Delays Delays Delays

August 15th, 2018 by Proprietor

There are few times that I travel, where I am not going to Las Vegas. As stated in pervious posts (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here) I love Las Vegas, and I travel regularly. The few exceptions are usually that, few. I went to Toronto one time and Miami another. I have never travelled for work. Recently, I traveled to Boca Raton, Florida for training. I have learned many things traveling, and this work trip taught me some things.

When you are traveling, and have to switch planes, make sure you have at least a four hour layover. Why? On the Boca trip, a co-worker and I had to switch planes in Charlotte, North Carolina. The plane arrived on time, but took forever to taxi to a gate. We had 45 minutes to get to the next plane. When the plane we arrived on taxied to a gate, it was E22 and we had to get to gate B4. My co-worker and I only had 20 minutes by the time we deplaned to get to our next plane. We made it with a few minutes to spare, only to find out our next flight was delayed. If we had a few hours or even several hours, yes it makes the journey longer, but we would have had plenty of time. That extra time meant we could get something to eat. By the time we arrived at our final destination, it was midnight, and we had not eaten since breakfast. Boca Raton is a city that closes down early, even by midwestern standards.

On the return trip from Boca Raton, our flight was delayed out of West Palm Beach due to thunderstorm activity. It is no one’s fault, but the delay was 2 hours, and we missed out connecting flight from Chicago. Luckily it was to Milwaukee, and we able to take a bus. Our luggage though, had to be picked up the next day at the airport. If we had made it on time for the connecting flight, from Chicago to Milwaukee, we would have had about an hour and a half of time. Had there been some proper planning, and a four hour layover planned into the situation, the two hour delay would have still given us enough time to get to the connection. There were people on our flight whom had a three or four hour window, so they made their connections.

Research back up plans. When flying from one place to another, research possible back up plans. For the Chicago to Milwaukee flight, I mentioned in the paragraph above, my co-worker knew about a bus that travelled from O’Hare to Mitchell. Coach USA Airport Express has regular buses traveling to and from O’Hare and Mitchell. We managed to get the last bus for the day from O’Hare to Mitchell, which would have been our final destination. From Mitchell we made it home, but had to get our luggage at a later time. Find out if there are any alternative flights with the carrier you are using, and when you have to deal with airline representatives you can explain there are other flights. Even with other airlines if you know there are other ways to get to your destination, you can use them. The real problem is getting your luggage. Once you get that, you can go onto another flight. Airlines do not have to refund your money on a connecting flight that is missed. The airline just has to get you another connecting flight on their airline. If you choose to use a competitor, you have to pay. The airline does have to return your luggage. The airline can be bitchy about it, and make it difficult, but these days with social media, that is not a wise thing.

Do not make any plans your first night you arrive. One of the major reasons I do not make plans for the first night at a location is due to travel delays. I learned this a long time ago when my flight was delayed from Milwaukee to Las Vegas. It was a 12 hour delay for a direct flight. I had plans to see a show that night, and knew I was not going to go to the show, so I had to cancel the tickets to the show. It sucked, I was looking forward to seeing Blue Man Group. I saw them on a different trip a year later. When flights are delayed, any plans you have are probably screwed. So, leave the first day for travel. If you are staying several nights, make plans the next night. If you get in on time, and can make other plans for the night, do so then.

Do not get angry or frustrated. Yes, it sucks your flight is delayed and your connection is missed, your plans are screwed, but it happens. The people at the airline will help you. Those innocent people are just doing their job and can identify with your anxiety, just do not take out anger on them. Even though those customer service people were not responsible for your delay, they are accepting responsibility to fix the situation, it does not make them culpable. That is the weird part of the human brain you have to turn off. The part that makes responsibility equate to culpability. The person taking responsibility for fixing a situation that was created by bad weather is not the cause of the problem, the bad weather is. The person helping fix the problem is being responsible, and will help you if you are nice, otherwise there are plenty of ways they could make your life more miserable. Smile, explain your problem, and thank the person for the help. You will find a good attitude will get you miracles. The person who is helping you might offer you a solution that you never thought of.

Traveling sucks. No matter how much you try to plan. Airlines do not really take any responsibility for their mistakes, because they understand they are the only game in town when it comes from fast point to point travel. The only other options are buses, trains or driving. If you drive, you are one hundred percent responsible for issues.

The key to not having real problems with traveling is research. Find the flights that are the most direct, it costs more, but the money is worth it. Flights with stops but no deplaning. Flights with at least a four hour layover. Two hour layover minimum so you have time to get from one gate to another. It seems due to airline hub and spoke method, going from point A to point B via flying requires at least one stop and change of planes. Find ways to make your life easier, even if it costs more money. It is worth the effort. I found a flight from Milwaukee to Chicago that went to Minneapolis first. I scratched my head and laughed at that.

Thanks for stopping by.