I'm on the road this week; only a few day trip. It should have been an easy trip - three nights, four days - easy. It should not have been a big deal, but it is getting weird - and weirder by the minute.
I can't say this is a really bad experience - I know of folks who have had a lot worse travel problems, many of those folks are sitting right by me (about 20 folks are not going to Spain tonight...). My situation is just odd, and it highlights some of the oddness that has become of air travel. Let me give some examples:
1. Destination Unknown: I was flying out for a meeting in Newark, followed by some sales calls, either in Harrisburg, PA or Philly. At the time the trip was being booked, we weren't sure which city we would be making the calls. This was a last minute ticket, but because my destination was somewhat TBD, I had a lot of options on where to fly. I checked direct flights in and out of Newark, JFK, LaGuardia, Philly, BWI, and Delaware. Lowest price I could find was over $1000. I was able to find a connection on US Air to Newark, for a reasonable price (not good, but considering options, reasonable).
When I was selecting my seats, I noticed that both the outbound and return flights were through Philly. Strange - did I miss a deal? I figured that if a flight was going through Philly to and from other destinations, then shouldn't flying to Philly be cheaper? I mean, I only flying once, not twice? It made sense to me but not US Air. For some reason, the flight cost over $350 more if I just stopped in Philly. It was cheaper to continue to Newark.
I don't know if Newark is so bad that they have to subsidize flights going in and out of there, but for whatever bizarre reason, flying a longer distance with a connection is cheaper then the shorter flight. Strange. Really, really strange.
2. "It really, really has to be a round trip? No, not really": So I ended up in Harrisburg, PA for the sales call. Both the town and the sales call were fine. I was able to hitch a ride with our sales rep so I didn't have to rent a car. I could take the train back to Newark.
I was on the train when they made the announcement that the train to Newark, went via Philly. Humm - I'm flying through Philly on the way back. Couldn't I just jump the train here and get on the flight and get on the plane here? I figured I better call first - figured there might be a security reason or something that might prevent me from doing this. Turns out it is not a security reason, but in fact I can not start in Philly because my airline ticket does not start in Philly. It does not matter that I have a boarding pass from Philly, I can not start there. The US Air guy was very nice, at least, and he explained it would void my whole ticket if I didn't board in Newark.
Due to some bad timing on my part, I got to the airport late. I ran as fast as I can, but I missed my flight out of Philly by 5 minutes. The counter guy was trying to rebook me; none of the options look good. I ask him, if I could get to Philly on my own via the train, could I pick up the flight there? Yes, he says, but I won't make it. He shows me a train schedule, and I would not be able to make it to Philly in time for my flight back to Minneapolis. So, from a logistic standpoint, I can't make it, but from a US Air standpoint, now that I have missed my first flight, I can. Weird.
3. Paying for incompetence: Missing my flight was entirely my fault. I mistimed the train back from Harrisburg and I did not leave myself enough time to get to the airport. I blame no one but myself.
The fellow who rebooked me got me on the next flight to Philly, and then on the next flight to Minneapolis. He also bumped me to 1st class for both flights. He said that my missing the flight helped him with some other travelers and he owed me. I am not sure if that is true or not. I know it probably helped that I didn't get mad about missing the flight and I remained calm and polite. Perhaps this is karma for my good behavior; I think it is rewarding stupidity (mine).
4. It's deja vu all over again: So I am waiting for my flight to Philly, and it turns out the plane we were going to take has been delayed. For reasons we do not know, the flight that was supposed to come in has been canceled, but they have a replacement plane they will fly in for us. Origin of the replacement plane? Yep, Harrisburg, PA. Had I known, had I known.
This delay has pushed back our flight and will cut my time to get on my Minnie flight very close. Everyone with a connection before 6pm has to be rebooked. My flight is at 6:05pm. So long as there are no other delays, I think I am in good shape.
In the meantime, I went to town on my inbox. I went from 156 to 30 unread e-mails. Its Miller time.
Happy flying!
