Whats your best experience on a delayed flight?

[pgsdiver]

My story is one of simple pleasures.
A few years back I was booked in J on Hawaiian Airlines from LA to Honolulu.
A while after takeoff, while out over the Pacific, we banked to the right and the captain announced that due to a medical emergency we were diverting to San Francisco.
We landed in San Francisco, the emergency deplaned and we sat there for 1.5 hours while the brakes cooled (at least that's what they told us).
Then we were off again and landed in Honolulu just in time for me to catch my flight back to Sydney.

The simple pleasure?
I really enjoy flying, the takeoffs, the landings (in equal measure!), the service, the isolation from work and just the whole experience in general. The way I look at it, I got an excellent two-for-one deal on that flight.
Regards,
Peter

 

[KAH]

The cancellations, delays and re-timings as a result of the unavailability of one of Virgin Australia's 777 was an interesting example of VA's customer relationship challenges. I now know of the experiences of 9 passengers. None of them are singing the praises of VA.
The two passengers experience I know most clearly experienced error and error. Their LAX to MEL was cancelled on June 14th and they were sent to the Marriott LAX for one night to catch a flight the next day. As there were many passengers going there it took an hour to get a shuttle with space. When they arrived VA had made a hotel booking but no financial arrangements were in place at the hotel that night. The passengers were not provided with flight disruption documentation. They were not rebooked at LAX and received an email later that night with an indirect flight TWO days later. VA made no hotel arrangements for the second night. There was a renegotiation of the return flight that got them on a direct flight. BUT when a seating request was made, a fee of $450 plus was requested as the only two seats together left were in an exit row.
They eventually arrived home 48 hours late (rather than 56 as per VA's first offer). VA refuse to make any payment without receipts so they are inevitably out of pocket. Despite VA not providing them with disrupted passenger documentation (so they were not asked to keep receipts) , VA have refused to refund amounts in line with the ATO per diems.

I was surprised by the apparent 'bully boy' behaviour of VA. They kept say the cancellation was for safety reasons. That's fine - we all get that. But VA were happy to make their problem the passenger's problem.

There was a consistent theme to the passenger experience. VA's BNE call center made serious factual errors, the VA customer experience center in BNE is out of touch with passenger and community expectations. BUT, there were no complaints with the MNL call center (the American voice tends to give them away).

I for one will not fly long haul for VA given there inability to provide for the reasonable needs of disrupted passengers.

 

[agentgerko]

Qantas cancelled flight Nadi - Sydney so had to cop another 24hrs, all expenses paid, at the Sheraton. Nuff said.

 

[YSSY]

When we lived in the middle east working for the government, we were booked J flights to Sydney with Cathay via HKG.
We wanted a stopover in Hong Kong on the way back, but they wouldn't allow it due to their procedures (anyone who has lived in the Middle East will know how difficult it is to get anything done).

Anyway our Dubai-Hong Kong flight was delayed which I quickly realised would mean we missconnect our onward flight to Sydney. Seeing an opportunity to take advantage of the situation I went to the Cathay ticketing desk and asked them to rebook us with a hotel and a flight the following evening and they said yes! It gave us enough time to enjoy some quick shopping and meals there.

Also many years prior I was flying US Airways (IIRC?) from Puerto Rico to the UK via Fort Lauderdale and New York in economy (that employer always seemed to find the cheapest longest way to get anywhere). At San Juan the gate agent put out an announcement offering a few hundred dollars for anyone willing to wait for the next flight due to overbooking, looking at the timing it wouldn't make a difference making my connections so I had a chat to the gate agent and said i'd like to take the compensation. Anyway when it came to boarding the agent mentioned that I'd been polite and she had a little surprise for me, an upgrade to domestic first on the leg to FLL, which was my first taste of a premium cabin at 21 years old. The next surprise came in New York when I received another upgrade to Business class for the long haul to the UK. The gift that just kept on giving.

Of course i've had plenty of other misconnects which have left me unexpectedly overnighting in various cities (KUL, YVR, MIA, SIN, LHR, PVG) but i've always just accepted this is part and parcel of flying. My worst was probably with China Southern in PVG who after a night in a hotel during a misconnect told me that they couldn't get me on another flight for a week and I should just enjoy their coughpy little -1 star hotel as a holiday...

