My last blog post said that my next blog post would be a decompression upon my return, a reflection of the Tokyo Olympics.
However, the experiences of the last two days has led me to a different step, though there will still be a reflection on the Olympics in the next few days.
If you had told me that the experience of hanging around the Tokyo airport for more than four hours upon arrival, filling out paperwork and taking COVID tests, would be the worst of my traveling adventures, I would have believed you.
But, then Air Canada stepped in and made sure I had the most miserable travel days I have ever experienced. And as I write this on Tuesday afternoon on my couch, it’s still not over.
I arrived at Narita Airport three and a half hours before my scheduled flight out of Tokyo, which was slated for 5:30 p.m. on Monday. We had been advised to get their early, since it was anticipated that the airport would be busy and it was. However, because I downloaded my boarding pass before leaving the media center, I was able to bypass a few long lines and zip right through security and to the gate. Our plane arrived shortly after I did and not long before we were to board, the crew and pilots arrived. Then came the announcement that the flight was delayed for an hour.
Since pretty much the entire Canadian Olympic team was on our flight, the flight crew and pilots were more interested in getting pictures with them then getting our plane ready, so we didn’t leave Narita until more than an hour after scheduled. To their credit, the pilots made good time and we arrived in Toronto with about an hour for me to get through US customs and to my next flight.
Customs was quick, but the baggage wait was so long that they sent us through without our official baggage claims (which may be where the problems started). I hurried to the gate only to find, after seeing “on time” signs on all the boards leading to the gate, that the flight to Boston was delayed an hour. Then, it got moved to a different gate. And then, it got cancelled all together. Our flight, along with a couple other flights were all gathered at the Air Canada information desk, where one poor guy was trying to handle everything. To his credit, he was doing his best, but there were a lot of really unhappy people. He eventually told us that Air Canada would give us hotel vouchers (or reimburse those who just left and got their own hotel).
However, the kicker to all this is that in order to leave the airport, we had to go through Canadian customs, because we had already passed US customs and gone on the US side of the airport. So, that was another long line where we waited and waited to clear customs none of us wanted to clear. By the time I got the shuttle to the hotel, it was just about 11 p.m.
Air Canada had rebooked me on an 8:30 a.m. flight, so I got up early and got to the airport early, knowing there’d be a lot of people trying to get through security and customs. That move paid off, since I was near the front of the line when both opened. However, Air Canada lived up to its billing as the worst airline of the week, when it delayed our flight, not once, not twice, not three times, but four times. Finally, it was scheduled for a 10:45 a.m. departure, which ended up being closer to 11 a.m. and we got to Boston around noon.
But, that wouldn’t be the end of it, as my luggage never made the trip to Boston. In it are all my clothes, my shoes and a few other things that I kind of need. I filed a baggage claim and I am hopeful that my bag is found at some point, but I’m not holding my breath. And I recommend whoever open the bag first does hold their breath, because I had a few bags of dirty laundry in there to be cleaned when I got back.
So, this wasn’t a post to reflect on Tokyo, but more to say what an awful flying experience I had the last two days. Air Canada was a complete disaster throughout Tokyo, Toronto and Boston. If there as a way to drive to Beijing for the Winter Olympics, you can bet your ass I’d be doing that, because I am completely disgusted by the air travel experience I just went through.
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