Lesson learned

There is common cliché “Do not put all your eggs in the same basket”. At the end of this blog I will modify this cliché.

I have been travelling for more than fifty years and if had kept a record of the miles I could claim at least a million miles, and if I had kept track of the airlines, it would be more than a few dozen.

Last month I booked a return ticket on Etihad Airlines to travel to Karachi from Atlanta, Georgia. Without any extra charges the airline offered me a two night stay in Abu Dhabi with free stay in the pre-selected hotel in Abu Dhabi on either travelling to Karachi or for the return journey. It was a good offer, so I opted on the return journey.

My return flight from Karachi to Abu Dhabi left Karachi on December 24 at 9:25 pm. As my luggage was over-weight by about 2 Kilo, the booking agent asked me to adjust the excess luggage, so I had to get a big box and make another luggage. I was in a hurry to get the baggage checked-in, so I just picked up some heavier stuff from the suitcase and stuffed it in the box. My carry-on bag was also overweight, so I moved some stuff from this bag to the box. As a courtesy the agent also allowed my carry-on bag to be checked in without any extra charge. I had some stuff that I will need for the stop-over stay and my medication in the carry-on bag. I reached Abu Dhabi after about two-hour flight. The local time was 10:25 pm due to 1 hour time difference. Being a US citizen, visa was on arrival without any delay. I waited for about an hour for my luggage, but I could not find any of my luggage. So, I went to the customer service to fill a form for lost luggage, I was told that my luggage would be loaded on the next flight and I will get an email when it is available at the airport. I was not alone whose luggage did not come in this flight. I expected a shuttle service for this stop-over stay, but I was told by the customer service that I must get a taxi for this on my own expenses. After getting local currency and getting a taxi I reached the hotel around 1:30 am. I had no clothes for the night or under-garments to use during the stay after shower.

I learned from this flight that do not use the free service offered by the agent when you are getting your checked luggage to get your carry-on bag also “checked-in”, as the airline might just off load your luggage without a valid reason, otherwise you may also have such a unique nightmare. I was told by some passengers who also had the same experience that Etihad uses a smaller plane for shorter distance and off load some luggage without any prior notice or “disclaimer saying that some passenger may not get their luggage on arrival”.

So, the modified cliché is “Do not check-in all your luggage, especially your hand carry as you may have a nightmare at a stop over or break journey”.