8th July
1.15am - Left home to get to Heathrow three hours before our flight as recommended by our tour company only to find that check-in opened at 5am so Vendy had a sleep while I got restless.
4.00am - Noticed a sign for people on our flight to wait at information - weird!
4.45am - Told that the flight was cancelled.
5.15am - Told that they would try to get us on the later flight to make our connection from Madrid to Quito. Added to standby list.
7.00am - Got seats on flight leaving at 7.25, so rushed through security to get on board the plane.
7.25am - On plane, and took off just a few mins late
10.30am - Landed on time only to get into the terminal and have to wait in a long queue to have passports and hand luggage checked again - why?
11.35 - Made it to the gate and lined up to board the plane
11.55 - On plane. Vendy had same seat number as another passenger so a stewardess went to find out what was wrong.
12.10 - 5 mins before take off and the stewardess returned and told Vendy to leave the plane. I was to stay. the stewardess was very rude and made no attempt to give any information. Obviously this was very distressing for us both, and an arguement ensued. How is it possible to allow too many people on an aeroplane?
12.15 - We both ended up leaving the plane, being assured that our luggage wasn't on board. The staff told us any lies they could but finally admitted that the plane was overbooked. Next flight same time tomorrow
1.20 - Finally got tickets for a hotel and meals, and also a compensation agreement
2.00 - Attempted to get our luggage but the lady told us just that it would take up to 3 hours to locate luggage - time to talk to the manager
3.00 - Located a manager, who told us our bags were going to Quito, and that they would be well looked after - could we believe them? With that we left the airport, very angry and stressed
Fortunately it was a 4-star hotel and very comfortable. Had a great lunch, great dinner, free wine and rested until the next morning
9th July
8.30am - Got up for buffet breakfast
10.00am - Went to airport
11.35am - Boarded plane
12.15pm - Safety announcement done, waiting to leave
13.15pm - New announcement, we had to change plane
15.30pm - With the new plane loaded and all passengers on board we finally left Madrdid airport
19.30pm - Finally arrived in Quito (1.30am our time) after an uneventful and very long flight. after passport control and another stressful time we found someone from Iberia and our bags were indeed locked up safely. We took them and went to meet the taxi driver and got a lift to the hotel.
20.30pm - Arrived at hotel and now ready for the holiday to begin..... just a short sleep first....
To be continued......
