Due to storms we have to fly a little north of our regular route to Fort Worth, at least that is what the Captain said, so we arrived a little late to the gate. I didn’t mind, we were still quite early so I had plenty of time to get to my next gate. The Captain also said to check your gate on the big screen monitors as they can change frequently and without much notice. I suppose I should have taken this more to heart.
To get to the main terminal, a person has to go on a tram pretty much like the one in Tampa. However, this tram was far more interesting as it went over a highway and around several curves. I was delighted with the short ride and seriously would have traveled the whole route to the four different terminals had I thought I had the time. So far, so good. I found a place to sit and wrote in my journal that this airport was a pleasant surprise and I wouldn’t hesitate to fly out of it again if the opportunity arose.
I checked the big board as instructed by the Captain and found my gate without any problems whatsoever. I sat for a bit writing and then decided to stop at the Pizza Hut shop to get a soda for the two hour trip to Cedar Rapids. When I came back I glanced back up at the board and everything was still the same so I sat down again to write some more.
At 7:10 I decided I best check on my boarding because my ticket said boarding started at that time and I hadn’t heard any boarding calls yet. I went to the big board and low and behold, my flight was no longer listed. I checked for it on all seven boards just in case they had somehow put it out of alphabetical order but it wasn’t there.
Confused I went to the lady at the gate who was flirting with a flight attendant. She seemed annoyed right off that I interrupted her but I was a bit concerned about my flight. She informed me in a very superior tone that my flight had already left. She said they had made an announcement that the gate had changed at the last minute AND that they were moving up the departure time. She also said she called my name a couple of times and I didn’t respond. Well, she called it at the NEW gate so why would I respond??? I was pissed.
I asked her when the next flight was and she said “I can get you on a flight to Des Moines yet tonight.” To which I said I didn’t want to fly into Des Moines. Her reply was “Well, it is in Iowa” as if getting to the state was the best I could hope for. I suppose she thought our state was so small that it would be just a few minutes hike between airports.
I told her no, that I couldn’t do that. She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes in annoyance. She decided she would give me a “distressed traveler” voucher for the Comfort Suites that was “close by” the airport there in Fort Worth. I asked if I could stay in the terminal and she said all the people left by 10:30pm so I should go to the hotel and fly out on their 6am flight to Cedar Rapids. Then she pretty much turned her back on me to start flirting again.
I tried to call my sister and son collect but that is a real mess these days so I quit trying and decided to try on the internet instead. There is a terminal there that advertises email access at a cost of $1 for four minutes. Well, that gets you onto the computer but to actually go to your email site, that costs another dollar. I paid the $2 and left her a quick email before it went dead and then went to get a soda.
I was walking back by the pay phones trying to digest my dilemma when the one I had used before started ringing. I picked it up and it was my sister calling me back from Iowa. I told her the situation and asked her to notify my son so he wouldn’t wonder why I didn’t pick up the dogs that night.
After I hung up with her, I called the hotel shuttle to be picked up and had to get directions to the lower level so I could meet the driver. It took a little while and it was sweltering hot outside but eventually I got picked up and whisked over to the hotel which ended up being about fifteen minutes from the airport.
As I checked in with a refreshingly helpful desk clerk, the phone rang with more pickups from the airport of people who had also missed their flights. Off the shuttle went to retrieve those distressed travelers – the desk clerk says this happens every night just about. You would think the airport would figure out a better way to do business then.
I went to my hotel room – watched a little bit of tv and then went to bed. I didn’t sleep much as I was afraid I would oversleep my four alarms – two on my cell phone, one on the alarm clock provided in the room, and the wake up call from the front desk. By the way, the hotel was very nice. The desk clerk said it had only been open for two months. I was impressed with it’s nice decor and the amenities.
My only problem in the hotel room was finding the closet. It is successfully hidden from view behind a large floor to ceiling mirror that sits flush against the wall. I finally noticed the clasps on each side so knew that was the closet. I pulled it open and the door swung right into my right foot cutting the top of it. I already had two raw heels from wearing terrible shoes to the trial so this was more insult to injury. The words that flew out of my mouth were less than lady-like but damn it hurt.
My mood, which had been so much better after testifying and knowing I was headed home, went south again. I sat on the bed crying as I tried to stop the blood from flowing out the cut – it wasn’t the cut that made me cry but the frustration over missing my flight, dealing with a rude flight desk person, and all the other stuff that followed.
I think this downswing of my mood is what prompted the nightmares I had that night. The one I remember the most is a blue car sinking off the Sunshine Skyway and me trying to figure out how to get down to it to save the woman inside. It was not a good time. There was another one in there about alligators and sharks but I don’t remember it as well.
Finally I drifted into a doze but it seemed like it was only for a few minutes as then the alarms started going off indicating it was time to get up.
As a former employee of AA, I could’ve told you the gate agents in Dallas are the worst. Because of the number of people flying in and out, and the potential for bad weather on the field and enroute, they could care less. As an employee, I would get worse treatment than a paying passenger. But don’t let that prevent you from flying AA again. I like the airline and not just because I used to work for them. You get better service than with some of the others, with the exception of JetBlue.
My favorite airline is AirTran – it is the only airline I fly when I’m buying the ticket. They are always friendly, helpful and on time. I don’t get the run around when I talk to them and their planes are more comfy.