Travelogue of sorts

[judecorp]

We tried to fly to Florida this morning to go visit Jen's parents for a couple of days. Here is a brief synopsis of our "travel" experience:

1. Wake up at 3:30am.
2. Leave for airport just before 4:00am.
3. Arrive at airport at 4:35am.
4. Pull into long-term parking lot. Get ticket. Realize that they plowed all of the cars in on Saturday and that we will have to snowcrash into parking spot.
5. Try spot #1. Get stuck. Spin out. Back out.
6. Try spot #2. Get stuck. Spin out. Almost can't back out. Parking shuttle looks annoyed. Feel like crying.
7. Try spot #3. Jen gets out and kicks at ice for a couple of minutes. Pull into spot. Shuttle has left.
8. While Jen is kicking ice, Orbitz calls. Flight is cancelled. They have courtesy rebooked us on a flight leaving Tuesday. I tell Orbitz Lady that we are supposed to be returning on Wednesday. She tells us to talk to someone at ticket counter.
9. Give Jen bad news. Get on new shuttle.
10. Get off shuttle. Man getting on shuttle says a plane to DC is cancelled. We were going to Charlotte. That's 2.
11. 4:50am - walk into terminal. Look for end of US Airways line. Find it in another section near Delta counters. Notice that all other airlines running on schedule.
12. Dial US Airways 800 number. Wait on hold for 1 hour, 10 minutes. Hang up.
13. 6:20am - dying of hunger, try to forage for breakfast. All real food is inside security gates. End up with blueberry muffin and milk.
14. Alternate between standing with Jen and sitting in chair in another area because pelvis hurts.
15. 11am - Witness screaming match between disgruntled customer and disgruntled ticket counter worker. DC is upset because she has waited two hours for a delayed flight. DTCW tells her to shut up because people have been waiting since 5am. I love her. She walks out.
16. 11:30am - Jen and I reach the ticket counter and are determined to be as nice as possible. (Me: I guess it's not a good day to work at the airport...)
17. We get rebooked to our satisfaction, though it's annoying. We're going to try again in a couple of days, had to shift days off and stuff, but hopefully have good flights AND our ticket counter worker was very kind and helpful.
18. Our rebook is on another airline, so we walk to the Delta counter to get seat assignments.
19. 12pm - Get back on parking shuttle, go back to car.
20. Get charged full day's parking rate. $7. Suck.
21. 12:20pm - Find Ruby Tuesday's on road to highway. Eat.
22. 2pm - Pull into driveway. Home sweet home after 10 hours.
23. 5pm - Wake up from nap. Feel very disoriented.

Dear God, this had better be the best trip ever... eventually.

Comments

[changinglight.livejournal.com]

that TOTALLY sucks.

it damn well better be the best vacation ever!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, you are not kidding!

I am already formulating my lengthy complaint letter to US Airways. This is our freaking BABYMOON, for crying out loud! You can't eff with that. Who KNOWS when we'll take a trip again (aside from Christmas, we're probably going to travel to family again for Christmas with the baby).

[changinglight.livejournal.com]

BABYMOON is the best phrase EVER!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I wish I'd invented it, but alas, I did not.

[ladygreyy.livejournal.com]

Oh no, that sucks. What a mess. :(

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I have been on a number of flights changed/cancelled due to weather. I mean, I live in places with winters, it happens.

I have NEVER had an experience like this before. I will never fly US Airways again for sure.

[happy2beso.livejournal.com]

Jeff has been trying to fly here on US Air since Saturday. Both of us tried for 36 hours to even be able to wait on hold to talk to someone.... finally waited in que for 2.5 hours to be told that MAYBE he can rebook for Tuesday.

I'm sorry you're having to deal with this mess, too. It's so annoying!

[whod81.livejournal.com]

american airlines was the bomb, yo. not only did they get me re-booked (on a delta flight). but i called back the next day and got a better flight! i hope they don't cancel it!

15 minute hold time.

orbitz ftw!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I had never booked from Orbitz before and I have to say I was impressed over, say, Travelocity. Not only did they call me with the cancel (a little too late, but whatev), they had courtesy rebooked us for a flight on Tuesday. We ended up switching to a different flight but when we got to the ticket counter at 11:30, the airport worker was impressed that we'd had a new flight already.

As for the hold time... well, I wish I'd flown another airline. Then again, if we'd chosen another airline, we would have flown today! No one else in all of Hartford (Delta, Southwest, Northwest, Frontier, United, etc.) had cancelled flights.

[whod81.livejournal.com]

aa managed to call me before orbitz. actually, my dad managed to call me before all of them. so i checked status and was like "it says its good".

then wouldn't you know it the airline called me :)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

They have GOT to get better at updating the online stuff. Ours said "all good" in the morning, too, even though a lady I met in line had gotten a call at 3am.

Especially update the online stuff if your PHONE isn't going to work!!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

What is the deal with US Air? I have never flown them before (or at least not in years and years) and I have never seen the kind of incompetency I saw today. I keep thinking about all of the AP articles that went out about JetBlue when we had our last big storm, but where is the expose on US Air? Not only did we (and about 899 of our friends) wait 6+ hours in a ticket counter line, NO ONE walked up and down the line with any kind of update or apology, and when I told someone that I was 6 months pregnant and it was hard to stand in line for so long, she told me to go home!

I hope Jeff gets out to see you soon!!

[happy2beso.livejournal.com]

Well, basically, I think what happened is that they had to cancel all their flights into and out of Philadelphia on Saturday because of the same stuff that Jet Blue dealt with (the new laws about de-icing) and the weater, etc.... then none of their airplanes were in the place they had to be to get anyone ANYWHERE, so they had to cancel flights all over the country because of no planes to put people in.

