Hey folks, happy to report that I am finally back in Abu Dhabi in my apartment. yay!
Unfortunately the process of getting back was less than pleasant.
My arrival time was for Friday at 8:20 pm but I didn't get back until 8:30 am on Saturday; had to spend over 12 hours sitting around in the airport.
It all started when I got to the check-in window promptly 2.5 hours before my set departure time.
I knew I would have to pay for my extra bag plus the extra weight, I was prepared to pay what I knew was no more than one hundred and sixty bucks. Imagine my surprise when the agent told me that I would need to pay almost five hundred dollars for my extra 20 kilos.
The thing is that I was traveling on Etihad airlines back to AD. Etihad charges 20 Euros per kilo. Ridiculous.
My ticket was purchased through American Airlines so I tried explaining to her that American Airlines bag policy should apply. She wasn't having it. After more than twenty minutes of her making phone calls and us going back and forth she directed me to the payment window.
I was told to wait on line and waited in what I thought was the line to pay excess baggage fees for over thirty minutes only to be told once I got to the window that I was on the wrong line.
It was now boarding time and I still hadn't checked in or gone through security.
Panic was beginning to set in.
I got to the correct line but there was nothing to be done there either. I did not have five hundred bucks to shell out for my bag. The agent suggested that I call my friends to have them pay...ummm no ma'am.
She made a few calls, talked to a bunch of people in French and kept asking me to find the money from somewhere.
Time was going by quickly with no solution in sight. I watched in horror as the ticket agents began closing up, signaling that my chances of getting on that flight were as slim as my chances of finding five hundred bucks in my pocket.
At this point I was a crying frustrated mess. Not only were they telling me I had to find money to pay for my bag but now I would have to find money to get myself on another flight.
The lady finally made a phone call to her manager who told her that since it was an AA flight they could do nothing to help me. She sent me on my way to go figure it out with AA.
To be honest I didn't expect much help from AA but I kept praying that God would work things out.
I was still skeptical. Things just looked so dismal at this point.
I got to the AA window and had the most patient agent help me. He made so many phone calls and did it with a smile.
Surprise surprise, Etihad had been wrong. Turns out all I had to pay was one hundred and twenty bucks for my luggage because AA baggage policy was in effect.
He got me on the next flight out and even had his manager waive the fee to change my ticket.
God is super amazing!
I had to wait until 10:30 for my flight which kinda sucked but at least I was going home.
The time came for boarding and it was pretty smooth sailing or rather flying.
I was finally on the plane and all was good but this wouldn't be a real fun story without more drama.
Exhausted but happy I fell asleep almost immediately. The plane was chilly so I wrapped myself in one of the very snug looking blankets provided. I woke just in time for dinner.
Wanting something different, I got the lamb.
Shortly after eating I reclined my chair and was about to go back to sleep when my arms and hands began to itch.
Great, I was having an allergic reaction to the bloody lamb was my first thought. Then my back began to itch, the allergy was spreading. The itching intensified and I couldn't go back to sleep. I kept praying that it wouldn't turn into anything worse.
It wasn't until I got home and really took a look at the swellings that dotted my arms that I realized that the itching wasn't hives but bedbug bites. WTH???
They must have been in the blanket. Guess who is never going to use an airline blanket again.
Oh and when I got to the airport I couldn't find one of my bags, had to wait over twenty minutes to track it down.
LOL.
What a day.
The important thing though is that I am home safe and mostly sound.
The itching is no joke!