LESSON LEARNED:

So there is one part of our adventure that I didn't mention in the last post. While we were in Newark, NJ waiting to board out already late flight back to Los Angeles, it came to our attention that our seating assignments were no longer valid on the incoming flight. The agent at the desk did her best to get out seats reassigned when HieRan spoke with her. She came back and told me that we would be separated on this flight (not the best situation when flying with two kids). I wasn't clear how this could've happened, so I took a turn up at the desk and politely asked the agent for a little more clarification with the cancellation of our original seating assignment. The agent was very thorough and explained how all of this (including our 3 hour delay) came about. Satisfied with the explanation, I thanked her and said that if there was a chance we could be re-assigned, we would be grateful. I could see that she was swamped with boarding passes, getting people shifted here and there, and also having to manage the "stand-by" passangers. I felt bad for her and assured her that we'll be happy just to get back home.

This situation with the cancelled seating assignments didn't affect just us - the next passenger came up and pretty much lost it when he discovered his party of 6 was going to be separated on the flight. First of all, he was travelling with his wife and 4 teenage kids - it's not as though his kids wouldn't enjoy some time away from him! Second, when he came up and started shouting at the agent, I thought "... what a jerk! Give her a break!". But the agent was more than capable of handling him - nicely telling him to back off and be glad that they have seats on the flight to begin with! *ha!* He left and sent his wife up to go a couple rounds with the agent - but she was turned away pretty quickly too.

As it turns out, before we boarded, I heard the agent call for the "DeGuzman party of 5" to come up to the desk. The same agent who had spoken to HieRan and me handed me 5 new boarding passes - all of our seats were together!! I was shocked! And really thankful for her efforts. She told me that there was another family who had reassigned seats, but she didn't care for their tone with her and decided to give us a block of 6 seats (one extra so that our kids could stretch out on this flight). She specifically told me that my wife and I were very nice to her regarding all of the problems that came up, and she wanted to do everything she could to keep us together. Needless to say, I thanked her and we enjoyed our flight home... touchdown 11:45pm... brought in a HAPPY NEW YEAR in baggage claim. =)

The lesson learned: when life hands you lemons - squeeze the juice onto someone's eyes, steal their wallet, and buy yourself a soda! *haha - j/k* No, I think the "Golden Rule" is appropriate here, right?

*By the way, I don't normally do this, but I felt it was necessary to write American Airlines with our story and how the agent did everything to help us out - I hope she's recognized somehow...*