A Texan in Tibet - More American Airlines Saga - The Fustercluck Continues

"Airplane travel is nature’s way of making you look like your passport photo."
- Al Gore

Just when I thought it was all sorted out. American Airlines screwed me again. I wasn't even surprised this time. When I was finally able to reach a real person on the phone, their excuse was that the seats I booked were no longer available, which was why they seemingly arbitrarily booked me on flights completely incompatible with my itinerary...both outbound and return. The agent offered no reason and showed even less interest. It seemed to take all I had just to keep her on the line. This might be difficult for some to believe, but I am extremely polite and pleasant without being condescending when I am dealing with customer service people. It's is not lost on me that they they probably hate their job as much as I hate having to deal with them. Also not in the lost-and-found bin is the knowledge that they could probably delete my entire trip with a single keystroke.

When I asked where the seats I had booked went...crickets. When I asked why at that instant I could see the exact same seats on the exact same flights available to book on miles or for cash...crickets. I politely ended the call and re-booked my exact same itinerary. I have a pile of points, that allowed me to book the additional flight and then delete the other, although I had to jump through some hoops. The next day, I received an email that my original miles had been refunded into my account and that the taxes I paid were credited to my card. I logged in to verify and the miles were indeed replenished, and then saw the dreaded urgent message notice. Funny how it's urgent enough to flash a tint, easily-missed icon on the screen, but not urgent enough to proactively reach out to me. But I digress. The message stated that the flight I booked the day before had been changed yet again, and with arrival times into Doha that not only prevented me from meeting my in-country fixer with sufficient time to process my Tibet entry permit, but also arrived too late for me to make the connection to Kathmandu that THEY booked for me. At this point, I should have reached out to Elon Musk because American Airlines just discovered a way to launch a human into low earth orbit with no carbon footprint.

[editor's note]
I'm getting myself so flustered that I'm talking to my screen and typing with such velocity that I'm about to punch holes through my keyboard.

With seemingly no recourse and definitely no concern from American Airlines, I decided to start over and yet again, deleted my itinerary and refunded my miles. It was clear to me that the only way I was going to make this happen was to get creative. I used miles to book a round trip ticket from DFW to Doha with an arrival a full day earlier. Then I booked and paid out of pocket for a round trip ticket from Doha to Kathmandu on Qatar Airlines. Knowing that the dildo of passenger mistreatment from American Airlines rarely arrives lubed, I baked in plenty of time on both ends to accommodate any further screwing they might subject me to.

The good news is I will have a minimum of two days in Kathmandu to decompress, acclimatize, adjust to the 10+ hour ahead time zone, and see some sights. It also gives my fixer extra time to secure my Tibet entry permit. The bad news is that I will have to retrieve my bags at each stop and carry them from each airlines' bag claim area to the others' bag check-in. Again, I baked in plenty of time for this and my frequent flyer status at American Airlines is recognized by Qatar Air.

I know that in the long run, all of this will have been worth the hassle, drama, and frustration. I have dreamed of embarking on this adventure for six years. No sense on giving up on it now.

[second editor's note]
While we can all relate to the AI-generated image at the top this article that resembles Donald J Trump Jr. and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (thanks ChatGPT), I never take out my travel frustration on gate or ticket agents. If they had the power to control the universe and prevent the passenger angst that weather, maintenance, and their employer's ineptitude cause, they certainly wouldn't be there talking to me. More importantly, I am fully aware that the success or failure of my travel is at their fingertips. They probably deserve far more pay than they make and I couldn't do their job for anything!