Well… today I’m back at the airport, here’s to better weather and no mechanical issues this time around!
Ah, that’s right. I never finished the story last time… you’re wondering why there even has to be a second try! Let’s fill that out here:
Somehow, it seems like there are always problems when attempting to fly to and from North Carolina… maybe it’s a Denver thing, but I’ve lost a full day of my life now between two trips, waiting on two different airlines at this point, American and United.
Today is try number two, last time there were something like ten hours of delay before the flight was cancelled early in the morning on Saturday, but no word yet. We’re thirty minutes away from boarding and every finger I have is crossed at this point that I’ll be able to make it out this time!
This brings up an interesting point about airports, how to handle delays, and how people in general deal with and accept losses of power. I sat in nearly the same seat I occupy right the last time this happened, and watched as people fought against something over which they had no control. People were understandably angry, but perhaps a little too angry. Some were arguing with staff, some were walking from gate to gate hoping for a replacement flight… some just stood around looking lost. I read a book, and enjoyed a day without responsibility for anything. What more could any adult ask for?
Maybe I’m alone in this, but after security in an airport I feel somewhat like a kid in the backseat of my mom’s Suburban on a family road trip. We’ll get there… I have no control over it, and at some point I may get some food. Sure, I’m crammed in next to people I probably don’t really want to deal with… but other than that this is all just pretty normal. We’ll get there, we will! Well… sometimes we’ll get there. Sometimes we’re just out of luck.
As with all travel, airline travel requires you to “go with the flow”. You may end up getting to your destination, and you may not. The important part is to remember that the people, especially the airline employees, don’t want this anymore than you do.
At 1:15 AM the last time, American Airlines cancelled our flight after delaying for hours and hours. Admittedly, they probably knew at 8:00 PM that they had to cancel, but we all kept the dream alive together for a while… and at the end of the day that’s all there is to it. You can yell, scream, kick the floor (people did all these things), but to what end, and for what purpose? Those actions aren’t only childish, but counterproductive to you and your fellow travelers.
When we went to reschedule, I stood in line for another hour before finally getting to the counter, and was still in a good mood while Beth rebooked me for today’s flight. “We’re not really supposed to do this…” she said, “but you have been *very* patient and you’ve the first person to be nice to me today!”
In most circumstances, the absolute worst way to deal with something beyond your control is angry, the second-worst is trying to assume control either through your own actions or the bullying of others. The best way is to continue forward, hope for the best, and accept that the worst is the most likely outcome, and there’s nothng in the world you can do about it.
They let me rebook the flight, this time in Coach (booo!), but I’m in an Exit Row seat and was upgraded to Priority for free, so I again walked straight through security and am in the first boarding group. If it wasn’t free, it would have been $29, and I still think this is one of the best-kept secrets in air-travel. You can avoid the entire security line, walk all the way up to the front in the First Class section, all by paying an extra $8-29 dollars per flight. This has been worth it every single time!
They’ve just told us we’re hoping to actually leave today! If so, expect posts and pictures from Charlotte this time!
