My husband and I were returning from our trip to Italy on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Our flight departed early from Naples to Atlanta, Georgia, with a quick layover in Paris.
We reached the Naples International Airport early for check-in from our Airbnb, where we found the humongous line for our Air France Check-in. The line was the slowest in the world, I swear. While we waited in line, Brandon checked the Delta app to ensure we had enough time to make it through customs to board our flight.
And that’s when he noticed our connecting flight from Paris was canceled. YIKES.
We did not get any notification from Delta, KLM, or AirFrance, and the cancellation was only put on the Delta app without any push notification. We would have had no idea they canceled if Brandon didn’t check the app.
I immediately started to freak out because I was starting my job as a teacher on Monday for the 2022 school year. I am not one to miss a day of work (one thing I wish to change about myself), so I was bound and determined to get home ASAP.
Luckily, Brandon is a guru at contacting customer service reps and texting and all that technology stuff. He was speaking with a Delta representative through the chat within minutes. They said we could make it to Paris, where our connecting flight was, but we couldn’t get on a flight to Atlanta till Tuesday night.
Brandon and I decided to fly to Paris and be stuck in Paris. We chose this option because there were more direct flights from Paris to Atlanta, and we had never been to Paris, and it seemed… like an adventure (while I was still freaking out).
So we boarded our flight from Naples to Paris. Brandon was still trying to figure out how to get us home as quickly as possible, but things were not looking promising.
The one bright thing that happened was that Delta immediately sent a $300 credit to our account. Did that makeup for the stress? Maybe.
Once we landed in Paris, we decided to split our ticket. Doing this allowed me to get home on Sunday, and Brandon would still be stuck in Paris until Monday.
Once we made it to Paris, we talked to the representatives at the customer service desk. They gave us both vouchers for a hotel room next to the airport and food vouchers for use in the airport or hotel.
Then began my 24-hour layover and Brandon’s 48-hour layover in Paris. And we made another decision to make the most of the situation. We didn’t know if we would ever be back in Paris?!
So, we set off downtown. Typically, I am one to always use public transportation to get places. One because it is cheap and two it is more fun! But we were on a time crunch and knew very little of Paris, so we hopped into an Uber and went straight to the Eiffel Tower.
We explored that area and walked along the Seine River. Whenever we travel, we like to walk as much as possible. We wandered through the streets of downtown, ate at French Coco, and made our way to the Arc de Triomphe at sunset.
We were flying by the seat of our pants. Then we returned to the Eiffel Tower because one of our friends said we had to eat a crepe while looking at the Eiffel Tower. Little did we know that a light show happens; we were in awe. Sitting there, eating a crepe, watching a light show, it was true luck to have our flights canceled earlier that morning.
I wish I had stayed with Brandon for the next 24 hours! He truly made his time the best. He went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa; he ate French macarons at Laduree; he saw Notre Dame. He even went on a night cruise of the Seine River with friends we met in Rome.
Bradon is someone who creates incredible memories wherever he goes with anyone he meets. He is extraordinary that way, which makes traveling with him amazing.
The canceled flight was one of the best adventures to happen to us!
We also learned a lot about flights being canceled in the European Union. The EU has a cancellation compensation program for delayed or canceled flights, and for canceled flights that are longer than 3,500 km, they will compensate you 600 euros.
For us, we had to file a claim directly through AirFrance. On their website, if you go to the Contact Us page, you can select Delayed or Canceled Flight, where you can file a claim.
This process can take a while and be frustrating. After filing the claim, we both had to email Air France directly for updates regarding the compensation. Brandon had to contact them multiple times, and we had to send them a different bank account to transfer the money since his bank information kept failing.
I received my compensation in October, and Brandon just received his compensation this March, eight months after the canceled flight.
