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Just spent three hours on a WhatsApp chat line with an airline...
What's "happy" about that, I hear you ask?
Well...
We were supposed to fly out to Thessaloniki on the 17th June with two friends, to visit their house in Portaria, The Pelion, Greece.
I had full knee replacement surgery May 12th (flights were booked before I knew I was having surgery), and the surgeon said before the op it depended how quickly I recovered, the length of the flight, etc. if I should fly or not. We saw him yesterday (after seeing the physio) for a post-op check-up, and he said whilst I was making a good recovery, he wouldn't recommend going on a four hour flight followed by a two and half hour car journey at this stage in my recovery (physio said the same).
I thought we would just have to write off the flight costs (unlikely the travel insurance would cover it, as they would count the surgery as "elective", therefore my choice about having it (not taking into account the exruciating ongoing pain I was in from the knee)), and the airline's T&Cs state whilst you can change your flight dates, or names on the tickets, anything else is a cancellation, so you lose the money and claim against insurance (or not, as explained above).
So, I thought "what the hell", let's try with the airline - like most businesses now, it's either a chatbot or WhatsApp; got on to the WhatsApp, explained my situation, highlighted the fact I was a long-standing loyalty club member, and that I've bought over 100 return airline tickets with them in the last 20 years (me and family members), so was there anything they could do, for example, change the tickets for tickets to Cyprus in September/October...
As I said at the beginning, it took nearly three hours, but in the end I spent £250 in admin fees and flight price difference, but saved losing nearly £1k for the original tickets - sometimes, you just have to have patience.
Location: Half in the corporeal, half in the etheral
Posts: 37,121
Re: The Happy Thought Thread
Left Leeds for the final time today. I cannot effing stand the city, or at least the road layout around the centre.
My daughter had been going to uni there since 2021, and although her finals were a few weeks ago, her tenancy ran up to today, so they all made sure they got their money's worth.
I'm amazed at how much she's changed as a person in those 4 years, she's always made me proud, but who she has now become got me quite emotional as we talked during the 6-hour drive home (I def won't miss the travelling for the end/beginning of semesters).
Up until uni, she'd never really left the small South Wales industrial village she's grown up in (other than for holidays etc), so I knew the transition into big city life would have an effect, but she's such a different person now.
In those 4 years she's managed to lose 5 stone through Slimmer's World (for about 5 years before she started uni her mother was a delivery driver for a Chinese takeaway so her diet was never the best), which was awesome, but she's now going to be joining me at the gym.
So all in all, a very tiring but emotional and proud day.
__________________ From Jim Cornette:
“Ty, Fy, bye”
Left Leeds for the final time today. I cannot effing stand the city, or at least the road layout around the centre.
My daughter had been going to uni there since 2021, and although her finals were a few weeks ago, her tenancy ran up to today, so they all made sure they got their money's worth.
I'm amazed at how much she's changed as a person in those 4 years, she's always made me proud, but who she has now become got me quite emotional as we talked during the 6-hour drive home (I def won't miss the travelling for the end/beginning of semesters).
Up until uni, she'd never really left the small South Wales industrial village she's grown up in (other than for holidays etc), so I knew the transition into big city life would have an effect, but she's such a different person now.
In those 4 years she's managed to lose 5 stone through Slimmer's World (for about 5 years before she started uni her mother was a delivery driver for a Chinese takeaway so her diet was never the best), which was awesome, but she's now going to be joining me at the gym.
So all in all, a very tiring but emotional and proud day.
I feel so proud of you both. Over the years I have known you (albeit in our virtual world) so many things have happened. Your daughter is a credit to you and I am not surprised, with you as her father, at how she has changed into the young woman she is today.
__________________
"I intend to live forever, or die trying" - Groucho Marx..... "but whilst I do I shall do so disgracefully." Jo Glynne
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