... in response to Incredible flight report with Delta/ LOT, posted by CFonde on Mar 13, 2002Having just returned from St. Petersburg this morning for a 9-day journey, the following trip transcript could resemble something more from the movie "The Out of Towner's". This report could probably be best utilized by those less-than-seasoned foreign travelers, like I am. This installment only entails the details of trouble one might & can easily expect with airline delays, etc.
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--- Friday 8/17---
I parked my car at the Sarasota/ Bradenton Int'l. Airport, and proceeded to lug 2 large suitcases & a carry-on duffel bag. I weighed each piece on my bathroom scale, and was astonished to find that I was attempting to lug 80 pounds total of luggage with me to St. Petersburg, Russia. I was wearing a very dark 2-piece suit, and carrying these pieces several hundred yards to the terminal in almost 90 degree Florida heat & humidity. By the time I got to the check-in desk, I was sweating bullets!
To my amazement, a lady I know (Colleen) from previous employment, is now employed as a ticket counter agent, and gleefully motions me to her counter. She informs me that she believes my checked baggage can be transferred from Delta Airlines to LOT Polish at JFK for my trip to St. Petersburg. Having just realized what a pain it was dragging these 2 anvils around with me, I decide to let her check my baggage all the way through, even though I AM a bit leery.
Inside my luggage, I have 3 bottles of wine, peanut butter, jam, coffee, teddy bears for 3 ladies, 2 hard cover pictorial books about America, and enough personal toiletries to open a drug store.
The flight from Sarasota, Florida to Atlanta was uneventful, but it took me almost an hour to cool off after my late morning "exercise".
Upon arrival in Atlanta, I proceed to the gate where my flight to JFK has a larger than usual crowd standing around the gate ticket counter. Turns out, the flight is running about 15 minutes late, and they are re-checking boarding passes for possible seat re-assignment. After finally getting boarded, and now being over 30 minutes late, the Captain informs us that a crew is affecting brake repairs & tire changes, and we will not depart for still another 45 minutes. Bottom line here is, we get to JFK about 6:00pm instead of the originally scheduled 4:00pm, and I have a 6:40pm flight on LOT Polish Airlines to Warsaw to catch.
Not having been to JFK in almost 35 years, I remember absolutely nothing about the layout, but I do know that I need to go from concourse 2 & 3 to concourse 8. I'm amazed at how many employees at JFK don't know where or how to get from one concourse to the next, but finally someone points to what looks like a city bus stop, and tells me it's "over there". I board the free shuttle bus en-route to other concourses, when I realize it's 6:20, and we're not past concourse 5 yet! I decided to jump off the bus & take a taxi from concourse 5 to concourse 8, and I gladly hand the driver $15.00 for a $5.00 fare.
By now, it's 6:35pm, and I'm not feeling too good about catching this flight, especially when I see that the front counter of LOT Polish is now deserted. I'm literally running through the concourse, and explaining to the X-ray security officers that I'm about to miss my flight. I arrive at the gate at exactly 6:40pm, only to be told that I am now considered a "no-show", and my seat has been given up. I inquired if there were absolutely no seats available, to which they coldly stated that there weren't.
Feeling dejected, I decided to utilize my cell phone & make a call to Delta to see if they have any provisions in such a case. Unfortunately, being the cheap ba$tard that I am, I booked two totally separate tickets with each airline, thus not legally able to hold Delta liable for what I considered their screw-up. Each airline expected me to deal with the other when I explained the situation to each of their phone representatives. Deciding I'm not getting any satisfaction on the phone, I get back on the concourse shuttle bus, and go back to concourses 2 & 3 so I can haggle this out with Delta face-to-face. The first agent I talk to has a somewhat careless attitude, and picks up the courtesy phone & dials LOT Polish Airlines. When they answer the phone, the agent hands it to me. After explaining the situation again, the LOT representative tells me that it's up to Delta to help me straighten-up the mess. I proceeded back to the desk with 2 agents, and there's a lady there arguing her point in the same situation as mine. I decided to join-in the now 3-way conversation with the lady & other agent. The agent then leaves his desk to locate a supervisor. When the agent returned with a supervisor, he just looked in our direction & shrugged his shoulders. This lady was on the same flight I came in on from Atlanta, and she missed her connecting flight to Helsinki on Finnair Airlines. She was supposed be part of a tour to Moscow. I have a conversation with this lady, and we are discussing possible accountability that we might be able to hold Delta Airlines to. Her name is "Nelly", and she calls her travel agent, and tells me that she thinks that Delta will reimburse her expenses, etc. After attempting to plead my final case with these 2 Delta agents, Nelly returns & tells me that she went ahead & booked a room at the Ramada Crown Plaza for $140.00/night. Realizing this is New York, and that's not an overly-exorbitant rate, I decided to book a room too, and will continue my fight on the phone.
