Trouble loves me so, so much; and it seems to entail me anywhere I go - some of them can be totally hilarious if you have the right attitude, but knowing objective facts on the practical solutions are always helpful no matter how low your EQ is. Please be aware that some things are written in local perspective and might be different in one place and another.
I always love Flores. I love its scenery, I love the way people smile at me, I love the drunk grandmothers, I love their spirituality, and so on. But traveling in Indonesia, you have to be aware that this is the land of surprise. And now, it's Flores turn to remind me that anything can happen in this land. Yes, I mean, something like THIS.
It was a long holiday in May 2014, where we had too many national holidays in a row (sometimes Indonesian holidays are completely nonsense) that I only need to take a three days leave from my office to obtain a total 10 days vacation. And I was alone, a lucky soloist with no itinerary and ended up alone in Ende, waiting for my flight back to Kupang for a night transit to Jakarta.
Everything went so smooth, there was a nice carnival at the town and I arrived on time at the airport, checked in, dropped my baggage, and sat nicely waiting for my boarding call.
By then, I already got a message from my friend in Labuan Bajo that they couldn't flew due to a volcano eruption, Mt. Sangeang, an island near Bima, which just happened to erupt that day. But hey, the airport and everyone in there was so chill that I worry nothing will actually happen. I even asked some airport officials whether the flight will be cancelled, and they confidently answered that no, it is on schedule. And there the announcement speaker bring the jinx... It says something like this (of course in polite version)
"Dude, your flight is cancelled due to the volcano eruption. If you dropped your baggage, take it back from the baggage counter. You can clarify what's going on and what's next in our office" and the office further clarified, "Dude, we're screwed. There's no way we can fly today and I have no idea when we can resume. We have two solutions for your tickets, we'll reimburse it completely, including your connecting flights; or, you can stay in our waitlist to keep flying with us, which the fastest is about 4 days from now, and we have no idea what the worst scenario can be"
Okay. So, if it's ever happen to you, DON'T PANIC. Even if you're completely remote and geographically impossible to get out by anything other than plane, don't panic. Even if you have no idea when you can get a seat, don't panic! Here are some tips:
ONE: Find people who are suffering the same fate with you.
Unless you're traveling to super off-the beaten path places, there's a huge possibility that you're not the only one who wants to go home soon. I ended up meet 13 new amazing friends in Flores and I found people are really valuable resources in solving your case. Why are people useful? (1) You're looking for solution of the same problem. In my Flores case, we shared information about available flights, price comparison, possible alternative route, other possible means of transportation, etc; (2) You'll probably stay overnight for an unknown period, means you'll need cheapest (but humane) accommodation; (3) Companion! You'll need cool people to stay with and keep you sane. And usually, random travelers are the best sources!
Here's the gang:
TWO: Don't be in the waitlist.
Being in waitlist during disaster is a BIG bet. It's tricky and risky, and you don't have active control on your own fate. The best you can do is asking the airline about your waitlist progress. DON'T.
THREE: Just take your reimbursement, and know the trick!
Small cities like Ende won't have much ready cash in their office. There's a huge possibility that they will offer you wire transfer - which will come within 2 weeks at maximum (if it's not stuck somewhere). It can be a problem if you don't have money left to buy another ticket. You can try to demand cash reimbursement, but it can be tricky too. Right after the flight cancellation, the small office will be really crowded. By this time, the officer will definitely say that they have limited cash and they will try to reimburse everyone by wire transfer. They even can say that their cash is dried already. Negotiating anything at this point will less likely success. So, you can wait until everyone is done with their business - but don't wait to be the last person! When it's 4-5 people left, check if the officer still actually have cash. If they do (I bet!), you can take your cash reimbursement when everyone else get wire transfer. In my Flores case, I didn't get in the line (not for the reimbursement reason, I had no idea of this by then) and among the last persons to get reimbursed. People who get their reimbursement before me just got envious with the result.
