Good News and Bad News

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.