 

[adamkps]

Not me but one of my clients a couple of weeks ago....Arriving from YVR on AC ..Sydney was fogged out so flight was diverted to BNE...sat on the tarmac for a couple of hours and then got to SYD 6 hours late. They had a ticket on VA from SYD to PQQ which had left hours before. They fronted up to the VA transit desk at intl to witness a hateful woman abusing the VA lady. They were next and after some words of sympathy with the agent, she rang AC who wouldn't do anything (pax were not through ticketed) but she then put them on the next available VA flight, the next morning, something she didn't have to do at all (she said she would have put them on QF but they had no more flights to PQQ that day). They said that the agent went above and beyond, something VA does often. Unfortunately that flight was also cancelled (fog again) so they were flown back up to BNE, waited four hours and then finally got home on the BNE-PQQ flight. VA has two, new very loyal pax!

 

[coolkid101]

Syd-sin-zrh in new suites when it first started flying. Stuck on tarmac in Sydney for 2 hours. Only 2 of us in suites. No complaints from us that day. Drained a full camera battery for photos of cabin, us, some with crew. Crew just kept offering food and photos and were as excited as we were about the new cabin. half a full course while on the ground then another full course in the air.

 

[Retfar]

About 11 years ago our travelling party of 6 family members travelling Emirates from Melb to Malta via Dubai... waiting to board from Dubai to Malta and airport staff approached us asking us if we would take a flight tomorrow because the plane was full... they told us they would put us up in their hotel for the night and give us a free trip from Dubai to Malta to use in the next 12 months.... one family member, who is a supreme negotiator, told them that this was no good as we had to get to Dubai to use the free trip... our ace negotiator eventually got them to give us all (x6) free trips from Melb to Malta. We were all high fiving out the airport lol.. we had a great night at their hotel with free food and accommodation and two of us even got business class Dubai to Malta...

We all went back 12 months later...

 

[Jo145]

I'm not a frequent flyer (ie, not every week) but have flown a lot. Is it show-offie to say I've never had a significant delay? Longest was 4 hours in AUK last year heading to SFO - no biggie, arrived around 3pm the next day to a deserted airport and had my bag in hand and at the hotel in 40mins.

But, the old QF $50 voucher ... bags lost on a flight to Canberra and not returned until 3 days later as I was leaving to head home!! Complained and received the $50 voucher. Wrote a scathing (but polite) letter returning the voucher pointing out how useless it was because it could not be used online. Received an apology with $150 David Jones voucher in return - hello new food processor!! This happened way back in 2010 and I'm pretty sure that type of response from QF is no longer.

 

[Tassieoptom]

My wife and I were quite late leaving Hobart heading to Brisbane via Melbourne. (due to weather) We were in the second last row in Economy, and hoped to get the rear stairs for a hasty exit, nope, exit through the front air bridge only. It was during the renovations and we were being paged, so running from a gate a long way from where we needed to be, and had to go through 3 separate security screenings!!!! When we arrived at the departure gate, shoes in hand the gate was closed, luckily they were in process of removing luggage, but had not do so yet. They opened up and let us board, we did get several frowns when we boarded, but we made it to the Pullman at King George square. ordered room service and went up to the room. My wife found a wall and door in the bathroom covered in vomit. Call to reception, made them aware and they were sorry but had no rooms free, so offered a cleaner and a bottle of bubbles. We accepted, cleaner came and left, were waiting for dinner when we got a call from the Hotel Manager. He was appalled and told us he was moving us, we said not to he insisted and moved us to the KG Suite and had staff come and get all our luggage and moved us up to a massive suite, sitting room three toilets and two bathrooms and two bedrooms. I swear you could have fit ten people in the bath alone. Our near disaster was a massive win, we stayed in the suite for 3 nights.

 

[mikev]

Okay, a long time ago, but still.

1995, when Air India briefly operated a service from Perth to London via India. I went on one of the first flights to go backpacking in Europe, and discovered it was a cattle run: Perth-Singapore-Bangalore-New Delhi (change from 707 to 747) - London. I forget how long that took. A couple of months later, turn up at Heathrow for the return trek. Crowds of angry people around the check-in. The flight is overbooked.

