Friday, January 02, 2009
Christmas Travel
Originally written on Dec. 27th-
So, traveling this Christmas has been very possibly the worst experience of my life. Which is saying something, when you consider that I had a week long hospital stay within the last year of my life.
Getting from New York to Hometown was BAD. Here's the rundown.
Flight out of LaGuardia was delayed for 3 hours and as a result, I sprinted out of that plane in O'hare only to watch my connecting flight pull away from the gate. It was the last flight from Chicago to Hometown on all airlines for the night. AWESOME. I waited in the United Customer Service line for 3 hours and walked away at 1 am, with a hotel voucher, a confirmed flight from Denver to Hometown and a hope and a prayer that I could get on one of the flights from Chicago to Denver the next day in time to catch the flight to Hometown.
I spent 3 measly hours in that hotel room before I had to catch a shuttle back to O'Hare to fly standby on the first flight to Denver the next morning. That flight was delayed 2 hours, but I made it on. I got to Denver 6 hours before my confirmed flight, so I went and begged to get on an earlier flight and through the grace of God, made it onto that one also. I arrived in Hometown 26 hours after I had begun traveling. I had cried a lot and slept very little.
I spent 3 lovely days at home with my family. Then boarded a flight out of Hometown this morning to head back to New York. As I landed in Chicago (FUCKING Chicago!), I turned on my phone to find 3 voicemails letting my know that my flight from O'Hare to LaGuardia had been cancelled. That's right.
Cancelled.
I stood in that damned customer service line for 2.5 more hours. Got myself on standy on a flight to Newark, which I have subsequently been assigned a seat on and has been delayed for 2 hours due to weather in Chicago. In the meantime, my bag has probably landed at LaGuardia and is circling the baggage claim. Fan-Fucking-Tastic!!!
So, traveling this Christmas has been very possibly the worst experience of my life. Which is saying something, when you consider that I had a week long hospital stay within the last year of my life.
Getting from New York to Hometown was BAD. Here's the rundown.
Flight out of LaGuardia was delayed for 3 hours and as a result, I sprinted out of that plane in O'hare only to watch my connecting flight pull away from the gate. It was the last flight from Chicago to Hometown on all airlines for the night. AWESOME. I waited in the United Customer Service line for 3 hours and walked away at 1 am, with a hotel voucher, a confirmed flight from Denver to Hometown and a hope and a prayer that I could get on one of the flights from Chicago to Denver the next day in time to catch the flight to Hometown.
I spent 3 measly hours in that hotel room before I had to catch a shuttle back to O'Hare to fly standby on the first flight to Denver the next morning. That flight was delayed 2 hours, but I made it on. I got to Denver 6 hours before my confirmed flight, so I went and begged to get on an earlier flight and through the grace of God, made it onto that one also. I arrived in Hometown 26 hours after I had begun traveling. I had cried a lot and slept very little.
I spent 3 lovely days at home with my family. Then boarded a flight out of Hometown this morning to head back to New York. As I landed in Chicago (FUCKING Chicago!), I turned on my phone to find 3 voicemails letting my know that my flight from O'Hare to LaGuardia had been cancelled. That's right.
Cancelled.
I stood in that damned customer service line for 2.5 more hours. Got myself on standy on a flight to Newark, which I have subsequently been assigned a seat on and has been delayed for 2 hours due to weather in Chicago. In the meantime, my bag has probably landed at LaGuardia and is circling the baggage claim. Fan-Fucking-Tastic!!!
