The airport tried to keep me. I went downstairs at 6:00 am to check-in for the 9:00 am Mexicana flight. The agent is looking and looking and asks, did you change your ticket? "yes." More looking. "Your flight to Dallas is tomorrow, go to the office." I wander over to the office only to be told "I have to charge you for the change." I'm all, you already charged me, here's the receipt. "Go see my boss. I will get in trouble if I do anything."
I wander over to the boss and explain. He looks at the ticket. "This is for Saturday." I'm all once again, "yes" and then explain that there was a mistake. We go back to the office and there is a whole bunch of accusations between agents. The agent wants to charge me $20, the boss says no. After a few minutes my flight to Dallas was set on Mexicana but the American Airlines segment from Dallas to LA showed as waitlisted. I was told to go to American to sort it out. Off I went.
The agent at American looks at my flight and says, "I have to charge you a change fee." I pull out my now well worn receipt and showed him that Mexicana already charged me. "Are you going to Dallas?" he asked. Dallas, then LA on AA, I sadly replied. He looks again. Bad news. Mexicana never changed the Dallas - LA segment and my flight left on Wednesday. At this point the AA agent realizes that Mexicana has pretty much screwed me over. He asks if I would like a non-stop to LA that leaves at 8:00 am. Of course I would! I get a ticket and walk back to Mexicana to check in only to realize that the first agent of the morning had my tourist Visa and now I had to cut the line. I made the supervisor walk over with me so I could bypass the now quite long line that was the entire reason for my early arrival in the first place.
The agent starts punching everything in and I look at my bag wondering if I'll ever see it again. As I contemplate this thought, the agent very carefully tags it for....Dallas. I look at him and say, "I'm going to LA." Another flurry of activity and finally Mexicana Airlines and the airport in general give in. I get to go home.
Amazingly, this entire sequence of events only took 45 minutes and I arrived at the gate a full hour before departure.
If there's a lesson to be learned here it's pay the extra money and book everything with an American carrier and skip the codeshare on Mexicana or Aeromexico. Or fly United. I return next month. I hope that I have better luck entering and exiting Mexico City.
I wander over to the boss and explain. He looks at the ticket. "This is for Saturday." I'm all once again, "yes" and then explain that there was a mistake. We go back to the office and there is a whole bunch of accusations between agents. The agent wants to charge me $20, the boss says no. After a few minutes my flight to Dallas was set on Mexicana but the American Airlines segment from Dallas to LA showed as waitlisted. I was told to go to American to sort it out. Off I went.
The agent at American looks at my flight and says, "I have to charge you a change fee." I pull out my now well worn receipt and showed him that Mexicana already charged me. "Are you going to Dallas?" he asked. Dallas, then LA on AA, I sadly replied. He looks again. Bad news. Mexicana never changed the Dallas - LA segment and my flight left on Wednesday. At this point the AA agent realizes that Mexicana has pretty much screwed me over. He asks if I would like a non-stop to LA that leaves at 8:00 am. Of course I would! I get a ticket and walk back to Mexicana to check in only to realize that the first agent of the morning had my tourist Visa and now I had to cut the line. I made the supervisor walk over with me so I could bypass the now quite long line that was the entire reason for my early arrival in the first place.
The agent starts punching everything in and I look at my bag wondering if I'll ever see it again. As I contemplate this thought, the agent very carefully tags it for....Dallas. I look at him and say, "I'm going to LA." Another flurry of activity and finally Mexicana Airlines and the airport in general give in. I get to go home.
Amazingly, this entire sequence of events only took 45 minutes and I arrived at the gate a full hour before departure.
If there's a lesson to be learned here it's pay the extra money and book everything with an American carrier and skip the codeshare on Mexicana or Aeromexico. Or fly United. I return next month. I hope that I have better luck entering and exiting Mexico City.
I assume you are home now, so welcome out of your airport bubble. If you are in town Friday it should be a Firkin Friday at KS!
ReplyDelete