Cleared for Takeoff

US Gov't: Have you seen this person of circumspect affiliations?
Age: 6
Gender: Male
Status: Frequents airports for fun

Now at National Airport, we unloaded the bags and met with the curbside porter for check in. Time now 0530. After several attempts, the porter is unable to check our bags. He takes Marybeth and the kids inside. I drive away to drop off the rental car.

0605am. I have found the off airport car rental location, picked up gas, parked the car, paid for the rental, and made it back to the terminal. The family is still in line. The line is not moving.

0612. We have made it to the ticket agent. She can’t find our reservation. Correction, she has not found our reservations. Our one reservation is now 3. Some of us are on the TSA Watch list….

0613. “I need to change all of these tickets. I can’t get this done before the flight leaves. You did not get to the airport in time. “

0613.30 WHAT!?!

0613.45 Wasn’t this all handled by the agent on the phone – it took an hour then!

The agent begins the process of issuing our tickets. (Later we learn that for some reason, the tickets were converted from electronic to paper… why?) On at least two occasions, the agent calls out to the supervisor that the computer won’t allow certain changes.

0645. The computer finally spits out the tickets. The flight is now closed and we cannot possibly get through security before it leaves. There are no other flights we can take, and no airline has 4 available seats to get us out of there. Given that we turned in the rental car, we are now stranded at National.

We are now on the noon flight out of Dulles on Sunday – our seats on the 0740 had been cancelled when we accepted the 0650 flight. There are no seats left on the 0740.

UNBELIEVABLE.

0655 Robby gets sick. Poor kid. The Hi-C he had a few minutes before is now on the floor in the ticket agent queue line. Several nice people help us out. It’s just sleep deprived nausea; he’s otherwise fine.

I start dialing for flights. I call the American 800 number again because the ticketing agent needs to help other customers who are now stranded, but don’t know it yet.

0710. The 800 reservation agent says that she now has us confirmed on the 0754 flight to St. Louis. I start working the system to get an agent to issue the boarding passes.

0715. We are working with a new ticketing agent, who is worried that a break might be missed if she tries to work with us first.

0730. She has finally found all of our records again. She starts the process. This is not happening either.

How many keystrokes does it take to issue a ticket?

0745. The agent starts the process of confirming us to fly on Sunday and issue the tickets. The next concern is getting home.

0800. I wonder if Uncle Silvio is awake yet? He lives in Arlington, about 15 minutes away. Hi Silvio, I am sorry to wake you, but need your help. Any chance you would be willing to come pick us up at the airport? It’s a long story.

Yes.

Thank God for Uncle Silvio.

0815. Our itinerary for tomorrow is finally finished. We can go home and the agent can go on break.

0820. Silvio calls that he is on the premises, where are we?

0822. Silvio pulls up at the terminal, we load the bags and head home to Herndon.

0854. We are home in Herndon. The all night odyssey for nothing comes to an end. Thank you American Airlines. Mom and Dad start napping in the living room; the kids watch the Olympics.

We don’t know it yet, but this story is far from over.