Marcelo Montecinos
LATAM’s announcement today that it could not be held responsible for any problems arising on its flights, booked via agents, came as no surprise to my family. Despite our whole family warning him that it was too early to be travelling, my father decided to fly to Canada to check on his brothers’ health and to have his own medical exams, anyways. The whole thing turned into a nightmare for LATAM and us all.
Ask
I searched for reasonably priced flights and found one on mytrip.com. It seemed simple enough:
Santiago to New York’s La Guardia airport. From there a transfer to a connecting flight at JFK airport and on to Toronto. It occurred for me to ask the LATAM rep, at the airport, if there wouldn’t be any pandemic restrictions in the transfer in New York. She decided to check it with her boss. Sure enough, she was told that travelers stepping U.S. soil would have to do 14 days’ quarantine. I mentioned that this defeated the purpose of layovers to begin with. She agreed and told us to speak to the sales desk. The sales rep was also surprised with the news, but booked my father on another flight on the following day, at no additional charge. He could only change the leaving trip. The return flight, which had the same stopovers, would have to be changed in Toronto.
The SNAFU
When we went to catch the new flight the following day, the clerk informed us that LATAM had had to change everyone on the previous days’ flight, due to our discovery.
The new flight also involved two airports, this time in Miami, but my father would never have to leave the airport. The problem was that the distance between the two airports hardly left enough time for the commute between them within the arrival time of one flight and the departure of the next, especially for an 83-year-old, and his having to get his own baggage to transport to the next flight. He was smart enough to ask for help. He was jetted from one flight to the other by wheelchair. He never would have made it otherwise.
Once in Toronto, my brother was supposed to be waiting for him at the airport, but due to no Wi-Fi connection along the whole trip, they never managed to inform each other of another impediment:
No one was allowed into Pearson International to pick up passengers. While my father waited to be picked up at the usual place, my brother was blocks away waiting for his phone call to say he arrived. The guard finally allowed my brother to enter the airport and rescue my father, who had been waiting for over two hours by that time.
No help from the travel agency
Mytrip.com acknowledged our complaint and request for a change in the itinerary of the return flight, but until now has not done anything about it. They told us to take it up with LATAM and Air Canada. LATAM was kind enough to also change the return flight, at no additional charge, to one that didn’t include a 14-day unwanted stay in New York. We hope for no surprises on the flight back to Santiago next week.
If you must travel in these uncertain times, make sure you double-check all of the details of your flight. Buyer beware when booking via any agent, be it a travel agency, or an online booking website.
It would be best to book directly with the airline company.
Bon Voyage…
