[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

ROLEX:

If your business is only a month old, it sounds like you might be flying again, soon. Also, if I read your post correctly, if the only thing missing was the duty-free purchases, and you had your papers, in time for your meeting, you would be seeing things a lot differently now.

The only things I place in checked luggage are things that can, cheaply, be replaced—underwear, socks, toiletries, etc. Anything valuable, that I can’t carry-on, goes by UPS. Yes, UPS can lose stuff too. But it has yet to happen to me. Besides, if UPS did business like the airlines who take passengers, they’d probably be bankrupt by now. If 100K, really, was at stake, then a couple hundred dollars would have been worth the cost to UPS, or Fedex, those papers, from San Jose, by next-day service. Assuming you were staying in the city of San Jose, rather than rural Costa Rica, I’m sure some sort of photocopying service is available in San Jose where you could have had copies made.

If you travel to Latin America, or the Carribbean, again, I would recommend Air Canada via Toronto. Air Canada is every bit as crummy as Delta, American Air, or United. However, in the case of Air Canada, you do have the option of complaining to Transport Canada. Unlike the US DOT, Transport Canada has slightly more leverage with Canadian airlines. However, don’t expect fast action. The “turn-around” time is counted in months!

If you, regularly, travel first class, Continental Air (International Business Class) is, probably, an equally viable option. If you look at the statistics, Continental appears to have fewer complaints than the other “legacy” airlines. If traveling from Latin America, book your flights so you clear Customs/Immigration in Houston (“IAH”). That airport is one of the newer ones in the country, and therefore, probably, has better Customs/Immigration facilities than Continental’s other major hub—Newark, NJ (“EWR”).