Paying a price for setting the record straight? – Runway Girl

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Those pictures were taken by me, but apparently even the WSJ realizes the importance of sports to airlines and just published this article

I was done with work early so instead of waiting around until 9 pm I tried my chances at an earlier flight. Usually on United this results in a “you have a snowball’s chance on the sun”, but the agent at the first class/elite desk put me on the list with no commentary. I appreciated that because I already knew I had a snowball’s chance! Flight when I got there was oversold and I was added to the list during boarding anyway so I had little hope.

Next flight was asking for volunteers and offering $450 in travel vouchers which is very generous for US.

Next flight was technically oversold (i think they said +2), but they were able to accommodate a few of the people I’d been waiting with, then a party of 2 didn’t show so I got on as well as a lady traveling to DTW. She said she had been there since 11 am and needed to get on this flight or she’d miss her flight to DTW. I’m not sure what flight she was originally confirmed on, but I was called before she was and I was not connecting and I was confirmed for a flight in 3 hours.

After they called my name off the standby list the lady next to me in the waiting area asked how I got on an earlier flight so I told her about free standby and the Move Up program, but since no seats were confirmable there was no chance for move up. She was apparently just waiting there for all the Charlotte flights for no real reason! I didn’t ask which flight she was confirmed on either, but I bet she was probably also on the last one of the night.

During Holiday rush star alliance gold beats standby again!

These past 2 weeks have included some interesting characters on my flights home.

Last week I was on a redeye from Vegas. While waiting for my flight, I saw the gate agents deny boarding to a drunk man and then escort him outside the secured area. Then on my own flight right behind me was a man who kept loudly talking about how drunk he is, how he doesn’t brush his teeth, how he’s been kicked off flights before for being drunk. I thought about saying something, but I try not to be the one to ruin anyone’s trip so I let it go. Luckily he fell asleep right after takeoff and woke up right after landing so the majority of the redeye was quiet. I did get some audio recorded on my phone, but I’m not sure what the recording laws are in situations like this so I’ll keep it to myself for now. While exiting the plane I suggested to the FA that she should have kicked the man off the flight, but by then he was at his destination anyway.

Fast forward to today I got on an earlier flight and right in front of me was a little boy probably no more than 3 years old. His mom was in the window seat, he was in the middle, and big sis was in the aisle. Across the aisle was the aunt, father, and brother. Little boy (we’ll call him 28B) was very loud. He had a stuffed blue bunny he kept tossing around and it came back into my row 3 times before takeoff. I blame this all on the selfish mother who took the window seat. During the taxi out to the runway the brother (28F) decided he needed to use the bathroom. Aunt and father get up, but the FA quickly tells them they need to sit down. FA phones up to the captain asking him to stall to allow the child to use the restroom. We had to wait for him to finish before reentering the queue. Luckily we were #3 in line. I’ve waited forever to take off in LGA before so #3 is OK with me. 28B is still yelling, kicking 27B’s seat violently, etc. Aunt tried to get 28B to play games like counting the trucks outside. The mom was just telling the kid to calm down while she enjoyed her window seat. Everyone knows kids should always get window seats, not middles! During the flight the kid watched about 15 minutes of the Chipmunk movie, then some Barney, then something else. I don’t think he finished anything before something else was started.

I frequently use SuperShuttle in cities when I’m staying downtown and can either use transit or walk to my client. In cities like BWI I don’t have any issue with them. They take me where I’m going and pick me up when they are supposed to or call to warn of any delays.

I landed in LGA after an hour delay.
My cell phone died
I found the phones the reservation said to use and I called Supershuttle. i was on hold for about 10 minutes before finally getting someone.
I waited for 20 minutes for a shuttle to arrive.
Shuttle guy calls me so I hop on
Shuttle is filled to capacity
Driver is a maniac and cuts everyone off by making his own lane and just squeezing in
After an hour we finally got from LGA to the intersection of 5th ave and 45th (not sure how NYers say street names). The driver said I needed to get off.
He hands me $10. I’m confused. He says he wasn’t supposed to take me. He gave me back 2/3 of what I had prepaid and said I should just take a cab the rest of the way to near the Brooklyn Bridge!!
I knew I was far away and didn’t want to bother with a $$$ cab ride so I walked for 10 blocks down 5th ave before I found a Starbucks near the Empire State Building.
I charged my phone for a while and used google maps to get transit directions
found the subway station, bought the fare, hopped on the train, got off at the station
walked around for quite a while before finding my hotel (use google maps on my phone and just hoped it wouldn’t die before I figured out where I was going)
I wanted to hail a cab, but didn’t see any with their lights on.