So, a couple of hours milling around and finally given a room at an airport hotel and meal vouchers. Next day, fly upgraded to business class to Bombay (Mumbai) and lodged at a smart hotel in the city, with a fistful of meal and drink vouchers. Day after that, fly business class to Singapore and lodged at a smart hotel on Orchard Road with a satchel of vouchers - for two nights; the connection to Perth was only twice a week. Finally, business class flight to Perth.

I wasn't in a rush, so I had a great five days in a bubble of luxury travel to end eight weeks of slumming it around Europe.

The cherry on top: A month after getting home, I got a letter of apology and a refund for my return economy flight.

 

[CanbJames]

Not a delayed departure but a delayed landing.
I Flew to JNB from CBR on QF. I rushed to the gate in SYD to find my BP did not work, only to be given a J seat at a window.
As we flew into JNB we were delayed and circled for 2 hours due to a thunderstorm. Eventually we diverted to Durban due to a fuel shortage.

As we landed the plane was struck by lightning so we had to wait until someone could certify the plane was OK. Then the crew time ran out.

We sat on the tarmac for 10 hours before we were given access to the terminal for a walk and toilet. Water and food ran out. We could not get to the restaurants because we were in transit internationally. We arrived 12 hours late after 26 hours on the plane.

My first and only unexpected free upgrade was a great time spent on the lie flat bed. Where I actually slept for the most hours ever

 

[Flying Fox]

A few years ago Mrs Flying Fox, the little Foxes (x2) and my parents were flying ADL-KUL on MH. Decided to check on the flight before I drove them to the airport and found out it was delayed 4hrs. We all stayed at home and chilled before I drove them to the airport. Upon checking-in they were given 5x $40 vouchers as delay compensation which had to be spent at the airport.

We had a nice snack/meal together at one of the restaurants and with the $120 in vouchers left over I went shopping in the terminal whilst my family flew off on holidays. I really struggled to get all my shopping back to the car by myself.

Overall a good outcome IMHO.

 

[ayebee]

Also a long time back in 1986, my favourite experience was not exactly a delay of the flight I was booked on, but the happy outcome of an airline bus stuff up.
On a business class ticket on route from Stockholm to Washington, I had an overnight at LHR at BA expense.
BA advised me to be on a certain shuttle bus to T4 for a noon departure, and I was on that bus. We then stopped at another hotel where a group of people were waiting and duly loaded their luggage and got on. Then there was a long discussion (argument really) about whether this group were supposed to be on the bus, and they finally got off. As they recovered their luggage some zealous member of the party also took my bag.

Got to T4 to discover my bag was not on the bus.
As it was now only an hour to departure I went in to check in and find some help find my bag.

Sorry sir, we have given away your seat and the flight is full.

I said something, politely of course, along the lines ... I was staying at the airport at their expense, their bus collected me for the flight and was late, and to top it off they managed to lose my bag between the hotel and airport.
At this point a guy in a suit standing behind the counters came out to me and asked if I would mind waiting an extra hour for a later flight, to give them a chance to retrieve my bag, and that I would arrive in Washington before the original flight. He then took me to the Concorde check in.

My bag arrived by taxi a few minutes later, I checked in and had the Concorde lounge (direct boarding) to myself for a little while before other passengers arrived.

Flight time was 3 hrs 50 mins, and arrived Washington before we left London, and well before the B747 flight.
In those days you could visit the coughpit which I did while we were going at Mach 2.

So my airline bus delay resulted in arriving early.

 

[Ha11y]

My best experience on a delayed flight happened in April last year.
My parner and I were due to return to BNE after a weeks holiday on Norfolk Island. Our friendly coffee shop owner gleefully informed us that our flight had been cancelled and we were captive on the Island for another day. Sure enough, we checked and we were told the flight had to be cancelled due to bad weather, which was strange as the weather seemed fine.
NZ were great and paid for the extra nights' accommodation, dinner and breakfast. When we finally boarded the next day, the pilot came out and addressed all the passengers in person. He appologised, and in his words, it was their "coughup". There was no weather problem as we were first told, but a very sick FA on departure from BNE the previous day. No replacement FA available, so one had to be sought from Auckland.
There was no complaints from those trapped on the island but I expect it was a different story from those that were stuck in BNE.

