A COUPLE have told how their dream holiday was ruined by delays and lost luggage – and their travel turmoil only continued when they arrived home.
Megan Stephens had planned the trip of a lifetime with her boyfriend to France, but it was plagued by problems.
The 32-year-old, from Auckland, New Zealand, had the "journey from hell" after setting off for Paris on December 16.
They made the first leg of their journey to Sydney with Air New Zealand, before hopping on a United Airlines plane after their stopover.
But instead of getting some shut-eye on the exhausting voyage, the pair were unable to relax due to a string of incidents.
As well as dealing with missing their connecting flights, their plane was forced to make a five-hour medical diversion.
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Megan and her partner eventually made it to Paris one and a half days late – but their travel ordeal was far from over.
The hold-ups meant they had missed their pre-booked trip to Disneyland Paris, seeing them slapped with a no-show fee by their hotel.
Megan's parents had splashed out for the day of magic as a gift, leaving the couple feeling deflated before they had even landed.
The duo were then informed that their luggage had been misplaced due to the disorderly journey across the pond.
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The disgruntled travellers claim they were told that their suitcases would be forwarded on to them before the last night of their holiday, yet only one turned up.
"We arrived in France without any luggage and it was cold," Megan told the New Zealand Herald.
"I didn’t have a single pair of pants. We spent about €500 on new clothing."
But the holidaymakers say dealing with Paris' frosty weather was easy compared to the "complete rigmarole" that ensued.
While trying to make the most of their four-week trip, Megan was told by her mother that one of their cases had turned up at Wellington Airport without a luggage tag.
The luggage had disappeared on their first flight with Air New Zealand and ended up with baggage handlers in Sydney.
The airport staff had found Megan's contact details written on the bag and said they had forwarded it to Wellington.
The weary tourist then communicated with the airline to orchestrate the safe return of her misplaced possessions.
Air New Zealand reportedly offered to send her suitcase to Megan's home, saying it could be dropped off in a safe place.
The email read: "We would prefer that someone would be home to retrieve your bag, but if it is safe to leave it somewhere on your property till someone gets home on that day, if you authorise this, we can leave it where you want."
In the midst of her European adventure, Megan says she responded two days later enquiring if a friend could pick up the case from Wellington Airport on her behalf instead.
She claims it was the last time she discussed the luggage before being informed by a pal that the couple's van had been broken into on January 8.
The friend also informed them their suitcase seemed to have been dumped outside her property, which the opportunistic thieves had also ransacked.
In what world would you send a suitcase full of belongings to a house where someone might not be home?
The contents of the case were left strewn outside their home while valuables had been looted – leaving Megan furious that the airline had forwarded the luggage without her permission.
She raged: "In what world would you send a suitcase full of belongings to a house where someone might not be home?
"I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t tell them to forward the case. It had been delivered that week and had been sitting outside the house for four days."
She explained if she had been notified the case was being delivered, she would have asked a friend to collect it.
Air New Zealand apologised for the costly mix-up, but insisted responsibility for the luggage lies with the airline who then transported the couple to Paris.
They said the suitcase had been sent to them by a third airline, without a tag, leaving only the contact info scrawled on the bag to make use of.
Chief Operating Officer Alex Marren said: "Air New Zealand always ensures it has contacted a passenger before a bag is delivered to confirm the delivery.
"While Air New Zealand had no responsibility for the lost luggage, our teams wanted to help – understanding it can be upsetting for anyone who has lost a bag.
"They managed to track down the contact details for the bag’s owner and had been in touch about getting it back to her."
The airline had interpreted Megan's message as giving them the go-ahead to deliver it and it had already been sent by the time the traveller responded.
Air New Zealand said it would be the bag would be the courier's responsibility once it was collected from the airport.
But Megan insists she never alluded to authorising the delivery, saying they had "no idea" of its journey.
She says she has not been offered any compensation by the airline in wake of the catastrophic trip.
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But the holidaymaker still managed to return home with a smile on her face – as her boyfriend popped the question while they were on holiday.
He had thankfully kept the engagement ring on his person instead of sneaking it into their suitcases.
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