Good News and Bad News

ByGD

Good News and Bad News

involuntary deboarding

No, this doesn’t mean I’m done posting pictures of China. I’m just remembering the old story about how good and bad fortune aren’t always easy to tell apart. Our flight from Qingdao to Shanghai was delayed, and our airline graciously placed us on another airline that was leaving sooner. We arrived in time to check in for our international flight to North America, but the check-in line wasn’t moving. At all.

More than two hours later, when it was too late to catch our plane anyway, we got to the counter. The frog-like woman at the counter ignored us for 10 minutes, then got up and went away. I think her shift was over. Eventually someone noticed us standing there and came over to explain that our flight was overbooked. (By about a third, judging by the length of the line.) We were handed a liability waiver, a hotel voucher and ticket for the next day’s flight, and several hundred dollars in cash.

When I got home, I did the math. Through the magic of exchange rates, and because I am an airfare ninja, our standard “involuntary disboarding” compensation was nearly exactly what we spent on airfare. Since my travel-style is more “dirtbag” than luxury, the free flights made this one of the cheapest international trips ever.

About the author

GD administrator

I'm a freelance content and grant writer in Seattle specializing in parenting, arts and the environment.

1 Comment so far

Getting to Hong Kong | gemma D. alexanderPosted on9:19 am - Apr 27, 2020

[…] 10 pm Beijing time. So we all put on our pajamas and went straight to bed. (I had experience with missed flights in China, and packed our pajamas and a change of clothes in our […]

Got something to say?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.