This blog is not about the trip itself, however, but about the flight to and from. I have been flying for 30 years and except for a few minor snags, have never had a real problem. Once I made a mistake that cost me time and money; but other than that--things have gone very smoothly--actually amazingly smoothly. On this one short flight LOTS went wrong--none of it my fault--but I paid the price in stress, wear and tear and time. Both coming and going the first leg of the flight was late causing a mad scramble for my connection. On the return flight, I had to literally run through the airport and tripped over my carry-on bag. I made it with seconds to spare; and found out from my seat mate that the gate had been changed four times. One lady I met while running told me she had been trying to get home to Norfolk since the night before, having experienced two canceled flights causing her and her son to have to stay overnight in a hotel and sleep in their clothes (their bags were lost). Speaking of lost bags, my one and only bag was lost on the trip to Chattanooga AND home. I was horrified at the prospect of spending the four day excursion in the same outfit and shoes sans makeup, toothbrush, and pjs. My bag didn't arrive until almost 5 pm on the day following the return flight. Two late flights, two mad scrambles, and two lost bags--all in one flight!
Throughout the experience I was disturbed, scared, and inconvenienced, and a part of me kept thinking--what if this happened to one of my clients going on a honeymoon, resort, or cruise? No matter how carefully you pack, if you don't have your suitcase, what would that do to your vacation? I noticed on the airlines website, information on what to do if your bag had been missing for 10 days. 10 DAYS? DID that happen? apparently! By the way, the line to file a claim for a lost bag took us over 30 minutes to navigate.
What about my new friend who had to stay overnight because of canceled flights? Who paid for that? What would have happened if she couldn't have found a room, would they sleep in the airport?
And worse of all, what would have happened had I really hurt myself when I tripped over my case? I barely made the flight as it was--what would an injury thrown into the mix have done? What would happen to someone older, a little slower, or worse if someone got hurt in the mad scramble of an airport?
These questions have been rummaging around in my brain the past few days. In between legs of the flight, I tweeted and posted to Facebook about what was going on. Since then, several people have chimed in and shared horror stories about unsafe conditions, delays, waste, and problems, many of which make my story look lame.
I have come to a few conclusions. First, I am thankful I made it as long as I did without major flight problems. Secondly, I am more energized than ever about making sure every client has travel protection. Thirdly, I intend to file a complaint with the powers that be about my experiences. What will happen? I am not really sure. Will it make a difference? I don't know that either. My intent is good, but my story is not unique--it happens hundreds of times a day every day if not every hour. And that may be the worst part of all, that we have come to accept poor service, dangerous situations, industry wide apathy as the norm.
Keep the faith and blessings as you travel,
Sandy
