Sao Paulo,
Brazil
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Imagine you have planned the trip of a lifetime, enthusiastically arrived at the airport after months of excited anticipation, only to be told by the check in assistant that your flight is overbooked and you may not be allocated a seat. That's what happened to us! Nevermind that we'd booked and paid for our tickets well in advance and turned up for check in two hours before the flight. That didn't matter because other people had checked in online before even arriving at the airport. It was explained to us that airlines have a habit of overbooking flights as they rely on 'no shows.' After venting our frustration and anger at the manager, he told us that he would do whatever he could to get us on the plane. He sent us off with some coffee vouchers and told us to come back 45 mins before the flight was due to depart. Meanwhile, my dad was frantically searching the internet at home to find out where we stood. If they were to bump us off the flight then we would be entitled to 600 euros each in compensation plus a hotel, meals and drinks paid for until they got us on the next flight. When we went back to see the manager, we were told that we were getting on the plane. I felt relieved and happy but annoyed that we'd been put through that in the first place. We had to rush through security - no time for airport shopping, which is the best thing about the airport! The main thing was that we were going to Brazil as planned!
Tip: Where possible, check in online to reserve your seats.