FOUR: Search for another flight (or, another route - if possible)
This is the most difficult part, and totally case by case. I can only suggest: (1) Know the other available airlines in that city and in cities nearby; (2) Know the stuck point of the cancelled airlines and understand the causation (where do your flight comes from? why is it stuck? is there any other routes?); (3) Get updates from another accessible cities (which one have normal air traffic, etc); (4) Survey the alternative airlines! Ask them when is the next available flight, and how many seats left. Take a note of it. Make a comparison.
This process takes a long time - we spent the whole evening just figuring out our situation and surveying the alternatives.
*** Just so you understand the travel complication in my case, I'll give you a map. Flores is quite a remote area in the eastern part of Indonesia, and only three airlines fly to and from Ende (Garuda, Lion / Wings Air, Trans Nusa), and the flight route of each airlines are different. Each airlines basically fly once a day. My airline, Lion, had to fly from Denpasar, Bali (green route); which means passing by the thick dust of Sangeang madness and stop by Labuan Bajo, Ende, and Maumere before departing to Kupang. So when the plane stuck in Bali, there's no way subsequent flights can happen. All flights from Ende had similar problem. So we looked to other big cities, and the closest one is Maumere, three hours away. After surveying some time, we found out that Sriwijaya Air were operating normally because of the route and the flight altitude, so we decided to leave Ende and took our flight from Maumere.
FIVE: Be patient, don't buy your ticket replacement during the 'panic time'
So you got the itinerary that you want, and the only thing that you want to do is securing it. Normal people will possibly book it really quick, and pay it right away. But from my Flores experience, waiting and gambling a bit can give you way cheaper price. I booked and paid my ticket about three hours after the cancellation happened. That was the 'panic time' - the time when everyone book the ticket, but haven't really paid it yet. By that time (about 1-12 hours after the cancellation, presumably), the seats are very competitive, causing the price getting so high. And people actually can book more than one flight, but certainly ended up buying only one. After several hours, the unpaid tickets will be available again - this is the cool down period. Best bet: wake up at 3am in the morning and keep checking. Some seats will magically available, with a much, much lower price! (My friends who didn't get the ticket during the day woke up at three and bought their tickets half price of mine)
SIX: You're set!
Okay, ready for some disaster? :)
I always love Flores. I love its scenery, I love the way people smile at me, I love the drunk grandmothers, I love their spirituality, and so on. But traveling in Indonesia, you have to be aware that this is the land of surprise. And now, it's Flores turn to remind me that anything can happen in this land. Yes, I mean, something like THIS.
 |
| I stole the image from Daily Mail, by the way. Hint: volcano eruption (SURE!) |
It was a long holiday in May 2014, where we had too many national holidays in a row (sometimes Indonesian holidays are completely nonsense) that I only need to take a three days leave from my office to obtain a total 10 days vacation. And I was alone, a lucky soloist with no itinerary and ended up alone in Ende, waiting for my flight back to Kupang for a night transit to Jakarta.
Everything went so smooth, there was a nice carnival at the town and I arrived on time at the airport, checked in, dropped my baggage, and sat nicely waiting for my boarding call.
By then, I already got a message from my friend in Labuan Bajo that they couldn't flew due to a volcano eruption, Mt. Sangeang, an island near Bima, which just happened to erupt that day. But hey, the airport and everyone in there was so chill that I worry nothing will actually happen. I even asked some airport officials whether the flight will be cancelled, and they confidently answered that no, it is on schedule. And there the announcement speaker bring the jinx... It says something like this (of course in polite version)
"Dude, your flight is cancelled due to the volcano eruption. If you dropped your baggage, take it back from the baggage counter. You can clarify what's going on and what's next in our office" and the office further clarified, "Dude, we're screwed. There's no way we can fly today and I have no idea when we can resume. We have two solutions for your tickets, we'll reimburse it completely, including your connecting flights; or, you can stay in our waitlist to keep flying with us, which the fastest is about 4 days from now, and we have no idea what the worst scenario can be"
Okay. So, if it's ever happen to you, DON'T PANIC. Even if you're completely remote and geographically impossible to get out by anything other than plane, don't panic. Even if you have no idea when you can get a seat, don't panic! Here are some tips:
ONE: Find people who are suffering the same fate with you.
