The following is an actual account of my recent trip to Chicago and the effort it took to get home:
3:45 pm – Depart Q-Center in St. Charles, IL for O’Hare
4:30 pm – Arrive at O’Hare
5:00 pm – Made it through crowded TSA check-point and started toward gate
5:15 pm – Arrive at gate and discover the plane is delayed from 6:20 to 7:00. I called home to let the family know that I am delayed.
5:30 pm – Updated flight time - Now delayed until 7:30 pm. They make an announcement that many people will now miss their connections in Charlotte and suggest you speak to an agent to help with the rebooking.
5:31 pm – Called CWT Travel Agency to assist with finding alternate flights. A very helpful agent name Annie searched frantically for options while I stood in line at the counter to speak with an agent. Made it to front of line while Annie is still on the call. Spoke to “Mr. Helpful” who advised that he cannot get me home until SATURDAY (the current day is Thursday). I told him that was unacceptable and that I wanted a voucher for a rental car so that I can drive home from Charlotte. Mr. Helpful said they do not issue rental car vouchers due to liability concerns. Thanks Mr. Helpful !
5:50 pm – Annie confirms that she has a hotel and a car waiting for me in Charlotte. Now all I have to do is get to Charlotte!
7:15 pm – Delayed inbound plane finally arrives and the boarding process begins shortly thereafter.
7:45 pm – Plane is all boarded and we’re just waiting for the door to close.
7:50 pm – “This is the Captain speaking …. We had a minor maintenance issue upon arrival and the crew is currently working on a fix. It should be just another couple of minutes and we can get going.”
7:55 pm – “This is the Captain speaking …. Looks like the maintenance team is taking longer than expected but they’re working on a fix and we should get going soon.”
8:05 pm – “This is the Captain speaking …. Looks like this plane is not going anywhere tonight so we are going to need you to deplane. Please see an agent to assist you with rebooking your flight.”
8:06 pm – “%*&%$#!”
8:15 pm – While standing in line for rebooking …. “Hi folks, good news and bad news - The good news is that we have another plane coming in which we’ll use for the flight to Charlotte. The bad news is that we won’t depart until 10:30 pm.”
9:45 pm – While just sitting there killing time I decide to speak to an agent again about options for getting to Florida. This time I mention that ANY city in Florida will work. The agent says she has one seat on a flight out the next day departing at 7:50 am and arriving in Tampa so I grab it. Now all I need to do is get to Charlotte !
10:20 pm – “Hi folks – just wanted to let you know that the inbound plane has landed and will arrive at Gate 6 (we’re currently at Gate 10) so please head over there so we can board soon.”
10:45 pm – “Hi folks – we’re going to have you move back to Gate 10 for boarding on the original plane.”
10:46 pm – “%*&%$#!”
11:00 pm – Re-boarding of flight 988 begins
11:20 pm – The plane is loaded and we’re just waiting for the door to close before take-off.
11:30 pm – “This is the Captain speaking …. Looks like we may have jumped the gun on boarding this plane. We had been told the maintenance issue was resolved but apparently that is not the case. They’re testing the fix now and we should get going shortly.”
11:45 pm – “This is the Captain speaking …. They’re still working on the fix but it should just be a couple more minutes.”
11:50 pm – “This is the Captain speaking …. Umm, this plane is not going to be repaired this evening so we’re going to have you move back over to Gate 6 and board the replacement plane.”
11:51 pm – “%*&%$#!”
12:15 am – Boarding of replacement plane begins. “Everybody sure does look familiar.”
12:35 am – The plane is loaded and we’re just waiting for the door to close before take-off.
12:45 am - “This is the Captain speaking …. Umm, this plane was originally scheduled to undergo routine maintenance during the night and when the maintenance crew was diverted to the other plane they stopped working on this one. The maintenance team is working on this now and we should get going soon.” “Haven’t I heard that before ?”
