 Poster: A snowHead
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If you're lucky enough to be venturing to the States for some winter fun, beware of flying with Delta and changing in Atlanta - it's chaos! We have just come back from a summer trip - we flew into Kansas from Manchester, via Atlanta. On arrival in Atlanta we had to join a lengthy immigration queue to 'enter' the US, but that wasn't where the trouble began! As we landed I was quite surprised to see another aircraft landing a short distance to our left at the same time - the place has 2 sets of parallel runways, so can handle an immense volume of flights - on taking off to come home at dusk I could see the lights of 8 aircraft on final approach.
Anyway, we landed and set off taxiing towards the terminal building - we thought we were nearly there, when we did an about turn and headed back out again! We were a bit concerned but the flt attendant told us it was because there was no gate available - we waited half an hour before one was allocated! Finally off the plane, we joined the immigration queue, having filled in two forms and after about half an hour got to the desk where everyone has to be photographed and fingerprinted. Then it was to the baggage reclaim area, and even after our half hour wait, the bags had not yet arrived. Eventually they did and we queued AGAIN to go through a customs area and constant announcements reminded us to put any bottles of duty free in the suitcases (to be tossed around by none-too-careful handlers) or they'd be confiscated. Then we joined a melee of EVERYONE on any connecting flight having to put all hold baggage onto either one of two conveyor belts. We joked that we might not see them again.....!
Next came a very much needed, quickly grabbed, take-away Starbucks coffee and a train journey from one end of the airport to the other, and we finally reached our gate 20 mins before the next flight was due to take off having had nearly 3 hours connection time allowed. We arrived, somewhat jaded, in Kansas around 9pm and it being a domestic flight there were no formalities - we just wandered out into the terminal and to the baggage carousel which was right by the door to outside. There were some bags just standing around but nobody claimed them. Then the carousel started up and bags arrived, but not ours. We were among some 20 or so people who were bag-less - mostly it seemed people who'd had a connecting flight. We joined another queue for the baggage office, worrying that the car-hire place would be shut by the time we got there, as it was a bus-ride away. We eventually got there and were given a chart to identify the type/colour of bags that were missing and told the bags might come in on the next flight, but as we were NOT prepared to wait around for several hours late at night they'd bring them to our hotel.
The good news is the car-hire place was brilliant, really efficient and easy, and we found the hotel (20 miles away) easily by about 11pm. Due to jet lag, I was up again and wandering about at 3.30 and delighted that my OH's bag was at reception, but furious mine was not, esp as that one had all our toiletries in! I rang the baggage office and they said according to their system, my bag was still in Atlanta, and would probably be on the midday flight. So we had no choice but to delay plans to set off on our driving tour and stay another night in Kansas (not the greatest city for tourism). OH's suggestion I borrow his underwear didn't go down too well - my sense of humour was failing! So our first port of call, about 7am, was Walmart to get me a clean t-shirt and undies (the hotel provided toiletries)! We then went out and about for the day, and visited the birthplace of the "Outlaw Jesse James". On getting back to the hotel around 6pm, my bag had finally arrived.
The hotel said it's a regular occurence and that Delta nearly always manage to get the bags delivered before the 24hr deadline which is the point at which they will cough up compensation! Great! I would be seriously unimpressed were I on a week's ski holiday and had to lose the entire first day due to lack of kit which Delta could not be bothered to ensure got the same flight as me.
Anyway, after all that we had a fantastic fortnight, driving 2,500 miles across South Dakota, where we visited the Black Hills and the ski resort of Terry Peak and then came back through Nebraska where we discovered on arriving at a hotel in North platte that we had just missed a tornado crossing the very interstate we had just driven along - we thought there were strange black streaky things in the sky - yeah well we know NOW!
OUr flight home? Fine, no baggage issues at all - only one problem - on boarding the Atlanta-Manchester flight, I found someone sitting in my seat, yep he too had a boarding card for that very seat! Luckily he was happy to move so I could sit with hubby and there were just a very few spare seats - had the flight been full who knows what would have happened???
http://www.snowmediazone.com/the_zone/showphoto.php/photo/8011/ppuser/787
http://www.snowmediazone.com/the_zone/showphoto.php/photo/8012/ppuser/787
http://www.snowmediazone.com/the_zone/showphoto.php/photo/8013/ppuser/787
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Me too...
Flew through Atlanta twice. On both occassions my bags got delayed.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Same has happend to me twice transiting through O'Hare. But not at Dallas. Guess where we go though now.
We also always pack ski boots and enough kit to ski on day 1 and to stay clean in our hand luggage.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Ah yes, the famous lost baggage city of Atlanta, even the Greeks and Romans had heard of it!!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I've always found Heathrow the worst for lost baggage. I have a couple of suits purchased courtesy of BA baggage compensation, so I shouldn't complain too much though.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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heh - my golf clubs went missing in atlanta for 2 weeks one time and this was before all the formality the US now has on arrivals
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FenlandSkier, 
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Flying in the U.S. is a delay waiting to happen these days, even for U.S. passangers. The airlines have struggled economically and have cut flights and staffs to save money. I hear of quite a lot of flights being cancelled because there's no flight crew available. Most flights are booked at near full capacity and when anything goes wrong the system can't respond. If a couple of flights get cancelled, the airlines has trouble getting the stranded folks on later flights because the later flights are already completely full, and it just snowballs. I'd say direct flights to your final destination will minimize the likelihood of long airport delays.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Whilst it might not be particularly welcome news my experience is that a 30 min delay at Immigration is pretty much standard....if you get through in less time you can count yourself lucky. We were over an hour one time in New York, long before 9/11. I usually console myself that even if you get through quickly you have to wait for the bags anyway.
Sadly you can lose bags anywhere......in our case Seattle and Los Angeles. In LA they did get them on the first flight next day and as we were staying at the airport it wasnt an hassle. When we connected through Seattle we collected the bags, put them on the transfer belt, got our connecting flight and then on arrival went to baggage claim to collect the stuff. The luggage was there, the skis were not. So, off to the office to report etc. Whilst doing so and describing the bags I looked over the clerks shoulder and saw, on the floor behind him, 2 ski bags just like ours, in fact they were ours !They had caught an earlier flight (we were early into Seattle) presumably for weight reasons on the relatively small plane. In any event we picked them up and off we went.
Direct flights (if you can) is the way to go. We now hire skis and I used to take the boots as hand luggage tho that may be tricky now. I havent tried that recently so I just worry on the flight now
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