Officially being a "no-show" with LOT Polish Airlines, I decided to give them another call to see what the situation now calls for. "Ela" with LOT Polish has a beautiful Polish accent, and is seemingly very patient of my situation. I'm in love with her voice already! She tells me that my entire ticket itinerary is now no good, since I am considered a "no-show".
(NOTE: I have been writing to 2 ladies in St. Petersburg, who are aware of each other, and both know I am expected to arrive on Saturday. Also, another lady has been setting the stage for my arrival by planning for my airport transfer, apartment accommodations, etc., and I am determined NOT to disappoint them.)
Ela now informs me that the only option is to make another reservation and pay another full fare. She tells me that the LOT flight to Warsaw for the following night (Saturday @ 10:20pm) is fully booked, but there are available seats on the Sunday night flight. Ela quotes me a fare of about $880. Since it is now close to 9:00pm, and LOT will close for the evening, she tells me that I should wait & book the flight tomorrow morning. I agree to wait, as I would like to haggle again with LOT face-to-face in the morning. I still don't know where my luggage is, at this point.
In the meantime, I get checked-into the hotel, and start to look for someplace to grab a bite. The hotel restaurant looks like a decent choice, so I decide to have the soup & salad bar. While dining on a bowl of lentil soup, I scoop out a big piece of hard lexan plastic from my soup. I bring this big plastic object to the waiters' attention, to which he apologizes profusely and states that he will waive the check. Hey, Hey… my first break of the day!! He invites me to have the hot buffet instead if I'd rather. The restaurant manager also offers me a drink, shakes my hand, and apologizes profusely. I thought, gee maybe Delta could take a few lessons here!
After dinner, it's back up to the room, and I'm on the phone again with Delta. This time, I reach a highly sympathetic C.S. rep. in Dallas, and I'm on the phone with her until after 1:00am on Saturday morning. She's been going back & forth between her supervisors, and I'm beginning to feel as if I'm finally getting somewhere. In the meantime, I'd like to know where my luggage is, as I stupidly forgot to pack extra underwear, socks, even my electric shaver, which is all packed & inside my hard luggage. After spending over an hour with her on my cell phone from my hotel room, she tells me that my situation has been "signed off" and I need to contact a Delta Airlines "coordinator" in the morning. Delta luggage control has already closed for the evening, so I must contact them in the morning as well.
Deciding there's nothing more I can do tonight, I decide to take a hot shower & hit the rack.
---- Saturday 8/18, Ramada Crown Plaza Hotel, near JFK, N.Y. ------
I'm up & on my cell phone to LOT Polish Airlines again at 9:00am. Check-out for the Ramada is at 11:00, so I've got a couple more hours before I need to vacate the room. LOT Polish must only have 1 phone representative on Saturday mornings, as I'm on hold for about 20 minutes. I want to know what time their ticket counter opens, so I might plead my case face-to-face. The phone rep I'm now speaking to, now tells me the fare of $880 quoted last night, is now over $1200. At this point, all I want is to have confirmed reservations for St. Petersburg on Sunday night's flight at the absolute latest. There's still the fully booked flight leaving tonight at 10:20pm, that I might possibly be able to standby on, if I can only speak to someone face-to-face. The phone rep tells me she believes the ticket counter opens at 12:00 noon. This is good I thought, as I will now get to speak to someone face-to-face.
As it stands, I'm stranded in New York City, with no flight scheduled to get me to St. Petersburg, and only my Delta return flight to Florida scheduled, but for a week later.
