Quebec City Trip

Quebec City Trip

By Richard A Balch, CFP

I just returned from a 4-day trip to Quebec City.?The trip was an award by my broker-dealer for doing well in my sales production.?This is the same trip program where I ended up being quarantined in Cabo San Lucas last November because I was the only one who tested positive for COVID prior to my departure and ended up being quarantined an extra five days.?As usual, this trip had a surprise I had to deal with: flight cancellations and luggage.

My route to Quebec City was to fly American Airlines from Green Bay to Chicago to Philadelphia to Quebec City.?My wife and I got up about 3:30 am to get dressed and drive to the airport to check in.?We had done our ArriveCanada and Verifly apps so administratively we were all set.?The first problem however was that a thunderstorm weather front was moving through the Wisconsin and Illinois region.?When we landed in Chicago around 8am I immediately discovered my connecting flight to Philadelphia was canceled.?American Airlines did say they would rebook me on a flight the next day at 8PM!?This was simply unacceptable.

I weighed my options to either terminate the trip to Quebec City or see if there was another way to get there sooner.?The flights were booked via a corporate travel agent with American Express, so I called them.?After spending a long time on the phone, we came up with a plan to take an Air Canada flight to Toronto and then to Quebec City reaching there around 7pm local instead of the 3pm local as originally planned.?I decided on the Air Canada option and proceeded first to the American Airlines service desk to get them to pay for that ticket and release my baggage.?Unfortunately, many flights were canceled that day, and the line was long full of frustrated travelers, but I eventually reached the agent, and she authorized the Air Canada flight and put in an order to transfer my baggage to that airline.

When I reached the gate, I discovered the ticket to Toronto was a United Airlines coded flight and then discovered that flight was delayed two hours.?I finally reached Toronto at 7pm and after waiting in customs for an hour realized my flight to Quebec City already left and my luggage was nowhere to be found.?I called the American Express travel department and got a room at the Hilton in Toronto.?The direct flights to Quebec City were all sold out for the next day, so I arranged for an Air Canada flight to Montreal and then Quebec City.?

The next day I reached the American Airlines service desk and was authorized the flight change.?I took the Air Canada flights and eventually reached Quebec City 3pm.?I still had no luggage but was told it would eventually make its way there.?I took a cab to the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac (picture enclosed) for my company event.?The hotel was very beautiful and significantly historical as it sits atop the original forth that guarded Quebec City adjacent to the Saint Lawrence River.

I would highly recommend travel to Quebec City as it is one of the oldest cities in Canada and resembles a European fortified city with buildings from the 1600s and 1700s.?My wife and I did an open-air museum walk with a tour guide and learned a lot about the history and the many restaurants and shops.?I also did a bus tour and was amazed with the scenery of the old historical sites that sits atop the bluffs surrounding the area.?Much of the history revolves around the battles fought during the French and Indian wars in the mid 1700’s.?The city prides itself in the multicultural aspects of French and English architecture.?The language spoken is French, which I never studied, but the locals were very accommodating in communicating in English.?It was also very cool and windy, so I had to buy a jacket.?Since I did not have my luggage, I also had to buy some clothes which were of European fashion and expensive.?I submitted a $1000 claim to American Airlines for reimbursement of the clothing since I never received my luggage.

On my departure day as I loaded the bus to go to the airport, I was surprised to discover my luggage made it to the Fairmont only an hour before.?We immediately claimed the baggage.?This was a relief since my wife, and I were getting tired of being in the small set of clothes we purchased.?The flight back home was uneventful.

I am grateful I did the trip to Quebec City, but it was a stressful travel experience.?I discovered I was not the only one with missing baggage and some of my colleagues had even opted to cancel their trip in lieu of all the flight cancellations.?I urge any air travelers to be prepared for the delays, cancellations, and lost luggage.?Regarding COVID protection preparations, I was fully vaccinated and had to show my vaccination card several times and wear a mask on the Canadian flights, but at least did not have to take a COVID test to return home.?Next month I travel to Spain to see my son who is stationed out there in the navy and hope the travel logistics will be a better experience.??

Richard A Balch, CFP, CLU, RICP

Woodmen Financial Resources

1234 S Ridge Road

Green Bay, WI?54304

1-920-499-8833 Ext 110

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