Christmas was five days ago? How did that happen? We had a good Christmas but we thought it might not happen. We were pretty sure we were facing a serious case of deja vu. Ten years ago we flew to Prince George on the 24th, and we sat in the airport for 12 hours because it started to snow heavily on the 23rd. Well…we booked for the 24th again…and the snow started to dump down on the 23rd.
We got up stupidly early and headed to the airport in fear that the Park and Fly would close due to snow (apparently they did, but after we got the truck put to bed). We headed for South Terminal, glad that we had chosen to fly out on Pacific Coastal and thereby avoid the chaos in the Main Terminal where flights had been delayed and cancelled over the past week and the carnage was still evident.
South Terminal was quiet. Only a few people were there ahead of us. The gates were still closed. The ticket counters dark. Even the coffee shop was still closed. We sat and waited. Our flight was to leave at 8:20 am. We arrived at 6:30 am. At 7:30 am the Pacific Coastal ticket counter opened and a woman reported that all flights were delayed indefinitely. Well, that’s more upbeat than simply “cancelled”. Meanwhile, at the Main Terminal, Air Canada announced that it had cancelled ALL regional flights. Period. End of story. Go home or see if you can find a bus to where you want to go…
So, we checked in and discovered that there was no guarantee our luggage would be taken along with us…if we got off the ground. While the ticket said we were each allowed 50 lbs, the company would only guarantee 25 lbs per person…so pick a bag between the two of you please. Oh great…my bag has all the presents, Kirk’s has all his clothes and our boots. Well, Kirk could always borrow clothes from my brother so my bag was to fly….if we flew…
We parked ourselves in the now open coffee shop and ordered breakfast. Called family to let them know we might not make it. Warned that luggage might not arrive. We bought a deck of cards and began our wait. Amazingly, we were called through security at around 10 am and loaded on the plane at around 10:20 am. A long taxi, since only one runway was open, and we were off the ground! We arrived two hours late, no too bad, all things considered, and all our luggage came along.
We had a great Christmas, gifts were kept under control this year, charitable donations took centre stage. Really…who needs more “Stuff”? Not us.
On our trip home, we arrived at the airport in Cranbrook, checked in (last apparently) and discovered the flight was running about 15 minutes behind. Both of us had luggage flagged as “Pullable” and both were pulled. The security woman had a great sense of humour and pointed out that we would not have any laundry to do when we arrived home. Glass half full! Indeed, although we arrived about an hour late in Vancouver, our luggage took another day. But when it arrived, Pacific Coastal put it on a courier and it was delivered to our doorstep. Nice! On the news….they showed Main Terminal and the piles of late luggeage…good luck finding your black bag in a sea of black bags…what a nightmare.
Pacific Coastal definitely gets our business in winter over Air Canada from now on and wherever possible.