I get back on the phone with Delta, and I'm back & forth with this so-called "coordinator". After about another hour, I learn that my luggage at least according to Delta, was transferred to LOT Polish the previous evening, but since I didn't board the plane, neither did my luggage, and it was in some sort of a lock-up. The coordinator offers to put me on Air France to Paris, but can't negotiate with the airline that she said could've/would've taken me from Paris to St. Petersburg. She states the price alone from Paris to St. Petersburg was $1,000-something dollars (I can't remember). She also says she can fly me to Chicago, where LOT Polish has a flight to Warsaw. Then on Monday, they have a flight from Warsaw to St. Petersburg. That doesn't really help me for the time being. The coordinator then politely but firmly explains to me that there's really nothing more that Delta can do. She states that I will receive an apology letter, and a lousy $75.00 voucher good for future Delta Airlines travel. At this point, I'm weary of griping my case to seemingly deaf ears. I decide to check-out of the hotel, and proceed to concourse 8 to await LOT Polish at noon.
--- Sat. 8/18, JFK Airport ---
Arriving a bit after 11:00, I decide to grab a danish & juice, and wait for LOT to open. At 12:00 noon, there's still no sign of life. One of the workers explained to me that sense LOT only had 1 scheduled flight for 10:20pm that evening, that they wouldn't even open until 2:00pm. Seeing that concourse 8 is kind of slow & boring, I decide to take the free shuttle bus to concourse 2 & 3, where Delta Airlines is. After several hours of phone haggling, and a couple counter reps later, I decided that there's not much else Delta is going to do for me,…so I call LOT Polish, and book the reservation to fly from JFK on Sunday 8/19. This would put me 2 days behind, but at this point, I'm determined to get there, even if I have to spend an additional $1200.00 to do it! The LOT agent tells me that I can book the reservation, but pay at the counter upon arrival. With only a little thought, I decided to book the reservation, so at least come hell or high water, I was flying out on Sunday night.
About this time, I hear a voice calling my name,…it's "Nelly", who's been booked on that evenings 5:00pm flight to Helsinki on Finnair. Suddenly, I'm thinking, gee, if I could just get to Helsinki, I could practically swim to St. Petersburg. I'm not exactly sure how she explained the resolution of her situation, but she sounded like Delta was responsible for getting her on Finnair. Just for laughs, I decided to approach the Finnair counter, and inquire if they had any sooner flights to St. Petersburg, and possibly cheaper than LOT might have. The reservation agent informed me that they DID have seats available, and a connecting flight the following day (Sunday) to St. Petersburg. This would've been fine with me, but their fare was much higher than LOT's. "Helga", I think her name was informed me that if I could get Delta to issue a "FIM" (flight interruption manifest), that they would accept my LOT ticket on their flight. She explained something to me about some kind of 2 hour FAA rule that she thought Delta should own-up responsibility for. She said that Finnair would do this in this case, but I'm not entirely sure if she fully understood the situation. Who knows, maybe I didn't.
However, now armed with this "FIM" idea, I headed back to the Delta area, and picked up a courtesy phone. I spoke with another agent again, and he stated to me what Delta has been sticking to all along. These were 2 separate contracts, and they wouldn't be responsible for my missed connection. He spoke with his supervisor, and confirmed there was nothing he could do. Since I was stranded in New York, and had nowhere to go (ticket-wise) for a week, it wouldn't do any harm in continuing my argument. Hey, when in New York, do what the New Yorker's do! So, I stood in line at the Delta ticket counter. When I explained to the agent (for the 5th or 6th time now), he immediately called over his supervisor. Denise, the supervisor seemed a bit agitated when she asked if I wasn't just on the phone. I stated I was, but since no one will let me fly out of there, I'm going to continue my griping. She worked the computer for 15 or 20 minutes, and AGAIN came to the same conclusion. There was nothing she could do! I asked her if she would at least issue me some type of written confirmation that their flight from Atlanta the previous day (but already seems like a week now) was delayed, and that it was of no fault of my own. She printed-out for me a "military excuse" card that stated that Delta indeed had a delay, and it was none of my fault that caused me to miss LOT Polish flight 7 from JFK to Warsaw on Friday. At least now, I had something in writing that points the blame to Delta Airlines. If the Polish are truly going to make me purchase another full fare ticket, then "the joke" is on me.
