I realized how much I love our corporate jet on Monday. I just show up, I get on the plane, and I don't even have to undress or wait in lines...I get a big fat leather seat to sink into, the donuts and coffee are fresh and the pilots load my luggage on the plane without forgetting it on the tarmac.
My schedule was different than the schedule the jet took this week, so I flew to Montana on my old friend United Airlines. I didn't ever really commute by plane until I took this job, so my biggest concern before was finding gas stations with good cappuccino. Now I'm in airports on a regular basis and I have become a pretty smart and good traveler...too bad United Airlines can't make the same claim, and they travel for a living.
I left Sioux Falls on Monday after a 2 hour delay, got to Denver and had another 3.5 hour delay...I didn't get to Bozeman until 2:30 a.m. Had I drove I would have been an hour behind my plane arrival in BZM...and 2 days in front of my luggage.
It seems United (aka---Disconnected Airlines) couldn't find the time in the almost 4 hours from when I arrived in Denver to throw my luggage with precision and care onto the next plane I was to get on. Usually it makes it there in the 45 minutes that the layover is scheduled to last.
So after a meeting with a "Divided Airlines" representative in Bozeman, and 3 half hour plus phone calls with Habib from customer dis-service concerning my lost...I mean "delayed" luggage, I finally got my stuff 2 days later...I only have one day of my trip left!
The crazy thing is the route my luggage took to get to the Hampton Inn in Butte. Follow if you can...
Monday: Sioux Falls to Denver (got lost somewhere here)
Tuesday: Denver back to Sioux Falls (WHY I HAVE NO IDEA)
Tuesday mid-morning: Sioux Falls back to Denver, Denver to Bozeman, Bozeman back to Denver, Denver to Salt Lake.
Wednesday: Salt Lake to Butte...then the Butte airport decided to hold on to the bag for a few hours before delivering it to my hotel.
Makes you wonder how someone hasn't gone postal on a United desk clerk.
Other names United should consider to better represent their service.
Divided Airline
Separated Airlines
Bad seats, old planes and uncaring employees...Fly Disbanded Airlines.
You are reading this saying, well fly Delta or something...I can't I already have a bunch of frequent flier miles, that I don't want to lose...and they have the quickest flights to Montana. I'm bound to their inadequacies.
2 comments:
Tom, As I read your blog from my PC phone Thursday night, yeah Vicky told me to look it up, I was sitting on a plane in Minnespolis waiting to take off on a 3.5 hour delay trying to get to NYC. Rain in the area and traffic congestion forced Laguradia to shut down for a few hours. Great..what else to do but surf the internet from my phone.
As I near 1 million Northwest miles, 950,000 and change, I've had many interesting travel episodes. I've had 4 aborted landings, 3 from stray planes in the way in the runway and 1 from the landing gear not engaging. That provided an extra hour of flight time and 2 tower flybys to verify landing gear locked down. I've endured kids screaming and crying for 10 hours of a 15 hour flight from Melbourne, Australia to LA. I was stuck in Australia 5 extra days during the 9/11 attack.
I had a drunk pass out on me and wet himself..ironically, the stewardess gave me a bottle of wine for my troubles.
Don't fly Aerlingus from Dublin, Ireland to Manchester, England...you'll be sick the rest of the day.
KLM from Amsterdam to Paris is a pretty good flight..until they give you little sandwiches with week old cheese with a meat like substance. And the dutch stewardess has a tooth or two missing.
I learned along time ago "stuff" happens. A few things I learned right away that sounds like you just learned...Never check your luggage, always carry on your luggage, and never fly United...and Aerlingus.
Flying without a corporate jet and with the masses as alowed me to meet interesting people. Like the man who got on the Quantas flight from Melbourne, Australia to Adelaide, Australia and exlcaimed "When this plane is in the air I will save you all from your sins". He didn't get the chance. Or the lady that let her dog out from Minneapolis to Atlanta. That woke a few people up.
I've also sat by famous people..Former Gov. Jesse Ventura, Al Neuharth, USA Today, Joe Mauer, MN Twins, Tim Johnson, John Mcain, Paul Schafer, Serena Williams, and John Thune. John and I crossed paths on 4 or 5 occasions in the Minneapolis world club on Thursday nights coming back to Sioux Falls.
So Tom, if you are stuck in a corporate jet, you may be missing out on seeing all the world has to offer and all the interesting people God created. Just be sure to carry on your luggage.
Brent
I hate that a person has to 'undress' when going through security...just feels weird, especially when you're wearing pants that are too big and have to take off your belt! Anyway...How's the puddle?? Hope you have time between annoying flights to enjoy it! Wish I could enjoy the 'puddle' I live close to...could go all year round. Too bad nobody here can quite get the concept of 'skiing on water'...and the crocs are a bit of a draw-back as well. I think it'd be worth the risk though....If I could only get ahold of a kneeboard... Catch ya later. ~Amber
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