IM Brazil Nightmare - wake me up please

Triathlon Forum
1

SORRY FOR THE LONG STORY FLOKS, BUT PLEASE READ IF YOU EVER THINK OF DOING AN IM IN A 3RD WORLD COUNTRY…I’m happy for you if things went smoothly when you did this IM, but when things go sour you need the organizers to step up, or at least be in a country where things “work”

After 18 weeks of training for my 1st IM, last Wed I checked in at the AA desk bound to Sao Paulo Brazil, I paid the $100 fee “to get my bike on the plane” and went to ZZZZ in my 1st class seat I got with miles…

The next morning I waited 45 minutes at the baggage claim area to find out at the AA desk that my bike never left Miami. The agent that took the claim told me “no worries”, the bike is in Miami and that AA would send it in the next flight to Sao Paulo, “we’ll deliver it to you in Florianopolis”. He filled out a customs form that he made me sign and we walked to the customs agent to hand deliver it. I continued my journey…you can guess what happened from here on…

I tracked the status of my claim Thursday night and it said something like this: "you bag has arrived on 5/27, if you arranged delivery click here (wait for us to deliver) or if you arranged to pick it up click here (call to arrange pick up). I thought to myself AA will deliver it Friday.

I was cool until 3:30pm local time Friday, I purchased a calling card and called the local AA number in Sao Paulo to check on the status, I don’t speak Portuguese so I went for assistance in Spanish. The agent that answered me was not in Brazil and with a rude attitude told me to keep checking on www.aa.com/bagstatus because there was nothing else she could do…by 6pm I was a nerve wreck and headed out to the pasta dinner to get help from Latin Sports (organizers)…I talked to this guy from Latin Sports who said, let me see that I can do wait for me here…10 minutes, 20 minutes, half an hour went by and after 45 minutes I went looking for this guy to find him playing with his Iphone and showing you tube videos to his buddies, I asked the guy “what’s up?”, of course he hadn’t done shit to help me, he said he was “working” and that I had to give him a local number in Brazil to see if he can do something…“working”, as far as I know the organizers work for all the athletes that signed up to do this race and you have to help me…after a heated discussion I left the pasta dinner with no help from Latin Sports and no hope to get my bike on time.

Later that night I met a Brazilian athlete that spoke some Spanish, he called AA in Sao Paulo, apparently the bike was held at customs because it arrived without a passenger, “DAH!”, and that AA would try to retrieve Saturday morning. At 11am local time Saturday the Brazilian customs advised AA that I either send proof of purchase of my bike (yes I carry the invoice in my wallet at all times) or that I had to go in person to get my bike. So long IM Brazil…there are a couple of direct flights to/from SP and FLN so if I had flown to SP to get my bike I’d have to take a connecting flight and make to FLN at 10pm, of course after buying a new ticket…AA says it’s not their fault, that I didn’t sign all the required paperwork to get the bike out of customs…i.e. like I’m the expert on what papers to get/sign when lost baggage.

To wrap it up Sunday morning I flew back to SP, got my bike and got on the 1st flight out of Brazil. Home sweet USA home…I will never sign up for a race organized by Latin Sports and/or in a 3rd world country.

I’m going after AA to reimburse me for all my expenses, miles, etc. Wish me luck.

2

So where did you place?

3

I might be missing something here, but isn’t this on AA’s shoulders completely in Miami?

The bike never left Miami as it should have so I’m failing to draw a link between the IM organizers and the bike debacle. Man I feel for you that is a nightmare from hell, but the lapse seems to have been completely on American Airlines unless I’m not understanding something. The race could have been in any foreign country the way I’m reading this…with equal results.

4

I placed DNS, did not start
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5

It was on AA’s shoulders, but when in a foreign country you need to have someone that speaks the language or can place a call to customs to explain the urgency or send a letter to request the release.

What would you do if in China? who would you go for help?

6

Damn I got prostatitis four weeks ago and couldn’t start also. I ask for help with latin sports and they couldn’t help me also. I will never do a race in Brasil again and with latin sports !!!

7

That totally sucks. I agree with wiffcheese though, this is all on AA since they were the ones that F’ed up getting the bike on the plane, and getting it to you through customs.
The really bad thing is that I’m pretty sure AA doesn’t care. I had a run in with them earlier this year when I had accidently booked tickets for a pm flight instead of an AM flight. Needless to say three solid days of tryinng to get the flight changed on the phone (this was Delta) and $400 later we tried to board our return fligt and were told our tickets had been cancled. We were told we needed to take it up with Delta because that was the flight we took down, well we refused to leave the ticket counter and convinced the lady to call over to Delta insted and were able to get on the flight -funny enough this was also in Miami.

It truely stinks that your race was ruined, but I’m not sure that the race organizers could have done anything for you.

