On a trip involving over 20 flights, there was always a possibility that something might go wrong. It went spectacularly wrong in Tbilisi as we checked in to Aeroflot for out flight to Tashkent via Moscow. The check-in clerk informed us that as we were a 'no show' on a Yerevan-Moscow flight our entire ticked had been cancelled. There was no booking from Tbilisi to Moscow on their system.

Last December I had changed the itinerary from Yerevan to Tiblisi and payed a hefty penalty for doing so. I did this so that we could include Iran in the trip. It appears that something went wrong in Aeroflot's central computer system and the change was not recorded. The desk clerk was unable to see the logic of our argument that on Aeroflot's app on my phone we were booked Tashkent not Yerevan. He wasn't impressed that I had an email from Aeroflot inviting me to check in online from Tbilisi to Moscow which I had done. He wasn't impressed that Aeroflot had logged and accepted my seat selection. Aeroflot's main computer said we were supposed to fly from Yerevan and that was all there was to it.

We were then passed up the line to the Aeroflot rep who seemed somewhat confused as to why we were being refused on the flight. First she said we had been no-shows. Then she said that the payment for the change had not gone through. Then she said our ticket number for the tblisi Moscow flight was for another flight. No argument would budge her. We had a stark choice. Walk away and try to sort another means of getting to Tashkent or pay the ' It's 30 minutes from flight time and we can charge what we like' rate. We chose the latter. We're putting it down to the thrills and spills of travel and hoping we can sort it out when we get back to New Zealand. I'm just hoping we don't have another 'taxi driver' situation and the Aeroflot cabin crew don't demand more money before we can disembark at Moscow.

We landed in a sunny Moscow and once through passport and security made our way to an Aeroflot desk to do battle on the flight refusal. The first man spoke almost no English but semed to sympathise. He spent about 20 minutes on the phone about our problem sighing and saying the odd 'da'. He then looked sadly at us and suggested we go downstairs to the main Aeroflot ticket office. He could do nothing. Downstairs it was bedlam. A group going to Tel Aviv had obviously had their flight cancelled or missed a connection. They were incandescent with rage and a supervisor had to be called to calm things down. Some Japanese lads had arrived at their gate too late and seemed gobsmacked that the staff couldn't reverse their bad decisions and somehow get them on a flight that had already departed. They asked if they could stay in a hotel near the airport. The Aeroflot lady waved them away with a "sure" I hadn't the heart to tell them that they couldn't leave the airside area unless they had multiple entry visa. I sincerely hope they had.