At 7:00pm, the LOT Polish ticket counter finally opens promptly. I have been camped-out there, and unsurprisingly, I am the first in line. I explain the situation to the lady, and she informs me that I'll have to do my explaining to whoever will be there later to work in the adjoining office. After explaining this situation (again!), I showed her the document from Delta Airlines that absolves me from any responsibility. She seems to accept this as a viable excuse for being a "no-show" and inquires if I want to keep my newly-placed reservation for Sunday night, or fly "stand-by" for that evenings 10:20pm flight. Either way involves a hotel stay, either in New York, or Warsaw. Initially, I'm leaning for New York, as I know about 3 or 4 phrases total of Polish. On the other hand, I ask myself, wouldn't it be better to fly tonight, stay in Poland the next day, just in case there's more problems in New York? Anyway, I request to stand-by the Saturday night flight, and as I'm hanging out by the gate, I'm checking out a cute Polish girl who's been reading the paper for a half hour or so. The lady at the counter tells me to straighten out the situation when I get to Warsaw.
End result for this evening is,…I'm able to get a seat on the Saturday night flight at the last second, as I am the very last to board, and everyone else is already seated, ready to go, and eyeing me as I find my seat near the rear of the cabin. At last, I'm finally on my way to Poland, but this slightly eerie feeling creeps over me,…probably because everyone on the plane is speaking Polish, stewardesses & passengers alike and for one of the very few times in my life, I know what it feels like to be a foreigner in a strange land!
--- To be continued ---
--- Sunday 8/19, Warsaw, Poland ---
The flight from JFK was a rather smooth, but cramped flight, as the rather large gentleman sitting next to me reminded me of Sgt. Schultz (Hogan's Hero's). The food was excellent, for Economy Class, and I was allowed to sample not only 1, but 2 different Polish beers that one of the stewardesses recommended to me, when I asked to try them. The one she most highly recommended was "Zywiecs", or something like that! She said it was "ze-best!
Now, since I've never been to Europe, I know very little Polish language. I can say "hello", "goodbye", "good", "Thank you" , "Happy New Year", and "I miss you" in Polish. I'm told my pronunciation is good, but this will hardly suffice in a foreign land. Knowing that my connecting flight to St. Petersburg isn't until tomorrow, I'm in no real hurry to get to the foreign transfer counter. I arrive at the counter to find about 10 or 12 people in line ahead of me. For whatever reason, maybe the excitement of the past 30+ hours, or all the dern food that LOT crams down your throat,…but my first urge in Poland was to go sample some of that outstanding Eastern-bloc toilet paper I've been reading so much about. I walk down the stairs & find a men's room. I'm in there for about 6-8 minutes and wonder why not a soul came in while I was in there. Gee, how many airports in America can you say that about?
As I make my way back up the stairs to the foreign transfer desk, I'm checking out the nice airport they have in Warsaw, and the occasional stunningly beautiful women that work at this airport. When I get back to the desk, I'm the only one there. A middle-aged woman named "Elzebieta" proceeds to examine my tickets. After several minutes conversing in Polish with one of her co-workers, etc., she tries to tell me that my ticket has been cancelled & I must purchase a new ticket. I explained the situation (again!), and she wanted to take me down to the Delta/ Air France desk, where she said Delta should take care of this situation. I told her that I had been over & over this again in New York, and if I had to purchase a new ticket, then why did they fly me to Warsaw? She consults with another co-worker (in Polish), and tells me that we will need to speak to someone of higher authority in the LOT Polish office upstairs, and at the cashier. She proceeds to escort me towards the baggage claim area. I still haven't seen my luggage in 3 days, and I'm probably in serious need of changing my underwear & socks about now. She checks my baggage claim numbers & goes inside a locked area where she emerges & exclaims that my baggage is here, but it's already locked up & can't be retrieved. After a few words with the cashier, I am escorted to the executive offices upstairs where she consults with some guy who seems a bit overdressed in a Captain's uniform, instead of business attire. He has Commander shoulder boards on, and after discussing the situation with "Elzebieta", he tells me that my return date is listed as the date of my newer reservation. I told him that I would really just prefer that they reinstate my original itinerary, and let me return on the 25th. This has probably taken about 30-40 minutes and they finally tell me that they will approve my flight to St. Petersburg on Monday, but I need to call their office in St. Petersburg to straighten out my return flight dates. My gawd, why can't this issue be resolved once & for all!? Why does each office keep deferring me to the next one!?