…so, I left my house at 10 am and got to the hotel at 6 pm. Long day.

As I max out the Q4 Hilton promotion I reflect on why I continued to stay at Hilton properties after requalifying for Diamond VIP, the top tier.

• There is a Hampton everywhere I go. I go places such as St. Joseph, MO, New Albany, IN, and others like that. The Hampton Inn is the only hotel among Hilton, Marriott, Starwood, and Hyatt. Many of the places I go have Holiday Inns, but I only stay there if nothing from the other chains is there.
• I like the Hilton chain bedding. I always bring my own toiletries so those don’t win me over, but I care about bedding. I try not to think about how often the duvet gets washed, but I’m a cold person and the 3 tiny sheets that Fairfield Inns and Courtyards (both by Marriott) try to pass as adequate bedding during winter in Iowa just don’t cut it for me. I have never had a cold night at any Hilton brand I’ve stayed at. I’m constantly tempted to buy a Hampton Inn bedding set, but I’m not sure if I could keep it as white as they do.
• This week I stayed at a Hilton property instead of a Marriott property because I had no shot at Gold with Marriott at this point (25 nights from Gold) and I just needed 1 stay to complete the 12 Q4 stays to get 75,000 points. 75,000 points are nothing since Hilton points are the peso of hotel points, but I just wiped out my balance recently so every point helps.
• Most importantly though, this game to me is all about using the points. Points are only valuable when cashed in just like I used to tell my brother than a quarter is only a quarter unless you have an offer for more. I have redeemed many Hilton HHonors points over the years. Some places a Hilton is one of many locations to choose from in the city. In places like Charleston, SC the Embassy Suites is much better than any Starwood property in the city. The latest feat is using points to stay at a conference. At first there was no availability during the actual conference, then it opened up and I managed to use a discounted redemption rate for VIPs.

Would I tell someone at the checkin counter that Hilton has great promos? Doubtful, but it does meet my needs. Although everyone on Flyertalk seems to love Starwood and Hyatt, I have chosen Hilton.

The top 10 busiest US airports

This list could double as the list of airports I avoid. Although I frequently connect in ATL and ORD out of necessity, I try to never connect in NYC airspace. It’s just too risky.

Even if the flight is technically “on time” it may still be late. One time I was flying out of JFK on Delta. The flight was already 45 minutes late for boarding. Then when we finally pushed back the pilot announced we were #45 in line for take-off! I was glad I was on a direct flight because there is no way I could have made most connections after that much of a delay.

United does seem to like hubs prone to delays with SFO, ORD, and IAD all making the list, but at least UA is smart enough to avoid NYC airspace.

This year I’m in pretty much the same boat I was in last year except on the rental car front.

• Airlines: still 1P with United and Gold with Delta. Hit 75,000 and 60,000 respectively
• Hotels: still Diamond with Hilton and Silver with Marriott. Lost status with SPG, but only because that was conferred from a credit card and I shifted my spending to Hilton AMEX.
• Rental cars: Avis First *ahem* I mean Last. National got up to Executive Aisle and I made 5 star with Hertz, but I haven’t rented with Hertz since then.

In a couple weeks it all resets to 0 and the race begins again.

GateGuru has launched a new application for the iPhone to act as a guide through airports.

The movie “Up in the Air” came out limited release December 4th and I finally made it to a limited release city so of course I had to go see it. I was in Toronto and just a couple stops from the Varsity Cineplex so I looked up the show times and got there in plenty of time since at the time it was the only theatre in the country showing the movie.

In the movie George Clooney has designed his life to exclude all attachments. He has no mortgage, no friends, and barely talks to his family. He does motivational speeches advocating this lifestyle. When I see this I know I am similar. Although I technically have a relationship and some friends, I have been aggressively cutting people out of my circle if they bring too much baggage. This situation could happen even with non frequent flyers, but hopping from city to city doesn’t help the situation. Out of sight, out of mind, ya know!

Do I really want to maintain this lifestyle for years? who knows…