June 13th came and it was time to say goodbye to Cleveland. I want to thank my supportive colleagues at my previous school for being rocks - solid foundations. So many lovely people that I will treasure for rest of my life.
I flew American Airlines from CLE to ORD and then to LHR. My tickets were purchased via Kayak.com. I love to use Kayak to search for flights (Iberia was the carrier), but I do not think I will use them again as travel agency. The airlines have started a new approach to discount travel agencies. They only allow many changes through the travel agencies and the airlines, although they could help you, wont help you as they did not make as much money with you as those who booked directly through them. This makes changes very difficult to maneuver.
My initial flight, booked on March 8th, CLE -> ORD -> LHR was with Iberia:
On April 14th, the leg from ORD -> LHR was canceled (without being rebooked) by Iberia. So, I had to get on the phone with Kayak. They did not receive notice this happened so it took a lot of calls on their end to find out I needed to be re-booked. Finally, on April 14TH, I was rebooked:
Then, four days later, Iberia cancelled that ORD -> LHR flight and rebooked me on a flight that was two and a half hours earlier. The problem? I had to drop my cat off with the pet shipper during the layover (which was now just over an hour).
So, I had to get back on the phone with Kayak. This time the agent didn't believe that the flight was changed, so I had to call again and speak to another agent. The new agent finally put in the change I waned to take my CLE ->ORD LEG earlier. This took about 5-6 hours on the phone.
While all this was going on, I was trying to get my cat (1 of 2 - the other cat was being transported by a friend to ORD) booked with me on the flight from CLE to ORD so the pet shipper could get them from ORD to LHR. You cannot take cats onboard and land in England. This required me to call American Airlines via phone. NIGHTMARE. Each call required a four hour or more queue. Most of the American Airlines folks were great talking to and working with. Only one was a nightmare. Finally, with a month to go, I was all set to get myself to LHR.
With COVID flying was very interesting. I wore a mask for over 12 hours (Note: bring many masks with you...you don't want to wear the same one all that time). The American Airlines crew at both airports (CLE, ORD) were amazing. Very friendly.
The trip from ORD to LHR was...interesting. American Airlines probably has the worst food on board for an international flight (which still beats US domestic - my favorite still has to be Qantas from LAX to Auckland). Due to COVID and the restrictions to travel to the UK, the flight was basically empty. I had an entire row (8 seats) basically to myself. This was a blessing as I was already very anxious.
I had heard tons of horror stories about Heathrow (LHR). On the flight I read about 5-7 hour queues for passport control. We got there, and because of my work visa, I was delegated to a queue with families with children as they cannot go through the egates for passports. I had to get my permit stamped. For at least an hour, there was only one person working the very long line. Around 9 o'clock an influx of officers came in and got the queue moving. The agents were quite kind and handed out this space-age can of water with a lock on it. I had to ask for help! After passport control, things became quite easy. I got my taxi to Luton and was able to check-in to my flat and settle in.
I did send 8 boxes of belongings with xsbaggage (who was amazing and I cannot recommend them enough). They were much easier and cheaper to deal with than the US Postal Service and, if I could do it again, I would just send all of my belongings that way.
Again, if you are thinking about an international move, hit me up and I will be glad to help if you need any questions answered. I can, at least, steer you to some resources I have found.
留言