Ok, Elzebieta tells me that I'm all set to fly out tomorrow. That part of my itinerary has a stamp, and an "ok" kind of receipt taped to my ticket. She gives me instructions on how to purchase city bus tickets to a good hotel that's only a few stops down the road from the airport. I manage to get on the right bus, and find the Hotel Gromada just a couple kilometers from the Warsaw airport. My flight the next day for St. Petersburg leaves the next day at 10:50am, and you can bet your butt, I'm going to be at the airport at about 7:30 at the latest. I'm not taking ANY chances, and I'm leaving plenty of margin for error.
The hotel room was comfortable, but a bit small, and I never did figure-out the shower thingie! There was no switch or button or anything that I could find that would divert the water from the regular faucet, to the hand-held shower thingie. I took 2 showers there (or very shallow baths I should say), as I never did find what diverts the water to the hand-held handle. Ok, that evening, I decide to hand-wash my underwear & socks, as it's Sunday evening, and no hotel laundry is available. At this point, I need to telephone St. Petersburg to inform at least 1 if not both Nina's of my impending arrival tomorrow in St. Petersburg. The hotel desk explains to me in mediocre English that they don't know how to connect me by phone to Russia. The U.S. is ok though, as I just have to dial "001" as the country code. I called Phil to ask him if he could e-mail his lady Nina to inform her of my arrival tomorrow. His lady Nina R. has arranged for most details of my visit, but I needed to get word to her that I would probably (barring any more headaches), arrive tomorrow. Immediately after I hung-up with Phil, I was able to change the country code sequence, and I was able to call Nina R. with no problem in Russia. I called Nina S. too! This is the woman that I would be seeing the most of when in Piter.
--- Monday 8/20, Gromada Hotel, Warsaw, Poland ---
I retired to bed early on Sunday night, as I can't sleep much on aircraft. I was up at the crack of dawn,…and Dawn has a pretty nice crack in Poland. I think the sun started coming up about 4:30am. I had a 6:00am wakeup call scheduled, so I decided to lay in bed until the phone rang. I was up, showered, and at the airport by 7:30am. There wasn't anyone waiting in line for check-in. I inquired about my luggage which I informed them was still in lock-up somewhere, and I've been wearing the same clothes since Friday,…4 days now! After being cleared through check-in, & passport control, I found a nice shop that had some men's shirts on sale. I purchased a new shirt, and proceeded to ditch my 4-day smelly shirt into the cleaning lady's push buggy. I found a nice restaurant that had a beautiful breakfast buffet, and I decided to have scrambled eggs, and the most undercooked bacon I've ever seen served in a restaurant in my life. I like my bacon a little rubbery, but this bordered on trichinosis.
I browsed the duty-free shops on the concourse, and was breathing a sigh of relief. It looked like nothing was going to stop me now from getting to St. Petersburg. Ah yes, victory at last! I haven't even had to pay extra to this point. My flight leaves in less than 2 hours, so I decided to sit down in one of the chairs on the concourse,…life is good. I've been watching this most beautiful young woman in all of Poland parade back & forth between someplace & the information desk that is about midway on the concourse. I'm in full view of the manually operated flight status board thingie, that is overhanging the concourse. I'm watching the letters & numbers almost magically rotate at high speed with the utmost efficiency, and come to a stop where they need to be correctly displayed. As I'm looking at the status board, my jaw drops in absolute horror! On this board I've been watching it says "Flight 1683, Time 10:50am, St. Petersburg, Remarks "CANCELLED!!!"
"Oh, my frickin' Gawd"!!!… I'm thinking. What could possibly be the problem now!? Is this the Polishes' idea of some kind of joke!? I'm practically beside myself at this point, and I'm literally starting to talk to myself. I gain my composure and I approach the information desk where a nice blonde & the other girl "Anna" is working. I pointed to the board and asked, "is 1683 cancelled"!? They both conversed in Polish, made a call or two, and were frantically checking their computer monitors. Anna then motions to me that she would be back in a minute. I'm now thinking, "This is just freaking great!" By the time I get to Russia, it will be time to turn around & come back. I might as well just catch the first flight back to New York! Nothing is going my way!
So, will our hero EVER get to Russia!? Tune in tomorrow!
