I am currently sitting at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, Panama. Sitting in an airport would not usually be blog worthy but today is the exception. If you recall, I booked my return home on Avianca so that I could review their regional business class. Well, that was not to be.
I arrived at the 45 minutes before my scheduled departure. In my estimate, this should have been more than enough time to check in for my flight. There was a bit of panic and anger when I saw this.
The check in was closed and there was not an agent in sight. I started formulating a backup plan and a backup to the backup. The first thing that I tried to do was check in for the flight online. I received the following message.
Well, that was not what I expected. I went to the American Airlines counter to ask about my options. They told me to go to the Avianca counter (just left there) or go to the Avianca office. Whoooo! I hustled just to the left of the American Airlines counter and made a right down the employee hallway. The employees’ security checkpoint was to the left and the Avianca office was to the right.
Damn. Now, I had a decision to make: 1) stay in Panama another day or 2) find another flight home. I ended up booking flights on United Airlines (something that I wanted to avoid on this trip). With all things considered, at least I will be home tonight.
