The Trip Not Taken: Splitting Up The Family To London

On a recent trip to London, I made a mistake. The choice then became how we all get to London and the answer was: separately.

My Mistake: Positioning Flight

Award space is hard to come by and for this trip we needed five seats, not four in business class. I have remarked in recent weeks about whether or not my entire family has to or should fly in the same cabin but that’s for a future trip and this one was already booked. We found those four seats plus one for an absolute steal on Virgin Atlantic at 35,000 + $225/passenger from Boston to London.

However, getting to Boston would require a positioning flight. In the past, my habit has been to position us in the city the night before, just in case something came up. However, with Frankie (our two-year old) in the mix and a lot of luggage for a longer trip, the trek in and out of the city was more arduous than it normally would be. We also wanted to reduce our transit time with him as he is very different from his docile sister.

I had a choice between JetBlue at 2 pm giving us more than seven hours in Boston on the day of travel, or just under four hours. Boston to Pittsburgh is blocked at 1:45 and that seemed to be an overestimate based on recent examples of actual take-off and landings. I felt that nearly four hours in the airport was enough, and about the right amount of time to manage him before we were all too exhausted to think.

However, since our award redemption and positioning flight were separate bookings (there was no availability to add a comparable flight on Virgin’s 49% shareholder and partner, Delta) I’d need to reclaim the bags and recheck them.

As you might imagine, things did not go as planned. Our outbound from Pittsburgh began delaying early in the day. The delays grew nearly all day long with updates about every 30 minutes, though the delays were not egregious until we arrived at the airport and checked our luggage.

An hour delay already, we started shopping backup options while we sat at Pittsburgh International Airport. Virgin Atlantic made it clear that moving the flight, assuming there was availability, would result in $500 minimum ($100/passenger) plus additional miles and “taxes and fees.” The best the carrier could reasonably achieve for us was $2000 total in additional cash and another 122,500 miles plus the change fee. And that was from New York, requiring further adjustments.

Jumping to the Boston flight on Delta, which was tracking on-time and would be able to get us there with enough cushion to make it work, was 126,000 points more and $28. The non-stop on British Airways was $2900 for the five of us one-way booked the same day of travel in coach.

American Airlines could get us all there in business class using my eVIP upgrades the same night via Charlotte for $1500 but we were already too late to make the last flight to Charlotte, and we would still have to get our bags back from JetBlue to make it happen. We could also fly American the next day from Boston with all five of us clearing for a little less and that seemed to be the best plan and a solid backup. We decided to carry onward to Boston and stay the course.

We were excited about trying out JetBlue since I recently became a Mosaic member on a status challenge, and this was to be my first flight on a new aircraft type for me, the Airbus A220.

We boarded the plane and it would be a mad dash to make our flight but I should’ve had about 30 minutes to retrieve the luggage from Terminal C, and re-check it at nearby Terminal E. A tight timeline but not impossible.

The aircraft was buttoned up, ready to go, and then we sat on the tarmac and delayed a further hour at the gate because the air cart at Pittsburgh failed to work properly. The Boston flight scheduled to depart 90 minutes after our original departure time pushed calmly back from the gate next to us, an E-190. Apparently, our A220 couldn’t start the engines on its own and we sat there another 60 minutes before pushing back.

We made up some time in the air, but the goose was cooked halfway through the flight and it was a certainty we would miss our cut off time to recheck the luggage.

But then, an alternate plan was hatched.

Sophie’s [Kyle’s] Choice

We had a few problems to sort out by missing our departure flight. We had already done the research and knew how much it would cost us financially to fly the next day but there were additional annoyances. We would lose all of the miles we had already used on Virgin (totally fair on their part, they didn’t have time to re-sell the seats) and the “taxes and fees” (save for the actual taxes which would be refundable). On top of that we’d lose a night at the Park Hyatt London River Thames in our coveted suite.

Additionally, due to limited availability at the time, we would either settle for a low grade airport hotel which would make the stay in Boston absolutely miserable, or we would pay through the nose for a pair of last minute rooms plus transport into the city, and the hassle of claiming the bags, loading them into a car, out of the car at the hotel, and back into a car, then back to the airport the next day. It wouldn’t be much normally, but four checked bags plus five carry-ons and a stroller is a nightmare with two young kids.

Then it occurred to me that we didn’t all need to miss the flight. I would never send my wife and kids over the water last minute without me. We are a close family unit and that would be hard to do and even harder on my wife to manage. But with an extra family member adult in-tow, it was a rare proposition: my family could run to the gate, and I could run for the luggage. If I could somehow miraculously claim and re-check it would be easier for me to go through security alone than everyone together. Additionally, if I couldn’t make it, my wife would still have the extra help, and they could make their flight while I stayed back with the luggage and came the next day.

We were debating until landing, but at that point, we weren’t even sure they could get on the plane, let alone me with the luggage and back through security.

In the end, we tried for it anyway.

The C gates at Boston Logan International Airport and the E gates are approximately 37 miles apart, or so I am told. They ran, and I mean ran, the whole way, as did I to baggage claim. Our bags came off second (all in a row, one after the other) and I called to see about their progress. They were at the gate, and the flight had already closed, though not the door. They had gotten a supervisor to re-open and allow them onboard – nice work, Virgin – but sadly, it would be impossible for me to make it.

They were headed to London, I was headed to an airport Hampton Inn. There will be no review on that property. Ever.

All Is Well That Ends Well

From baggage claim, I booked my hotel, and by the time I hit the taxi lane, I had booked my flight for the next night from Boston on a non-stop to ensure there was no chance I’d misconnect and lose the very things I had stayed behind to collect. I could have jumped in the back of a British Airways daytime flight but it was just shy of $700 plus the hotels and the taxis, for coach. I would also have to pay for an extra bag even as a oneworld Emerald because I was traveling with four and not three pieces.

In the end, I opted for the American Airlines flight the next night and missed the first day of our trip but was able to join them shortly there after, all of our luggage by my side.

I missed out on Virgin Atlantic’s new closed-door business class on the A330-NEO. Other than that, I was able to use my eVIP to upgrade a $284 basic economy one-way on American to business class with less than 24 hours to departure. My family still got to sample the product (they loved it), got settled into London, and I got a lobster roll in Boston. A win considering the conditions.

Conclusion

This was my mistake. Flight delays happen and JetBlue’s two and a half hour delay was not significant, it happens on every carrier. I shouldn’t have cut it that close, and in the end, it worked out just fine. In the future, I will either position a day earlier as I had in the past or much earlier in the day. I was happy my family carried on, grateful for the help from our family member traveling with us, and proud that my family was able to run through the endless Boston Logan in a Home Alone-style mad dash and get on the plane.

Have you had an experience like this?