A Comedy of Errors

Temperature in
Houston, Texas is:

LINKS

Sign my Guestbook
(Powered by SignMyGuestbook.com)

MSN Encarta
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -Morrow
"Take care of the minutes, and the hours and years will take care of themselves." -Anonymous
"Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile." -F.P. Jones

Profile | Contact Me | Archive | Newest | Diaryland

2007-10-10
how i almost spent the night in the san francisco int'l airport

04:57

I went to San Francisco over a week ago, it was only for a day, but still, it was a lot of fun and, as always, made me realize how much I miss California (until I saw the gas prices, anyway :). I arrived at 9:30 Friday night, and left at 12:30 Sunday morning, so a really quick trip. The wedding was beautiful, the weather lovely, and the friends enjoyable. Altogether, a great trip.

That almost didn't happen.

I missed my flight out Friday evening. I was supposed to leave at 5:55, but due to traffic and already being rushed, I didn't make it in time. I immediately went to the information desk and in between lecturing me about being at the airport an hour ahead of time (I have flown before), the lady booked me on the next flight out, an hour later. As it turns out, I arrived right as my friends were leaving the Rehearsal Dinner so they were able to pick me up on their way back home.

The wedding was at 2, with dinner at 6 at The Cliff House, still going (fairly) strong at 10:45 when I left for the airport, arriving at 11:15. Which was good that I got there early, as my return flight to Houston had been canceled; not the flight, just my ticket. And the flight was overbooked. And my ride was well on his way back to Sacramento. Well, not the first night I've spent in an airport...

If you miss one leg of your flight, the entire thing is canceled. That much I knew. However, when I was rebooked on a later flight out, I didn't realize that my return flight was still canceled. Apparently, when that happens, the agent is supposed to "protect" the return trip, which she 1) didn't tell me about and 2) obviously, didn't do. The agent at SFO was very nice, explained all of this and rebooked me, albeit as stand-by. Fourteen people didn't show up for the flight, so I did get a seat, but it was touch-and-go for a bit, and I ended up having to check my carry-on, which I was NOT happy about as I really wanted to just get off the plane and go home and it seemed to me that the baggage claim took much longer than usual.

Moral of the story: If you miss your flight and are booked on the next one, make sure that any further legs of the trip, including the return, are protected.

Other terms and conditions of which one should be aware. Thanks, R.

Previous | Next