So this past week I was in Montreal and had a great time. The good times stopped today though on my way back. In Canada, Friday, July 1st is equivalent to the US 4th of July. The day has been nothing but trouble for me however.

The day started off just as expected. I checked out of my hotel around 11:30 and headed over to the bus stop (15 min walk). I was aiming for the 11:50 or 12:10 bus to the airport (a 15 minute ride) but ran into problems when I found out that the bus “might not be coming to the stop” since there was a parade for Canada Day. The bellman at the hotel where the bus stops said that he didn’t think the bus would be going there today since some streets were closed, but a cop near by said it should come still. After waiting until about 12:25 (should have been at least two busses, even if they were running late by then) the bellman called me over (thank you!) and let me know of another stop near by (5 min walk) that I could catch the bus. So I was finally aboard the 12:35 bus, which brought me to the airport just before 1. This is where the real problems began.

Normally I use the computer terminals to check in whenever I can so I headed right over to those. I swiped my credit card and entered the flight number that I was given by the travel agent. No dice. The computer said it could not find my flight and required a reference number which I did not have. Frustrated but still not in too bad shape I head over to the “ticketing counter”. I thought (as did several others in line behind me) that this would be where I would get my boarding pass if the computer did not work, but apparently this isn’t how it works in Canada. The ticketing desk is solely to BUY tickets at the airport. I wasn’t even aware people did that anymore. Anyway, I wasted about 20 minutes waiting in line here, a line that was no use to me…..

I am directed over to where I need to go to get boarding passes, on the other side of the room and wait in line. Once I can finally be helped, another problem occurs! Apparently this is only for NATIONAL travel, not international travel! Thankfully, the agent at the gate here is nice enough to print out my boarding pass anyway since the flight was scheduled to leave in about 25 minutes by that time. There is one more surprise though that happens… I am booked for a flight to Toronto then DC instead of directly there. At first I think my travel agent messed up but pressing the Air Canada agent, I find that they booked it for me for some reason. I don’t have time to argue since the flight that they booked me on leaves at the same time my original flight was supposed to leave. She just suggests that it got canceled and I got auto rebooked. One more snarfo though. Once I get to Toronto she says I’m booked on United back to the states and would have to pick up my boarding pass at the gate once I get there. Sounds like no big deal so I thank her and run off to the gate to board the now-boarding plane.

If only life was that simple though. After arriving in Toronto I follow the connection signs which leads me out on a bus to Terminal Two where United flys out of. I get right up to the security checkpoint for this terminal (about 3:30 now) but am not admitted since I don’t have my boarding pass yet. Instead I get sent back, right, and right to the ticketing desks to pick up the pass. Slightly annoyed at this point but still keeping my cool I walk the terminal to where United has their station. After a five minute line I speak to a United rep who says she sees no booking for me and that I have to “go behind this booth and speak to Air Canada to get a FOD (or something like that..) and then they can issue my ticket”. Now I’m starting to get real annoyed that I might miss my flight which is at 4:40 but I head to the Air Canada line. I speak to a rep there who looks confused and checks with someone else. A minute or so later she comes back and points me way down the hall saying I need to go there to get a new ticket. I ask if there’s anything she can do to speed the process since the flght leaves soon and she says “no. but there are two people working there and there is no line so it won’t take long at all”.

Boy was she wrong!!! I make my way over there and indeed there are two people working there, and the line isn’t very long (two people) but damn they were slow. The two people waiting there were nice enough to let me cut since now I was running out of time, but one of the reps was helping someone else, and the other was talking to someone on the phone planning travel for tomorrow! I try to interrupt him and alert him to the urgency several times but he just tells me I have to wait my turn. About *twenty minutes* pass before finally someone can help me (the other rep). She fills out a sheet I guess allowing United to charge them for the ticket and I take off running back to United. I get to their desk about 4:10pm, still what I’d consider enough time to make a 4:40 flight. This however was not what the rep there thought. She says they stop booking flights 40 minutes before the flight since it takes 30 minutes to pass through security and get to the plane. Furthermore she says the paper I waited about 20 minutes to get is useless! I now have to go back and get a new one to get on the 7pm flight. Really pissed off now that I can no longer keep my Friday night plans I run back to the Air Canada ticketing desk. After a few minutes of waiting I am able to speak to the same woman again who in turns just crosses off the old flight number and writes the new number on the paper. That’s ALL that needed to be done! She says that they have had lots of problems with United at this airport and United should have been able to change the flight easily without me having to come back here. Grrr.. Now I’m storming mad as I run back to the United counter having to wait about five minutes before speaking to the United reps who really screwed me over. While I’m waiting for them to get my ticket another person is there complaining too to the horrible service she has been given today by United. I get my ticket about 4:35, head through customs and off towards the gate. I get to the gate about 4:45, just a few minutes after the plan was supposed to take off. I speak to the person at the gate and she said it JUST left. I could have easily made it if all this crap didn’t happen. $#%#@$^

I finally get back to Dulles close to 9pm, 5 hours after I was supposed to arrive and too late to make the dc2600 meet for July. I’m heading back to Montreal Tuesday. I sure hope this doesn’t happen again.

Happy 4th of July and damn you Canada!!