Monday, October 4, 2010

Horror

So yesterday I flew home from Chicago. I had an amazing weekend and will show you all a few pic's and tell you about my actual trip tomorrow or Wednesday. I haven't had a chance to load the pictures off my camera, but I will eventually get them up. But for today I want to tell you a little story about me being the biggest idiot in the traveling world.

My flight was leaving Chicago yesterday at 4:30. Nancy dropped me off at 3:30 and I was out of security and ready to head to my gate by 3:50. I check the flight boards, flight is on time, gate is B17. I meander down to that concourse, in no big rush. But I get there, and the flight isn't my flight. Hmmm....I am now confused. I look at another board near B17 and now see that my flight is at A9. WHAT THE HELL? Thank god I am early, right? I mean, to just change the gate 30 minutes before the flight...super strange. I also take note that the plane is running a little late. The time has changed from 4:30 to 4:40. I call Nick with this info and head on over to concourse A.

I get to A9 and see the line of stand-by people at the desk. I just ignore it and find my seat. Positive they won't switch my flight location again. I eat some popcorn, I read my book. I am just relaxing. Clearly a world traveler who can completely handle flying alone.

Then they get on the intercom. They start saying something about Panama City....about the plane being full...about starting to load. I get really confused. I look at my cell phone, it's 4:25, shouldn't they be loading MY plane?? I get a bad feeling. A very bad feeling. I walk over to the desk, yes, they are flying to Panama City. I run to the board of flights, there it is, my flight, A9...but then I see it. ARRIVALS. I am looking at the flight coming IN from my town, not the flight going TO my town. HORROR!

SO....I find my flight on the DEPARTURE list...and there it is, in concourse B...and it says BOARDING beside it...because of course it is running on time for it's 4:30 departure. And I am in CONCOURSE A. Like, completely across the airport from concourse B. So I run you all. I run like I haven't run since my middle school track days. I sprint through the airport, running down the moving side walks, flying past people screaming, "excuse me! " as I pass by. I get to B17, beg to get on the plane, and he looks at me confused. That flight is at B10. WHAT?!?! I passed B10 like three minutes ago!! I turn around and RUUUNN. You all, I cannot even begin to describe the panic.

So I get to B10 and it is 4:33, and the plane is loaded. I beg to get on, and they have to see if the doors to the plane are closed. They go down and look, no they haven't shut them yet. But the plane is full. They had given my seat to a stand by passenger. THEY GAVE MY SEAT AWAY. And I had to be like, well...I have a ticket...and they were like, ok, we will PULL HER OFF THE PLANE. And they did you all, they pulled the poor girl out of my seat and I stumbled onto the plane, near an asthma attack, covered in sweat, and climbed into the one newly empty seat on the plane.

*HORROR*

Nick did park the car and come in and actually surprise me at the security gate. That was really nice :). He doesn't mind that his wife is a total idiot.

My legs are so sore today from my sprint.

11 comments:

  1. Sarah, that is awesome. I love hearing that I am not alone in these situations.

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  2. Oh no, what a traumatic experience. I am always so tense at airports, terrified that something like that will happen to me. Glad you made it in the end.

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  3. This story reinforces my fear of flying alone.

    HORROR, indeed!

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  4. LOL! It sounds like something I would do. So either we're both inept, or this sort of thing happens more than we think. I do wonder how many times a standby passenger has been pulled back off a plain though. lol

    Glad you made it home safe and sound.

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  5. It's really easy to get confused at the airport, especially if you are alone. Tom swears he will NEVER travel without me because he would get lost in the airport and never make it home.

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  6. Glad you had fun in Chicago. It was colldd wasn't it, this weekend? I live in Chicago:)
    As for the plane trouble - happens to me all the time. And yes they do change the gate at the last minute - I've experienced that and remember running. Funny thing is, they kinda mumble the change in to the intercom, so you don't even hear it right.

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  7. I had the mad run through the airport at Heathrow, the worst airport in the world for this kind of thing.

    It was like the Amazing Race, only not so amazing as we were unfit and not as good-looking. But yes, the sheer terror of missing an intl flight home made me run my little legs off :)

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  8. So, sorry to laugh at your trauma, but really, that was funny. I'm imagining that poor woman who was so excted to get on, and then got kicked off. Can you imagine what HER blog post says today??! Glad you had a good trip and here's to some exercise - it's hard to come by in mommyland sometimes ;)

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  9. BOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooo!

    You in my town now!

    You think I would let you have anything other than the greatest time ever?

    Hmpf.

    Keya and I lost our IRL moment.

    ;)

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  10. Ok, I know this so is not or was not funny, especially as it was happening to you and God knows if this were me I would have been freaking out, but I have to say this did make me laugh just a little bit. I could just see you sprinting through that big ole airport and just collapsing in your seat...once you finally got there.

    Thanks for a little laugh, and I'm glad you finally made it to your flight on time :)

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  11. YIKES!!!! I always have nightmares of stuff like this happening!

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