My Bag is Packed

A Travel Saga

I was supposed to fly home from DC on Sunday afternoon at 5:50 pm. Beginning at 2 pm they began stopping traffic because of lightening. The lightening stopped and a few flights started flying by 4 pm, but not my flight. First the gate attendant told us that we would be very delayed and that if we were connecting to another flight in Cincinnati that we should go up to the main ticketing counter to try and re-book. I was one of the first up the escalator and found a HUGE line already there from the other 1,000 (ok, maybe a little exaggerated) flights that were canceled or delayed. I stood in that stupid line for 2 1/2 hours!! There were five airline workers to help and in my line only about twenty or less people had been helped because on man was at the counter for 1 hour and a man, his wife and child were at the counter for TWO HOURS. AND they would talk and argue with one and then move down to another and talk and argue, them move back to the first on to argue with her. At one point the lady in line started shaking her finger at the airline representative and then tried to get over the counter to go after her. Security was called and arrived within 30 seconds to calm the tempers. So, I finally get up to the front of the line and I get the same representative that the family had been arguing with for two hours and then I began to understand why they were upset!

Mimi looked at me and then my ticket and had the nerve to say scarcasticaly, "Why are you here?" In my sweetest voice I said, "the gate attendant said that everyone who has a connecting flight in Cincinnati should come to re-book. Mimi said, "Why are you here, the flight to Cincinnati has not left." I told her that I would miss my connection and needed to be re-book to Little Rock. She reluctantly, I mean very reluctantly put me on Standby for a Monday morning flight from Cincinnati.

So, I did miss my connection in Cincinnati. When we arrived at 10:45 pm I walked to the main ticket counter and found two very, very kind Delta employees waiting for me (and others from my flight) with re-booked boarding passes, hotel voucher (not for a free room, but reduced rate), and two meal vouchers. They couldn't have been nicer or more helpful.

I did leave Cincinnati on time the next morning, even though the security checkers were saying that 800 people were stranded overnight in Cincinnati. I think that 650 were standing in the ticket line waiting for re-booking and boarding passes but I already had mine from the two kind ladies the night before.

The big story with that departure from Cincinnati is that I flew from there to Atlanta and not Little Rock. I had a two hour layover there and than an additional two hour delay but I finally made it to LR.

Whew, it can take a long, long time to get from DC to LR.

posted by BW @ 7:12 PM