Our vacation travel started off the same as always – we were picked up by a shuttle service and dropped off at LAX with time to spare. We flew Delta with an upgraded coach seating arrangement that gave us extra legroom. Our trip from LA to Barcelona was split into two – ideally this would have been a stop in NY or some other city that shortened the subsequent flight into Barcelona, but the travel gods weren’t with us, and instead our stop was directly north of us in Seattle.
Unfortunately flying into Seattle came with a weather delay. Upon landing at Sea-Tac (despite the pilot telling us we were landing ahead of schedule), we were forced to wait in line as other planes were queued up ahead of us due to inclement weather from earlier. A flight attendant made the announcement that a bunch of passengers had a connecting flight to Barcelona, and to let us off the plane first. However, when we finally got to the terminal, the first class passengers in between us and the door all stood up like clockwork and we ended up waiting a solid 5-10 minutes before we were let off the plan. On top of that, to get to our next terminal, we had to catch a train from terminal B to terminal S. We were running between the terminal and train on both sides. We arrived at our gate only to see the door shut, despite the plane sitting there. The Sea-Tac tower wouldn’t let us get on the plane.
The Delta employees at the gate told us we had to go back to terminal B and talk to Delta customer service to book another flight. Of course we hauled ass over to terminal B to get something cooridinated, as the next flight to Barcelona was in two days, and that would mean we’d miss our cruise. While we were in this long customer service line, we noticed there was a QR code that allowed us to bypass the line and reserve a spot in advance. We were able to get to a representative while others from our group were still in line, and our rep was able to hook us up with a flight first thing in the am that would take us to JFK, and then a short layover before the flight to Barcelona.
We were given a voucher for a meal at the airport and a night at a “nearby” hotel lol. When we called the hotel, they told us that they don’t offer a shuttle service, and that we’d have to catch a train from Sea-Tac to a station near the hotel. We then had to walk with our luggage, like some hobos, to the Holiday Inn that we were booked at. And of course, when we checked in, we were told that we had one king size bed and a couch. For 4 people. Yes, the travel was off to a great start.
Fortunately, we were able to get back to the airport without issue, and made the flight into JFK, and subsequently Barcelona. Hallelujah!
Lesson learned? Avoid Sea-Tac (and maybe opt for a direct flight next time)!
