and said he’d get right on it. (he actually did, by the way)

And not two minutes after I hung up the phone, I get a call from US Travel – wouldn’t you know it! I should have tried that trick a lot earlier, if that’s what it takes to get them to do their job.

Anyway, the good news is – I HAVE A TICKET TO PERU! The bad news is that I couldn’t use mileage for the entire trip. I used it to get me to Miami, but then had to actually purchase the ticket to Peru and back.

At this point, I’m just happy to have the ticket.