 

[Mrsfefe]

On our recent trip to Solomon Islands, we had a scheduled stop at the island of Munda, on our way from Honiara to Gizo. Upon landing, a tyre on our Dash 8 blew. A new tyre had to be brought in from the capital overnight. Normally such an event would see Mrfefe develop Hulk like rage, but the soothing, warm tropical breeze seemed to have mesmerised him. And when they walked us all down to the waterfront hotel for our overnight stay, and propped us up in the overwater bar with unlimited Solbrew beer, fish and tropical fruit, well he was the most Zen I think I have ever seen him! And we met some absolutely fascinating fellow passengers, who we would otherwise have never known.

Nice.

 

[tizey]

Flying CX J JFK-YVR-HKG-MEL at the end of our honeymoon. Was the only option to redeem last minute after having to change plans late.

Received notification that the late JFK-YVR-HKG was massively delayed before leaving for the airport, meaning we'd miss our MEL connection. After losing an hour on the phone to CX, they managed to rebook us on the JFK-HKG direct to be able to make our connection to MEL.

Not a great story, but I'd rather spend 7 extra hours in New York than in the air taking the longer route.

 

[mfc1964]

Was booked to fly home LHR-MEL via HKG on CX. Check-in agent tells me flight is cancelled due to a typhoon near HKG. They were struggling to rebook everyone and I was polite and in no rush to get home.

Was put up in an airport hotel overnight with a fistful of meal vouchers, and rebooked LHR-NRT-MEL next day with JAL and QF.

On JAL scored a row to myself and got plenty of sleep. On the very full QF flight shared a laugh with an FA during boarding and a few minutes later was moved to an empty row up the back.

Few hours later FA asks me if I'd give up my row to a woman nearby whose ankles had blown up like footballs and needed to be elevated. No worries, happily swapped seats again.

I was almost the last to deplane at MEL and the FA told me to wait a moment, ducked to the J class galley then quietly slipped me a bottle of bubbles. Said "this is a thank you for making things much easier for us tonight". Second FA nearby gave me a smile and a thumbs up.

Thanked them both then downed the bubbles that night at home with my flatmate, toasting the end of my holidays.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Also a long time back in 1986, my favourite experience was not exactly a delay of the flight I was booked on, but the happy outcome of an airline bus stuff up.
On a business class ticket on route from Stockholm to Washington, I had an overnight at LHR at BA expense.
BA advised me to be on a certain shuttle bus to T4 for a noon departure, and I was on that bus. We then stopped at another hotel where a group of people were waiting and duly loaded their luggage and got on. Then there was a long discussion (argument really) about whether this group were supposed to be on the bus, and they finally got off. As they recovered their luggage some zealous member of the party also took my bag.

Got to T4 to discover my bag was not on the bus.
As it was now only an hour to departure I went in to check in and find some help find my bag.

Sorry sir, we have given away your seat and the flight is full.

I said something, politely of course, along the lines ... I was staying at the airport at their expense, their bus collected me for the flight and was late, and to top it off they managed to lose my bag between the hotel and airport.
At this point a guy in a suit standing behind the counters came out to me and asked if I would mind waiting an extra hour for a later flight, to give them a chance to retrieve my bag, and that I would arrive in Washington before the original flight. He then took me to the Concorde check in.

My bag arrived by taxi a few minutes later, I checked in and had the Concorde lounge (direct boarding) to myself for a little while before other passengers arrived.

Flight time was 3 hrs 50 mins, and arrived Washington before we left London, and well before the B747 flight.
In those days you could visit the coughpit which I did while we were going at Mach 2.

So my airline bus delay resulted in arriving early.

We have a winner....

 

[moa999]

Best delay experience was two years ago.

Booked VIE-HEL-HKG on AA points with a 6hr connection to a separate QF flight.
Enroute to airport noticed the HEL-HKG flight was showing a 4hr delay, which was making me a little nervous.

Then up popped a Google notification about a QR flight. AY had rerouted me on QR via DOH with about the same departure time from VIE and a shorter layover. The second AY flight was subsequently cancelled.

Other good delay resulted in about 9hrs in the MEL FL after my JQ MEL-SIN flight was delayed 6hrs due to engine issues.
Call centre rebooked me on a later SIN-HKT flight without issue (non-connecting)

 

[ayebee]

We have a winner....

... certainly a grinner