One of the founders of the City of Portland, Ore., was Capt. George Flanders, whose memory is honored by Flanders Street.
Capt. Flanders was the great grandfather of my wife Sylvia, known to my radio audience as: “The B.D.” (for Berkeley Democrat).
All of her life she has hoped to sail “Round the Horn,” as her great grandfather did in the 19th century on his way to Oregon.
So, early this year, I began saving the more than $8,000 as a Christmas and 54th wedding anniversary present to my beloved wife.
Our trip was arranged by the Luxury Cruise Center of the Cruise Division of American Express.
The absolutely unbelievable result of this reservation is, we realize, part of what is currently reported as a long series of airline delays. But this one cost us the entire trip – for which so many listeners to my radio show wished us the warmest “bon voyage.”
By way of essential explanation to them and warning to the general public, this is what happened to us.
- Luxury Cruise Center made reservations and charged us in advance – which I paid – to fly from Dulles to JFK via Delta Airlines on Dec. 21 to connect, nearly two hours later with LanChile the Chilean Airline for flight to Santiago. With busing to Valparaiso, we were scheduled to board the cruise ship “Infinity” to sail Round the Horn to Buenos Aires via the Falkland Islands.
- Our Delta Flight scheduled to leave Dulles at 6:50 p.m. did not leave until 10 p.m. – not because of blizzard, hurricane but, explained Delta, in writing to me, because of “military action.”
- I can understand and agree to the necessity of military action. What I surely presumed was, after Delta notified LanChile at JFK about our delay, that they, too, would delay flight for the same reason. That would enable us to connect with LanChile to make the 14-hour flight to Chile, and arrive in time for the cruise ship departure.
- When we arrived at JFK at 11 p.m., we went to the LanChile counter – which we found closed. We were unable to reach LanChile by telephone that night – or all of the next day, Saturday, Dec. 22.
- We waited at this LanChile counter from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturday – with no representative available either in person or by phone.
- When they finally arrived, we learned at 9 p.m. that we had been put on “standby” – as had a number of others who had opted to use this airline. And LanChile could not guarantee that if we arrived in Puerto Monte, the first port of call, that we could board the ship.
- Our four suitcases had been checked by Delta at Dulles to JFK and then to Santiago. At the present time, we have no idea what this LanChile Airline did with our four suitcases, whose contents constitute a loss as lamentable as the loss of this entire birthday anniversary cruise – through what appears to me to be the inexcusable negligence of this Chilean airline and those who booked us with them.
Part of the $8,371.90 I paid for this flight and cruise was $684 in insurance – through Access America, whom I have notified.
I presume that this entire amount will be returned to us, plus all of the added expense we incurred in hotels and a rental car to bring us home from New York.
That, of course, does not include the two days of intense mental anguish we experienced at the hands of this incredible airline LanChile, and the enormous disappointment of missing the entire cruise.
I have gone over this column and commentary word-for-word with my attorney, a superb lawyer who may well be the only barrister in U.S. history to win two libel suits in the same day – both on my behalf.
I hope this report will help alleviate the absolute misery of others across this beloved country of ours who have similarly suffered the mental anguish of long-planned vacations cancelled or enormously delayed.
