When bad things happen to good travelers

Experienced international air travelers know that most of their flight plans these days go smoothly, departing and arriving within a reasonable margin of the schedule with relatively minor hassles. They also realize, however, that with the possibilities of weather delays, schedule changes, mechanical mishaps, security snafus and other potential complications, from airline code-sharing complexities to unreasonably stubborn functionaries, on some trips, anything that can go wrong will.

Unfortunately, less experienced international travelers must learn this painful lesson the hard way.

After more than 10 years of anticipation, the tour to Tuscany was to be Rosanne and Paul Rumbaugh's first trip to Europe. The Baldwin couple hoped to celebrate Rosanne's 55th birthday in Rome and their 36th wedding anniversary. Unpracticed in the art of international travel, the Rumbaughs wisely decided to seek professional help. Several months ago, with the advice of Ponzio International Travel, one of the area's oldest travel agencies, with a particular expertise on Italy, they signed up for a 10-day group trip through the Italian province of Tuscany, run by Trafalgar Tours, a well-known, national tour operator.

In addition to advising them about their tour and making their booking, Ponzio helped them find a good deal on their trans-Atlantic flights, taking advantage of an American Airlines promotional fare that saved them $500. Dick Ponzio, a veteran of more than 45 years in the travel business, had concerns that the scheduled 50-minute window between flights at busy O'Hare Airport was too tight, but American representatives reassured him it was within minimum standard connecting time, 45 minutes.

The Rumbaughs were booked to depart from Pittsburgh International at 2:26 p.m. on Thursday, April 29, on American Eagle Flight 4161 to Chicago, where they would connect with American's Flight 110, a direct, nonstop to Rome. They showed up at the airport more than two hours before their departure. When they checked in, they learned that because of stiff wind conditions, their American Eagle flight was going to be at least a half hour late departing Pittsburgh, meaning they had no chance to make their flight in Chicago.

American's customer service representative reacted quickly. She was able to reroute the Rumbaughs, confirming them on Continental Airlines, with a 3 p.m. flight from Pittsburgh to Newark connecting with a 5:30, nonstop departure scheduled to have them in Rome at 7:45 the next morning, actually five minutes earlier than the American flight.

Electronic tickets and boarding passes were issued, the Rumbaughs' bags were even pulled off the Chicago flight and put on Continental 2358, and shortly after 3 p.m., they were winging their way to Newark.

However, when they landed and tried to check in for their Rome flight they discovered their next problem.

The electronic voucher that had been issued to Paul three hours earlier was missing from their ticket folder, as it turned out mistakenly pulled by the Continental gate agent in Pittsburgh, although he did have the boarding pass. Even though Rosanne had all of her documentation and Paul's arrangements were presumably also in its computer system, Continental's counter agent, a supervisor no less, offered no assistance. She advised them it was an American Airlines problem and if Paul didn't have a valid voucher for the Continental flight, he could not board, no ifs, ands or buts.

At that point, the Rumbaughs used their cell phone to call Ponzio Travel to see what could be done. When Dick Ponzio asked to speak to the Continental representative, she refused. Next, Ponzio got through to the American agent at Pittsburgh who had helped them. She contacted the Continental people in Pittsburgh to determine that yes, Paul's Rome voucher had been mistakenly kept. She even faxed a copy to Continental in Newark, but by the time it was delivered, the flight to Rome had already departed, with, as it turned out, the Rumbaughs' luggage. For the record, that is a violation of security regulations that forbid planes from carrying unaccompanied baggage.

At that point, the Rumbaughs' only alternative, other than waiting 24 hours in Newark Airport for the next Continental flight to Rome, was to catch an Alitalia flight from Newark to Milan at 10:20 that evening. In Milan, they could make a connection that would get them to Rome eight hours late, but still in time to meet their group.

Unfortunately, however, the gods of travel were not done with the Rumbaughs.

