my trip home was not what i had planned. something you need to know about me is that i like to wind down from travel. when i plan my flights, i factor in a good chunk of time before i have to jump back into my routine. this allows for a time of rest (from the travel, usually), but also gives me time to get some things out of the way, post-travel chores, such as unpacking and laundry, getting items ready for the next day (especially if i’m coming back to a work day), and even groceries. i might even have some mental strength to put together my blog posts.
but things did not go as i had planned. my flight from jfk to cincinnati was on schedule. but my flight from cincinnati to knoxtropolis was not. when we touched down in cinci, i turned my phone on to find email from delta waiting for me to let know my thirty minute layover was now about two. when i got off the plane and found a monitor and found my gate, it had been bumped to three hours. when i check my email again, the flight had been cancelled. in fact, delta’s computers had automatically booked me on a later flight, the 7:00p flight out of cinci. 7:00p?!
i talked to ticket agent. first lady, not so customer service-y. having some time, i grabbed lunch. upon returning to the gate, i asked again about matters. i asked dude, who was more customer service-y, if i could get my bags if i could get a rental car. he said sure. i stepped aside and checked for cars. none at hertz and avis. i called AAA and asked for their magic powers to be invoked. no cars available despite AAA magic. i was really stuck there.
i told delta dude i would be staying. he told me he would be working the gate from where my 7:00p flight was to leave and would work out my exact seating when i got there. hours to kill now.
i put together the first few blog posts during the time. i felt like i could have used a nap. i really wanted a nap…and to have my laundry started and to even have my grocery shopping done. time passed more quickly while putting together my blog posts. time to find my gate.
hey, look, my gate. hey, there’s delta dude. he gave me seat one-charlie. right up front! it’s almost like riding shotgun except you can’t see out the front window, and the airlines don’t like that term used no matter where you sit. flight was short. i got home actually twenty minutes earlier than schedule. points to our pilots. and i was the first one off the plane. never had that happen before. i got to be first in line at the baggage area!
i ended up waiting for all the bags to make it off the plane. mine was not among them. great. talked to delta lost baggage lady. she informs me my bag never got put on at jfk and as we were talking was either en route to or already in hotlanta. (she didn’t call it hotlanta. that’s my term.) great.
my bag didn’t actually come for another twenty-four hours after i had gotten home. about 10:30p on tuesday night after i had gone to bed. i am at least glad delta didn’t lose my bags going to new york. that would have really set me off, i believe. i’m also glad i didn’t burn extra pto because of bumped fights. and despite this end to the whole vacation, i did have an extremely good time.
i’ll be back, new york. i’ll be back.