--- To be continued ---
Our story resumes as I wait at the LOT Polish concourse information desk. The lovely "Anna" has disappeared, and I am waiting for her return to confirm or deny that my flight has actually been cancelled. I'm standing by the desk for about 10 minutes,…Anna has not yet returned. I'm watching the status board scroll up new flights as the older flights are being removed from the top of the board. I'm wondering how I'm going to explain all of this (again) to Nina R. & Nina S. After 10 minutes or so, I see a new flight appear at the bottom of the board. It says "Flight 683, St. Petersburg, 10:50am, Gate 6, On Time". I reach into my coat pocket to confirm which flight I was actually scheduled to fly out on. Indeed, my flight was listed as #683, NOT #1683. All I remembered was that I had a 6-8-3 -something flight number. I breathe a HUGE sigh of relief, and a wonderful calmness overcomes me again, as I now sense that I will probably reach St. Petersburg today. I inquire again to the blonde working the information desk, and about this time, another lady appears from the direction from which "Anna" (Miss Poland) had disappeared. I slyly, and half-embarrassed, stated to them that they have a new flight listed on the bottom of the board, that corresponds with my ticket number. After another phone call, they both confirm that my scheduled flight #683 is scheduled to depart on time! Whew!
About an hour before departure, I decide to leave the duty-free area and proceed towards gate 6. As I pass through the X-ray security area, the 2 security guards converse something in Polish. One of them instructs me to place my bag on the desk & "open it". Before I can reach into my pocket to retrieve the key to unlock the mini padlocks, I hear the first guard say "cell phone". The second guard then motions me "ok", and to proceed on through to the gate. I thanked them in Polish, and proceeded to the gate. I board flight #683 and assume my position at a starboard side window seat. I'm watching the baggage handlers load baggage onto the plane. I'm almost overcome with joy as for the first time in over 4 days, I see both of my luggage pieces loaded onto the plane just below me. If only somehow I could retrieve my electric razor, as I have 4+ days of growth on my face.
The flight to St. Petersburg was smooth, & on time. I was able to view the city from the air as our airplane made an approach from the south & then the east. Passport Control & Customs was a breeze. My baggage appeared on the carrousel, and I proceeded to enter the visitor waiting area and scan the crowd for the familiar face of Nina R., of which I had only seen several photos. Not immediately recognizing anyone, I shuffle my baggage off to the right to get away from the exit door. Immediately, the wonderful sight of the familiar & quite lovely Nina R. & Slava (the driver) appear. Nina & I exchange hand-shakes, and "Ochen Priyatna's" in Russian. (Pleased to meet you!)
At last, I was finally in St. Petersburg, and on my way to the apartment near downtown. For the time being, my feud with Delta & LOT Polish Airlines is forgotten. They're not going to dampen my spirits . "I've got ALL your names, Delta Airlines"!! (a la "The Out-of-Towner's"). "You'll be hearing from my lawyers on Monday!" (ROFL) Instead of 7 days in St. Petersburg, it will now only be 5,…at this point, I don't care, as I have 2 wonderful women awaiting my arrival & meeting! For the time being, life is wonderful!
--- Tuesday 8/21/01, St. Petersburg, Russia ---
As instructed by the Warsaw, Poland head office of LOT Polish Airlines, I proceed to call their St. Petersburg office to inquire about & possibly confirm my previous flight itinerary dates. I briefly explained my situation to the English-speaking gentleman over the phone, and he stated to me that my original flight itinerary would be ok, and to report to Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg at least 2 hours prior to flight departure. Geez, that was easy, I thought! How come New York & Warsaw couldn't be as accommodating!? I wanted to confirm my exact departure dates as soon as possible, so I could potentially explain the situation to the Russian Visa registration office if need be. Fortunately, it wasn't necessary.
--- Saturday 8/25/01, St. Petersburg, Russia ---
Approx. 2:00pm local time
After 5 of probably the most memorable, romantic & enjoyable days of my life, my time in St. Petersburg was coming to a close, and we are heading for Pulkovo Airport for my impending flight departure on LOT Polish Airlines flight #684 to Warsaw. After a fairly emotional farewell to both Nina R., Nina S. & Slava, and a few photos, I entered the passenger-only area of Pulkovo International Airport. Again, Customs, flight check-in, & Passport Control was a breeze. This was seemingly going to be an uneventful return trip to the United States,…or so I thought! Unfortunately, I had purchased an "e-ticket" with Delta on the internet. The ticket agent would not accept this as a ticket, and would only transfer my baggage as far as JFK in New York.
--- Saturday 8/25/01, Warsaw, Poland ---
