Air Travel Sucks
July 18, 2008I flew from Atlanta to Newark today as I left our WW Sales meeting and headed up to NJ for a family reunion. Since we lived in Freehold, NJ, of Bruce Springsteen fame, for 6 years I know what Fridays are like in the summer on the Garden State Parkway. They are basically a very slow moving parking lot as many bail out of NYC and heads to the Jersey Shore. I planned on arriving early enough to avoid the majority of this. Since air travel was involved I should have known better.
When I arrived at the airport in Atlanta to check in, I was told my flight was delayed and they would rebook me on the next flight. It was a 10 am flight and with a stop in Charlotte, this would get me into Newark only 35 minutes later at 1:59pm. I was skeptical though. I had spoken to AMEX travel and they had me a nice reservation on Continental that would leave at the same time but would get me in at 12:15 since it was direct. The only glitch was I would have to buy the Continental ticket for $320. Before buying the new ticket, I asked Fred at the US Air counter if he could review the exact times for me, tell me where the plane in Charolotte was coming from and if there was any weather along the way. Everything sounded good. Fred was very friendly and made sure I had a window or aisle and off I went. I was skeptical that things were going to go as Fred assured me, but, happy I had saved the company some money.
The first leg was fine. We were on a larger jet and, although we left late, we arrived on time. Since we were only 3 gates from the original Newark flight I was on, I walked over to see if I could get on it. Sorry the gate agent said, we are in a hurry to close this out and I don’t have time to make the change. Ok, not to worry, Fred told me I would only be 35 minutes later.
I headed off to the gate for my flight. The plane was a regional jet and that part of the terminal was a bit of a walk. Not a problem though, I had plenty of time and it would give me some excercise.
I arrived at the gate with plenty of time, 11:30am for a 12:11 flight. I went over and bought a burrito for lunch and still had time. About 10 minutes before 12 the gate agent said we would board soon and she started to take out a passenger in a wheel chair so she could board. The co-pilot stopped her though and they exchanged a few words. She brought the woman back in. Hmm, I’m thinking this is not a great sign but we’ll see. At 12:05 we still aren’t boarding and I noticed a man up talking with the co-pilot and the gate agent. After he got done I walked over and asked him when we would board. He said they told him someone from the crew went to get something and we would board shortly. The co-pilot told him “we’ll be wheels up by 12:30″. Sure we will. This whole time I’m noticing that no one has a sense of getting this plane out on time or even close.
We finally board about 12:20 and are just pushing back at 12:30. We weren’t “wheels up” until at least 12:50. We were on our way though which is always encouraging. The flight was relatively smooth and we finally started our descent around 1:50. Since you start descending abour 20 minutes before you land, my friend Fred’s assurances that I would only be 35 minutes late weren’t going to come true. No surprise since I was flying US Air and going to Newark, not a good combination.
It seems like forever before we actually end up on final approach. I look at my watch, 2:20. I’m annoyed now since I know I still have to get down the Garden State Parkway and every minute counts on a hot, sunny Friday. I was sitting there as we at about to touch down, looking down at the seat in front of me, when something doesn’t feel right. It feels like the nose has come up and we are accelerating. I look out the window and sure enough, we are climbing. We just aborted our landing. Wonderful. I can’t wait to hear the explanation for this. After we climb to a safe altitude and I watch the airport pass by the window, so close, the co-pilot announces “Air traffic control didn’t sequence us right.” That’s the whole announcement. Fortunately I knew what that meant.
Now we get to do the whole thing over again and the minutes are passing by. 25 minutes later we finally touch down. As a large group of us were waiting in the blazingly hot jet way for our carry ons, I see the co-pilot taking his bags off the plane. He looks like he doesn’t have a care in the world. A man that doesn’t have anywhere to be at any set time. That must be nice.
I finally get my carry on, meet the driver and off we go. He mentions casually, “yep, it’s hot and sunny today, that means the Garden State is going to be a mess.” I know I grumble. It’s now after 3pm and my plan to beat as much of the Friday traffic as possible has failed, even with Fred’s assurances.
Not to fear though, the driver was a wiley veteran of these parts and we missed all of the traffic by taking a couple of local routes. An hour after I left Newark I was at the hotel. He did it. He saved the day! Now it’s time to relax and get ready for the reunion tomorrow!
I have to say, air travel in the US is a crap shoot. I avoid it if at all possible for all of the reasons I experienced today. It’s not reliable, the system is bursting at the seams, the employees are overworked. It’s the perfect storm. It’s an embarrassment.
Posted by Mike Allen