Stranded in Chiang Mai is not the way our 20-year-old daughter, Piper, anticipated her study-abroad experience to end.
She left in May with 20 other LSU students to experience LSU’s Global Leadership Program, which was a huge success. The problem started last week on the day Piper was supposed to fly back to Bangkok for her trip home. Though she was feeling fine, she and one other student tested positive for COVID. Fortunately, Ozzie Crocco, assistant professor of Leadership and Human Resource Development at LSU, stepped up to help in ways we didn’t even know we needed.
Piper Naudin, 20, participated in LSU's Global Summer Leadership program in Thailand. She is pictured here in front of a temple in Bangkok.
He helped both students get settled into a new hotel for their quarantine and has brought them their favorite treats, snacks, medicine and more. He has spoken with the parents and helped navigate the drama and trauma of the situation. We are grateful for his going above and beyond his professorial duties.
On the other hand, the airlines have not been helpful at all. Though the COVID-testing requirements were dropped on Friday, the unexpected $975 expense of changing Piper’s return ticket home makes the ticket process even more complicated. At this point, we still aren’t completely sure when she will be headed home, based on a variety of international factors.
Getting our daughter home from Thailand has been made more complicated by one decision I made as a parent. Through the years, we have traveled a lot as a family. It has been a priority. I have handled all the logistics. I decided that, since she was 20 — and a mature, responsible girl, I would give her the money and let her make her own travel arrangements for the study abroad experience based on the itinerary the university had provided.
She used a third-party online travel service to book her ticket. Big mistake. First, the class of ticket booked has made everything much more difficult. Secondly, the online service is not there to help in any way. Third, the airlines have helped, but getting their help turned out to be more difficult and ultimately more costly because of the initial purchase through the third party.
Bottom line: We will never, ever, ever book air travel through a third-party online travel service again. I spoke with two Baton Rouge travel advisers, Cheree Scardina and Sierra Lytle, at House of Travel, to learn more about avoiding similar issues in the future.
“If they’re going far away from home, we’ll recommend travel protection,” Scardina said. “A minimal policy is usually only $25 to $40 a person — and covers up to $25,000 medical expenses.”
Lytle said they have encountered many instances of people with as many problems as we’ve had this week in trying to do the best thing for our daughter to get home.
“Some of the airlines have been more flexible and easier to work with,” Lytle said.
Lytle explained that the “basic economy” ticket (which is what my daughter purchased) “is the lowest entry-level fare and offers no flexibility.”
Main cabin or economy tickets are called different things depending on airlines and mean that changes can be made and full-flight credit will be given, according to Lytle.
“So, you don’t lose any of your investment,” Scardina said. “You can’t get a refund, but you can use the investment. Since COVID, they have given more deadline credits.”
Scardina explained that pre-COVID, there was no such thing as a flexible change.
“You always had to pay a $200 change fee,” she said. “Now, they have different classes. If you buy the basic economy ticket, you have no changes allowed. We recommend that you get a main cabin ticket to allow the flexibility to allow the change. Typically, the price difference is less than $100.”
With the latest lift of COVID travel restrictions, who knows what will happen to the increased flexibility, but this is what I do know: the next time I give either of my children money to buy a ticket to travel internationally, I will advise working with a local travel agent or directly with the airlines to purchase the ticket.
“We like to tell our clients that when they call us, we are here for them. Nothing is worse than being in a foreign country and not being able to help walk you through the steps and work with the airlines as needed,” Scardina said. “Just a couple of days ago, I got a text at 3 a.m. that someone’s train was delayed — that’s the benefit of working with someone local.”
Lytle added that when everything is on time and working great, third-party and online tickets seem fine.
“But when problems occur, a travel adviser comes in handy,” she said.
Despite the global nature of our daughter’s program, trip and difficulties, having had a local contact to help with the logistics, drama and trauma would have been a win.