8

This had nothing at all to do with IM Brazil or the country you were racing in. It was 100% on AA’s shoulders. It would have been great had Latin Sports stepped up to help, but it was not their responsibility to do so.

9

First off, very sorry this happenned. This is a nightmare I have had several times as I am currently training for my first IM.
Second, I am confused why you did not call AA domestically (or if you did why they could not help). Since you used miles, I am going to assume (could be wrong) that you have some status on AA (gold, Plat, EXP). Would their help desks not assist?

Since this is something any of us could face, let us know how this works out. Again, sorry for the DNS…that is miserable especially for your first IM.

10

It was on AA’s shoulders, but when in a foreign country you need to have someone that speaks the language or can place a call to customs to explain the urgency or send a letter to request the release.

What would you do if in China? who would you go for help?

I feel your frustration, but in my humble opinion it wouldn’t matter where you were on the globe or what language was spoken: When you are dealing with the garden variety airline employee you have to lower your expectations exponentially. Down from say where you hold your garbage pick up guy…

I traveled for 6 solid years in a previous life and if there is one constant in the airline service industry it’s do as little as possible, as slow as possible and with no sense of urgency. WITH one exception…Southwest. That’s is the only airline I travel b/c my needs are a scant few…get me there on time…keep the peanuts, sodas and niceties.

11

Sorry for you bad experience. Having travel twice in a 3rd World Country from Switzerland, incl. USA :wink: to compete an IM, I always have a B plan in case of such experience :

  • Bring with you all the fitting quote of your position.
  • Arrange a deal with a LBS to rent a bike of you size, just in case. In my experience : Club la Santa in Lanzarote assure me a Cannondale super-six, size 63, with clip-on and race wheels, and I contacted Trisports in Tucson for IMAZ 2008 and their was no problem to have a tri- bike ready in case of lost bike by the Airlines.
  • Special material (sole, lenses, etc), carry them in the cabin luggages.

good luck for the reimbursment procedure.

12

I hate to break it to you, but it really does not matter if this was in Brazil or Timbuktu. You got screwed by the airlines, and the race organizers are completely and utterly powerless (although they should have helped you with the language barrier and calls, I agree).

Untied lost my luggage and bike going to IMLP a few years ago. My bike and gear sat on the tarmac at OHare for 4 days while I freaking came unglued. Despite me going back and forth over to the airport in Burlington, several times a day and being constantly promised “it is on the next plane”, and calling their lovely automated “lost baggage” system which was completely and utterly worthless.

So I know exactly what you are going through and how pissed off and frustrated you must be, but it’s American that ruined your trip. Go after them whole hog.

And lesson learned for all of us, never leave the airport without your bike. No matter what.

13

What a nightmare, must be very frustrating. However blaming Brazil is somewhat unfair, and it’s not a 3rd world country - it say so just makes you sound ignorant.

The fault appears to be with American Airlines and happened in America

That said, it is unfortunate that the organisers did not help as much as you would have liked, but is it really their responsibility to make sure you get your bike there on time…?

I would get in touch with AA and see if they can compensate you.

14

How do you never leave an airport w/o your bike? Once I check my bike in with my flight, if they do not put it on the plane, how would I know until I went to pick it up?

15

That really sucks. Personally, I would have never left San Paulo without the bike. I would have rented a hotel room at the airport and waited for it befor flying to the race. You can’t trust the AA to recieve it from Miami and then get it on a plane to Florianopolis despite what they represented.

16

I had a similar experience with KLM when I did IMAustria. Luckily I got my bike just in time for the race. I would gladly travel again to a race anywhere in the world. Airlines screw up, its not the race organizer’s fault.

17

I am so sorry for your experience.

FYI - when I fly with the bike (particularly to an IM) I ALWAYS talk with a pilot or flight attendanat and let them call down to baggage to make sure the bike got on…I usually actually watch it being loaded. I have ALWAYs found someone to help me make sure the bike makes it on the plane. The aging ex-professional athlete routine seems to go over fairly well…embellishment encouraged!

Lastly, maybe you learned a lesson…part of being an Ironman is learning how to solve and deal with problems, and still perservere. There are many more that you will enconter if you decide to continue in the sport…2 flats w/ one spare, lost nutrition, shoes missing in transition, goggle strap breaks mid swim while wearing contacts, drafting penalty that you really did not earn, just a bad day, etc, etc, etc

Best wishes,
David

18

Check Wikipedia, Brazil is a 3rd world country
.

19

Check Wikipedia, Brazil is a 3rd world country

Serves you right for leaving America, only communists have passports
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20

I really do not understand why you are upset with Brazil. I have been there twice. I found the country to be very modern and the people to be extremely gracious. I also notice that you expected english to be spoken by most people there. News flash: when you are in most other countries, english is a “foreign” language.

Based upon what you have told us, your complaint is strictly with AA.