I went to the San Jose airport yesterday to speak with a US Airways person since the phone line was just a busy signal for like 30 hours straight, and there were flights cancelled from San Jose to Phoenix and Las Vegas... obviously not weather related, but equipment related.

I can actually understand the problems an airline faces when the airport that is one of their largest (if not THE largest) hub is totally shut down, but that doesn't excuse not being able to get through to customer service or not explaining to people what was going on. I mean... if you don't have enough phone people... call people in - give them overtime - whatever you need to do... but even when I went to the SAn Jose airport they were like... "You need to call this number" and I'm like.... "listen, I've been doing that - it's not working."

:sigh:

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

It is incredibly irksome that airlines use planes to go from place to place to place. I'm not saying there is some better way (because I doubt there is), but to have a backlog like that in a place where there is NO WAY the weather is bothering flights (like Phoenix when there is a storm on the East Coast) is really bothersome to me. I feel like there needs to be some sort of backup plan.

But there DEFINITELY needs to be a better customer service plan, because you can't strand hundreds of thousands of people and give out an 800 number with a permanent busy signal. It's really maddening.

I wish I liked long road trips, or had unlimited time to travel. Then maybe I wouldn't be bothered so much. :)

[evewasframed.livejournal.com]

Ahh! What a horror story! I'm so sorry!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

What is annoying is that airline practice of using one plane from one place to another to another... so if a plane is cancelled or delayed or whatever on, say, Friday, it takes DAYS to recover. Can't they just pull one out of the hangar or something? They left like 900 people stranded this morning only! (Plane to Charlotte, plane to DC, plane to Philly)

Pelvic pain

[(Anonymous)]

I think we're at about the same point in our pregnancies and I've been having the SAME THING.. It's such a pain! I didn't have it with my first..but it's been really troublesome this time around.. Good luck and hope you do have a great trip..eventually (again here via FF)
Amanda

Re: Pelvic pain

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Since I have never been pregnant, I don't know what's typical and what's not. But I know I'm carrying incredibly low (still all kicks under belly button and some near hairline) and I'm sure that has something to do with it. It's probably nothing, but after standing or walking for a while I start to feel this weird pelvic pressure - I'm always thinking the kid's going to fall out!

[mermil.livejournal.com]

Wow. There better be goddam unicorns and rainbows when you finally go on vacation!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Please God, send me a pony in Florida.

Love,
Jude

[aminahfiddler.livejournal.com]

That sucks.. I fly AA a lot since it's one of the few that fly into State College Pa. I regularly get my luggage delivered free to my house the next day.

I hope you can make it to warm weather soon. Both of you deserve a relaxing fun, warm vacation.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I am SO ready! Bring on the sun and the shorts!

[yerbrainondrugs.livejournal.com]

That sucks. Airline travel is horrible even without having to go through all that stuff. You were very smart to not lose your temper at them.

At least nobody left you in the snow for hours as he tried to pick you up at the wrong airport. Now THERE would be a sucky trip. But none of your friends would be stupid enough to do that, right? Right??

Do I get bumped to your "second worst airline fiasco" now that this has happened? :)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

It's funny - when Jen and I were at lunch today I relayed the whole story of that weekend away: from the storm to the switched airport to the cryptic message from you at the airline counter to my first Metro trip to hanging out at the Metro station in the snow without my lost luggage. I actually brought it up to show how being nice to airline people can get you places... because that day I was the only person who wasn't all "I'm Mr. Important Businessman!" on the workers, and I ended up getting an inside tip on that flight to Reagan. Even though you went to Dulles. :)

Either way, you still loved me even though I couldn't change clothes for over 24 hours, and I had a great time that weekend. You'll always be #1 with me!

[(Anonymous)]

you M U S T be kidding! That is crazy!

e.
http://twomomsarebetterthanone.wordpress.com/

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

It was a nightmare!

[spacecadetjen.livejournal.com]

Oh how awful! So sorry that you both had such a stressful day. I really hope that your rescheduled trip goes much better. *hugs*

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Thankfully the rescheduled flights all went off without a hitch with no waiting. Otherwise I would have lost my mind!

[shanneeluee.livejournal.com]

Where in Florida are you going? I live in Florida! :-) The weather is beautiful here right now...I hope you can get here to enjoy it!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

We were in Cape Coral, which is a suburb of Ft. Myers I guess. Where in FL are you?

[shanneeluee.livejournal.com]

Orlando. :-)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Aha!

Someday we can take all our kids to Disney together!

[artjax.livejournal.com]

My trip got nixed, too, except I can't go later in the week. thankfully, I didn't even get out of bed and go to the airport - After spending 2 hours on hold w/ Delta on Friday night, I said "f-it." When my mom found her flight cancelled out of NJ and decided to not deal and quit trying then and there, it made it easier for me to not do anything. Though I'm sad I'm not on a beach somewhere.

hope you have a great time when you do manage to leave!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Awwh man, that really and truly sucks. I am so sorry. I know you were looking forward to that trip and just getting away, not to mention spending time in the Lesbo Resort with your mom. Poop. Stupid weather. Stupid, stupid weather.

We sweet-talked the woman into getting us out on Monday instead of Tuesday. It made things more manageable and only resulted in an extra vacation day. I don't know if we would have gone on Tuesday. I know we were only lucky because we weren't really going to a "big spring break destination."

I hope you get to have a nice warm-weather vacation make-up sometime soon. xo