12:46 am – “%*&%$#!”
1:00 am - “The boarding door has been closed. Flight attendants please prepare the cabin for take-off.”
1:05 am – “This is the Captain speaking …. We’re number 1 for take-off.”
1:06 am – “No crap ! There aren’t any other planes leaving at this time.”
3:02 am – Arrived in Charlotte …. But the adventure continued ….
3:10 am – As I headed off the plane and up the ramp I realized that based on the departure time of my flight to Tampa that it didn’t make any sense to go to the hotel for less than 3 hours of sleep. I asked the gate agent if I could stay in the terminal and she said no but that I was welcome to stay on the other side of the security check point near ticketing.
3:12 am – Walking to the ticketing area to find a spot to sit down. I’m soooo tired !
3:15 am – Arrived on the other side of security and realized that I’m now part of a new family – the airport homeless people. The place was packed with people who must have been stranded as well.
3:16 am – Walking the corridors looking for a place to sit. “Nope, not there. Ooops, that seat is taken too.” People scattered everywhere, sitting in chairs, lying on floors, you name it.
3:22 am – After walking for a long while found an unoccupied spot by some automatic check-in terminals. Sat down on the floor and then realized why the spot was not previously occupied. Two young kids who are wide awake are sitting nearby in airport wheelchairs and they are WIDE awake. They were talking and laughing and wanted nothing to do with resting. “Oh, would you two just shut up !”
3:25 am – On the move, I can’t take it any longer.
3:30 am – Reached the end of the corridor. All seats occupied. “Oh look, there is a spot along the wall where some vending machines used to be, I’ll try that.” Sat down with my back up against a hard wall.
3:31 am – “What is that smell ?”
3:33 am – “I’m so tired.” “Something really smells, this is awful!” “This sucks !”
3:35 am – On the move, again.
3:45 am – Back to where I started. “I’m sooo tired”.
3:46 am – “Oh look, there are two unoccupied seats.” “What the …. What is this stuff on the seat ?” “I don’t care ‘cause I am so tired.”
3:47 am – “Why am I sticking to this seat ?”
3:48 am – “What disease does Mr. Sniffles have (the guy sitting next to me)?”
3:50 am – “This sucks!”
3:51 am – “This really sucks !”
4:00 am – Airport/Airline people are starting to arrive for work.
4:30 am – One of the TSA checkpoints are open. “Perhaps I can get more rest at the gate.”
4:45 am – I’m now on the other side of security. “Wow, all of the lights are to this concourse are out and nobody else is around. Only three hours ‘til my flight so enjoy the quiet.”
4:50 am – All of the chairs have armrests so there is no place to lay down. Oh well, sitting will have to do.
4:51 am – “Why are these chairs so slippery?”
4:52 am – “I can’t get comfortable. This sucks !”
5:30 am – “I’m sorry sir but you are going to have to leave this concourse – it is closed due to a power outage. Please check the monitor for the gate change for your flight.”
5:31 am – “%*&%$#!”
5:45 am – Back with all of the crowds near the food court. “This place is starting to get busy now with all of the people who had a full night’s sleep.” There was one open rocking chair so I raced to grab it.
6:45 am – Gave up my seat to check on the gate change update. “Yup, the flight is now out of the ‘D’ concourse so off to the gate I go.”
7:20 am – “We’re now boarding zone 1 customers.”
7:45 am - The plane is loaded and we’re just waiting for the door to close before take-off.
7:50 am - “This is the Captain speaking …. The maintenance team is just finishing off some routine maintenance. It shouldn’t be too much longer now.”
7:51 am - “%*&%$#!”
7:55 am – “The boarding door has been closed. Flight attendants please prepare the cabin for take-off.”
7:56 am – “Am I dreaming ????”
9:45 am – Touchdown in Tampa. “Home again ! Well, not really. My car is at the Sarasota airport where I started the trip.” Off to the rental car counter …….
