Category Archives: It’s not always so bad

Luck be a lady flying through LAX

15 Friday May 2015

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Trip type: Business

Airline: Delta

Route: MSP – SJC via LAX

Outbound

“The early bird catches the worm” are words to live by. Although not a travel novice in the least, I do not like to cut my travel time too short. (As my friend Andrea found out when she was two minutes late to pick me up for a different trip to California the other week and I was already Googling the number for a cab.) I’m always at the airport plenty early so that if anything goes awry, I’m ready to take action.

As it turns out, this worked out beautifully last week. To save over $1k on my travel, I was connecting through LAX on my way to San Jose and was starting the day with a 7:35 flight to Los Angeles. I arrived at the gate around 6:30 and after not even a minute was called to the podium.

“Ma’am, is San Jose your final destination?”

– “Yes.”

“Did you check any bags?”

– “No.”

“Would you like to take the direct San Jose flight instead of connecting?”

– “Is that a real question?”

Although already wiling to jump at the new itinerary, I did ask the agent if he could get me a decent seat as I was worried he was going to put me in a middle seat in the back of the plane. He said he thought he could do all right and handed me a new ticket for seat 1A.

Yep, I flew direct, got in an hour earlier than I was scheduled, and got a first class upgrade. Not too shabby.

Inbound

The flight home was not as magical (although really, how could it be?). I started off my day of travel getting beaned by a fly-away air hockey puck (long story but basically I was at one of those ‘cool kid’ tech conferences where they had a bunch of arcade games setup by our booth…I think you can figure out the rest. Actually, can I just side-bar here for a moment? If you’re a man reading this and you attend conferences where women are the minority of attendees, can you make a concerted effort to not be a dingbat? In addition to these guys who were so careless they missed hitting me in the eye by 1″, there was another gem of a gentleman who asked me “Did you used to be a model when you were younger?” Yes, a real person said this. Please don’t be this guy.) and was not looking forward to a very tight connection at my favorite airport (LAX) to end what had been a long week.

Boarding at SJC, we were on a small regional jet which meant we had to gate-check our bags. Usually I like gate-checking because it takes out anxiety about overhead space and makes the cattle call slightly more sane but this time I just inwardly groaned when I saw the pink tags come out because it meant we’d have to wait for the 60 or so carry-ons to be brought up when we landed.

Sure enough, even though we got in on time, I had to stand around for 10 minutes waiting for the bags to be brought around. My connection time was already scheduled for 44 minutes and I knew every second was going to count. I called my husband and asked him to look up what gate number I was going to next so that I could make a break for it after I got my bag.

Finally with bag in hand, I sprinted across Terminal 5 to the next gate and got there just as they started boarding my section. I sent my mom and E this picture from the jet bridge:

Delta jet bridge

Made it with 27 minutes to spare.

This was not my closest call, but it certainly felt like it. You see, I was determined to get home not just because if I had to spend another minute at LAX I was going to lose it, but because there was a Mother’s Day celebration at my son’s school the next morning. With an arrival time of 1 a.m., there wasn’t any room for error if I was going to make it to “Muffins with Mom” and see my kid for the first time since Sunday night. Thankfully, it appears luck was on my side for this entire trip. I may have even teared up during takeoff from the relief.

And yes, I made it to muffins at 7:30 the next morning.

takeoff from LAX

Evening takeoffs are the prettiest.

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Misty

04 Thursday Sep 2014

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Trip type: Business

Airline: Delta

Route: LAX-MSP

Last week I was back to the most dreaded of inefficient airports, LAX. My hatred is both well-documented and well-earned at this point, so it was no surprise when we spent an hour on the tarmac after arriving (on time) to find that our gate wasn’t ready. I’m honestly not even fazed any more when this happens at LAX because I just expect everything to be delayed/crazy/just short of an all-out disaster. And I am always right.

At any rate, this story is actually about my trip home which has a very happy ending. I had flown to LAX in order to drive three hours to Lake Arrowhead for a Sales/Marketing retreat (life’s tough, see below). I flew out Monday and was headed home late Thursday. Because of the drive time, I was on the last flight (before the redeye) to Minneapolis for the day at 6pm, landing just after 11pm.

I was nervous about this flight time for many reasons. For starters, it was preceded by a long drive from the mountains through rush hour traffic. In greater LA. Second, there was no room for error because if I missed the flight, I’d have to hope I could get on the redeye or stay the night (which would really louse up my carefully scheduled Friday morning in Minneapolis that included getting my hair done). Third, it was the Thursday heading into Labor Day weekend…if anything makes a bad airport worse, it’s holiday travel. Finally, and most importantly, I had been away since very early Monday morning and was dying to see my beloved tiny human (and his father).

