Papa and I got up before 4 a.m. on Tuesday and got to the airport for our 6:55 a.m. flight. We were tipped off that the day may not go as planned after everyone boarded the plane. The pilot came on the intercom and said there would be a delay while mechanics added oil to the engine after draining it the night before! We took off a half hour late, then arrived in Chicago without further incident. When we got to Chicago, American Airlines representatives informed all passengers that their computer system was down worldwide, so all flights were delayed. I found flights on Iberia that would have gotten us to our destination earlier, but we opted to stay with American when they announced that our flight to Duesseldorf would depart on time.
We arrived in Duesseldorf, Germany at 7 a.m. on Wednesday and flew to Palma de Mallorca a couple of hours later. Once in Mallorca, we went to our gate and waited and waited while departure time came and went. Air Berlin cancelled our flight to Porto, and said all passengers could wait for the flight the next day, but they would not provide overnight accommodations nor meals. I ran to the Air Berlin desk and was successful in rebooking on Vueling Airlines, first a flight to Barcelona, then a flight to Lisbon. I cancelled our car reservation in Porto, Portugal and reserved a car in Lisbon. We arrived in Lisbon at 9 p.m., 6 hours later than our original reservations would have gotten us to Porto. We rented a car and were on the road north by 9:30 p.m. We arrived at our hotel at 2 a.m.! We were greeted at Pousada de Santa Marinha in Guimaraes, Portugal, by Miguel, with a smile. So happy to have arrived safely!
We arrived in Duesseldorf, Germany at 7 a.m. on Wednesday and flew to Palma de Mallorca a couple of hours later. Once in Mallorca, we went to our gate and waited and waited while departure time came and went. Air Berlin cancelled our flight to Porto, and said all passengers could wait for the flight the next day, but they would not provide overnight accommodations nor meals. I ran to the Air Berlin desk and was successful in rebooking on Vueling Airlines, first a flight to Barcelona, then a flight to Lisbon. I cancelled our car reservation in Porto, Portugal and reserved a car in Lisbon. We arrived in Lisbon at 9 p.m., 6 hours later than our original reservations would have gotten us to Porto. We rented a car and were on the road north by 9:30 p.m. We arrived at our hotel at 2 a.m.! We were greeted at Pousada de Santa Marinha in Guimaraes, Portugal, by Miguel, with a smile. So happy to have arrived safely!
