On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 10:11:05 -0600, Beowulf
wrote:

PLEASE help me learn how to avoid this in the future.

Just call to reconfirm at some point before the flight. A few weeks
ago I had a flight out of Bangkok canceled. The airline (EVA)
attempted to contact me but was unable to because they didn't have my
cell phone number in Thailand. Fortunately I reconfirmed the night
before and found out I had been rescheduled on a flight that left two
hours earlier than my original itinerary. No problem at all but it
might have been a major hassle if I had showed up just in time for the
original schedule. Even if there are no cancellations you still never
know if there was an equipment change causing you to loose those seats
you so carefully chose. Calling ahead gives you a chance to straiten
out all those little snags before they turn into last minute crises.