As it turned out, April 29 was the date that Alitalia workers decided to stage a strike in protest of ongoing financial uncertainties at the Italian carrier. The work stoppage lasted only a few hours, but that was enough to delay departure of the Rumbaughs' flight until 2 a.m., which of course meant that they missed their Rome connection entirely.

There they were in the Milan airport, 36 hours after they had left home, with no luggage and no knowledge of the language, during an airline labor dispute.

Then just as the situation seemed the most bleak, good fortune began to break through. They met another couple, Glenda and Eric Hollingsworth, from Ontario, who happened to be on the same Alitalia flight and Trafalgar tour as the Rumbaughs. They were much more experienced travelers and helped them sort through the situation.

Since there were no more flights out that day, Alitalia put the two couples up in a hotel in Milan on Friday night. Early the next morning, when they determined that all Alitalia flights for the day were canceled, they decided there was no longer any point trying to get to Rome to meet the group, which would be heading north to the Tuscan spa town of Montecatini, halfway between Florence and Lucca, the tour group's base for the next seven nights.

So the four travelers took a bus to Milan's magnificent terminal and caught a train to Montecatini. They arrived at their hotel about 4 p.m. on Saturday (Rosanne's birthday) where they collapsed into bed. The rest of the group got there about 9 p.m.

After an epic journey that had lasted nearly 60 hours, through no fault of their own, the Rumbaughs were totally exhausted. To make matters worse, their luggage didn't catch up to them at the hotel in Montecatini until early Wednesday morning, three days before they were scheduled to come home!

Their flight experience took the bloom off their trip, but to their real credit, the Rumbaughs didn't let it ruin the rest of their time in Italy, which Rosanne reports was wonderful. Both Tuscany and the Trafalgar Tour were everything she had dreamed about.

Nor are they letting it sour them on international travel. They are already discussing another trip for next year, but this time to Ireland, because it's Paul's turn to choose the destination.

What lessons are to be learned?

As it was, the Rumbaughs had fortunately purchased a travel insurance policy that will reimburse them for out-of-pocket expenses they incurred during their ordeal, as well as incidentals and items of clothing they purchased while their luggage was missing. Unfortunately, the insurance won't compensate them for the two days of the trip they lost in transit or their chance to visit Rome and the Vatican.

After considering complaints from the Rumbaughs and Ponzio, Continental agreed to provide each of them with a voucher worth $250 off a Continental domestic flight, to be used in the next year.

It's hard to assign blame for what occurred -- certainly the Rumbaughs and Ponzio did what they could to ensure a smooth trip.

In its desire to direct more Pittsburgh passengers to its Chicago/Rome flights, American should not book such tight connections, even if it means using another carrier. (The Rumbaughs would have had a better chance to make the Rome flight had they left Pittsburgh on a US Airways flight two hours earlier). But American personnel certainly did what they could to accommodate the Rumbaughs when it became apparent they couldn't make the flight, not to mention going above and beyond the call of duty in tracking down the errant boarding pass.

We do, however, wonder about the mood or motives of the Continental gate agent in Newark who refused to let them board the plane, even though it must have been obvious that there had been some simple mistake, one that it seems could have been rectified easily without putting these passengers through such unnecessary hassles.

Was it a case of some security concern or airline procedure gone wrong? It certainly can't be Continental's intention to so completely inconvenience paying customers.

Or was it simply a case of overworked or otherwise disgruntled personnel, evidence of Merkle's Law, an unwritten travel maxim that observes that airline gate agents can often interpret rules at their whim to help or hinder travelers?

In either event, the $250 vouchers for future domestic flights seem only token compensation for the Rumbaughs, although it is likely that is all they will get from Continental, which like other major carriers, increasingly seem to discount concepts such as customer service and satisfaction.

Then of course, there are those important lessons the Rumbaughs learned:

That despite the best-laid plans, every trip is a potential adventure.

That no matter what negative things may happen during a vacation, it's almost always better to focus on the positive and not let disappointed expectations interfere with making the best of what actually happens.

That foreign travel can be a wonderful experience.

That surprisingly often, it's the things that go wrong during a trip that make the most memorable travel stories.