Unless you're traveling to super off-the beaten path places, there's a huge possibility that you're not the only one who wants to go home soon. I ended up meet 13 new amazing friends in Flores and I found people are really valuable resources in solving your case. Why are people useful? (1) You're looking for solution of the same problem. In my Flores case, we shared information about available flights, price comparison, possible alternative route, other possible means of transportation, etc; (2) You'll probably stay overnight for an unknown period, means you'll need cheapest (but humane) accommodation; (3) Companion! You'll need cool people to stay with and keep you sane. And usually, random travelers are the best sources!
Here's the gang:
TWO: Don't be in the waitlist.
Being in waitlist during disaster is a BIG bet. It's tricky and risky, and you don't have active control on your own fate. The best you can do is asking the airline about your waitlist progress. DON'T.
THREE: Just take your reimbursement, and know the trick!
Small cities like Ende won't have much ready cash in their office. There's a huge possibility that they will offer you wire transfer - which will come within 2 weeks at maximum (if it's not stuck somewhere). It can be a problem if you don't have money left to buy another ticket. You can try to demand cash reimbursement, but it can be tricky too. Right after the flight cancellation, the small office will be really crowded. By this time, the officer will definitely say that they have limited cash and they will try to reimburse everyone by wire transfer. They even can say that their cash is dried already. Negotiating anything at this point will less likely success. So, you can wait until everyone is done with their business - but don't wait to be the last person! When it's 4-5 people left, check if the officer still actually have cash. If they do (I bet!), you can take your cash reimbursement when everyone else get wire transfer. In my Flores case, I didn't get in the line (not for the reimbursement reason, I had no idea of this by then) and among the last persons to get reimbursed. People who get their reimbursement before me just got envious with the result.
FOUR: Search for another flight (or, another route - if possible)
This is the most difficult part, and totally case by case. I can only suggest: (1) Know the other available airlines in that city and in cities nearby; (2) Know the stuck point of the cancelled airlines and understand the causation (where do your flight comes from? why is it stuck? is there any other routes?); (3) Get updates from another accessible cities (which one have normal air traffic, etc); (4) Survey the alternative airlines! Ask them when is the next available flight, and how many seats left. Take a note of it. Make a comparison.
This process takes a long time - we spent the whole evening just figuring out our situation and surveying the alternatives.
*** Just so you understand the travel complication in my case, I'll give you a map. Flores is quite a remote area in the eastern part of Indonesia, and only three airlines fly to and from Ende (Garuda, Lion / Wings Air, Trans Nusa), and the flight route of each airlines are different. Each airlines basically fly once a day. My airline, Lion, had to fly from Denpasar, Bali (green route); which means passing by the thick dust of Sangeang madness and stop by Labuan Bajo, Ende, and Maumere before departing to Kupang. So when the plane stuck in Bali, there's no way subsequent flights can happen. All flights from Ende had similar problem. So we looked to other big cities, and the closest one is Maumere, three hours away. After surveying some time, we found out that Sriwijaya Air were operating normally because of the route and the flight altitude, so we decided to leave Ende and took our flight from Maumere.
 |
| Green line: my cancelled flight route. Yellow line: the 'solution' flight route. |
FIVE: Be patient, don't buy your ticket replacement during the 'panic time'
So you got the itinerary that you want, and the only thing that you want to do is securing it. Normal people will possibly book it really quick, and pay it right away. But from my Flores experience, waiting and gambling a bit can give you way cheaper price. I booked and paid my ticket about three hours after the cancellation happened. That was the 'panic time' - the time when everyone book the ticket, but haven't really paid it yet. By that time (about 1-12 hours after the cancellation, presumably), the seats are very competitive, causing the price getting so high. And people actually can book more than one flight, but certainly ended up buying only one. After several hours, the unpaid tickets will be available again - this is the cool down period. Best bet: wake up at 3am in the morning and keep checking. Some seats will magically available, with a much, much lower price! (My friends who didn't get the ticket during the day woke up at three and bought their tickets half price of mine)
SIX: You're set!
Okay, ready for some disaster? :)
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