I missed my flight, lost my suitcase, received a wrong number: how to solve problems on vacation

I had a fight with a boyfriend or got scared of Mercury retrograde. Depending on the air code, you can: a) cancel any ticket by notifying the airline no later than 24 hours in advance and recover the amount of taxes and fuel surcharges (sometimes 80-90% of the total price) ; b) refund the full amount by providing the carrier with solid proof that you cannot steal, for example, a doctor’s certificate in which he recommends that you refrain from stealing.

There are several options here. First: you burst into the airport 5 minutes before the end of check-in and you see queues of several kilometers. What to do? Run to your airline counter shouting, “Everything’s on fire, I’m late!” If there is at least one minute left before the end of registration, you must be put on a plane. If the check-in is closed, you will officially no longer fly this aircraft. But exceptions happen! In Asia, for example, there have been cases where a person still managed to be “pushed” on board at the very last moment. To do this, you need to have acting skills, a strong voice and some arrogance. Second option: the plane flew away and you stayed. If you have a first class or business class ticket, the next flight to the same destination will be offered to you at no additional cost. If you have a regular ticket, you will be asked to return it and refund approximately 75% of the cost. In the case of a ticket purchased at a special rate or on promotion, you will most likely have to pay a significant surcharge (more than 50%) or buy a new ticket.

You arrived on vacation, but not the luggage. Running to the store, stocking up on necessities, keeping receipts – expenses not exceeding $250, the airline must reimburse. Although if you can prove the vital necessity of a more expensive purchase (for example, special drugs), you will also be compensated.

Write a request at the airport for the carrier to deliver the suitcase to your hotel. There is a chance that they will start refusing. Keep your head down and get hysterical, ask your friends at home to call the airline office, stir up a scandal on social media – sometimes it makes people think faster and accept baggage delivery more willingly.

If you stole your foreign passport, first go to the police, and secondly, apply with a Russian passport to the Russian consulate, they will help you issue a return ticket. No Russian passport? You will need 2 compatriots who can confirm your identity (there will be no parentage checks, so catch the first Russian speakers you meet on the street and take them to the consulate).

The Russian consulate cannot issue a new foreign passport, but can only provide a special certificate of identity for the traveler to return to their country of origin. With it, you will be allowed to board the plane, you will be able to pass the border control of the Russian Federation and within five days you will have to hand it over to the migration authority.

Booked a sea view suite and got a superior standard courtyard view? Return to reception, open the order confirmation and demand that all conditions be strictly observed. Another thing is if you don’t like the room for personal reasons: the color of the wallpaper bores you, and there is not enough light and mirrors in the hallway. Here you have no right to demand, you can only ask. The secret to successful negotiation: smile and be polite. A good way to manipulate is to refer to a fictional disease, in which it is vital to live in a quiet room and not in a room near the elevator on the first floor.

And now, it’s not about the handsome Spanish guy we met the day before at the bar, but about… bedbugs! They can be your neighbors not only in a hostel, but also in a five-star hotel. Don’t try to slow things down, hoping that the next night they’ll sneak into another room! First, contact the hotel manager and ask to see a doctor who can determine the nature of the bites. If the doctor confirms that the nasty little insects are to blame for everything, you can safely ask for a bottle of champagne and an impressive discount, the size of a couple of nights accommodation.