For all my worry, everything worked out perfectly. Due to some scheduling changes with my driving partner, I ended up coming down the mountain much earlier than anticipated. With great traffic on our side, I breezed into LAX at 2pm and was through PreCheck by 2:05. After checking the flight board and seeing there was a 3pm flight to Minneapolis, I raced to the gate to see if there was any chance it wasn’t completely full. As luck would have it, there were seats available and as the agent printed out my new boarding pass, I actually got a little misty-eyed–you would have thought he built me a seat on the plane himself. He might as well have.

While LAX will probably never get off my most-loathed list, getting home three hours earlier made my day.

arrowhead big bear california

Lake Arrowhead

lake arrowhead

A first time for everything

26 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Baby on board, It's not always so bad

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Trip type: Personal

Airline: Delta

Route: MSP-LAX

Well, it finally happened; I flew with a baby and lived to tell the tale.

My very dear friend, Maren, got married in LA last weekend and faced with the option to leave the baby at home or schlep him halfway across the country, my inability to part with my firstborn won out and we hauled H to California.

how to fly with a baby

Three checked pieces, one stroller base, one carseat, one carseat base, two carry-on bags…and a kid

Now, I knew there would be a lot of stuff to take with him but I don’t think I really realized the extent to which I’d have to completely recalibrate how I packed and prepared. Instead of streamlining to have all carry-ons, I accepted we’d be checking luggage and packed enough diapers for a month (because clearly there aren’t stores at which one can procure diapers in California). Rather than double-checking I had headphones for my iPad, I checked and re-checked that we had Penzey the Pirate (a beloved pirate rattle – yes, he’s named for The Pirates of Penzance). In lieu of ‘vulturing’ the boarding queue, we frantically packed up the stroller and carseat in their carrier bags before getting on the plane. In short, it was a completely new experience for more than just the baby in tow.

We set out nice and early for the airport and were shocked and pleasantly surprised to nab a front-row parking spot in the Gold ramp which made unloading all the easier. Once in the terminal, we were off to the Delta check-in counter where we were again surprised by how smoothly everything went. We felt somewhat lighter once we had checked our three suitcases but there was still plenty of baggage on hand.

gate-checking stroller

Gate-checking

At the MSP airport, the big Delta checkpoint by door six has a family lane through which we were expedited. The best part of this was that it meant we got to go through the pre-check scanner and thus not remove our liquids or shoes. I typically pride myself on how few baskets I need to get through the security conveyor (one in summer, two if I have a heavy coat), but it was almost laughable how much conveyor space we needed this time. E was a football field away by the time we got everything loaded.

Baby H was then introduced to the wonders of the Delta lounge where we had a nice long break before we had to board for LA. He enjoyed looking at the lights and people as we walked him around and even nodded off for a brief catnap.

Finally, it was time to see if H would continue the good-naturedness he typically displays once up in the air. I’m thrilled to report that he did great. The flight had enough empty seats that they were able to give us all three seats in our row which gave us a lot of extra space and comfort. I must say, overall I was incredibly impressed with Delta and their accommodations for flying babies–they definitely made a tough situation much easier.

After this maiden voyage with the bebe, I feel I’ve gained some pearls of wisdom, including:

  • Check what you can. In retrospect, I think I would have opted to check the stroller/carseat mess rather than gate-checking them. On the one hand, it’s nice to not have the baby in a carrier or sling the whole time you’re in the terminal, but gate-checking all those items was a real pain (especially upon arrival when everything has to be re-assembled).
  • Go early. This one we did right. Although we were three hours early for our flight to LA, I’m glad that we weren’t trying to rush through security. Accommodating as everyone was, I can’t imagine how anxiety-ridden the experience could have been.
  • Fly direct. I know it’s not always an option, but getting on and off the plane was ridiculous enough without having to do it all twice. It’s worth the cost to fly from point A to B in the middle of the day. When you’re sitting in front of a computer booking the flight, it’s easy to debate the merits of saving a couple hundred dollars by taking a 6 a.m. flight or connecting through Chicago but it is NOT worth it.

All in all, it went a lot better than I expected. Once I gave in to the situation and realized this would not be the efficient travel to which I’ve grown accustomed, everything was great. ‘Let go and let [travel]gods’: Words to live by.

Plus, little H earned his wings:

Wings!

Wings!

Feeling Lucky

19 Tuesday Feb 2013

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Trip type: Personal-ish

Airline: Delta

Route: MSP-LAS

As we’ve previously discussed, there are many different personalities on flights. NYC-bound passengers will throw elbows in order to board first. The Florida-bound group is slow to queue for boarding but will create a line 20 deep at the podium just to ask if there will be peanuts on the flight…and if this is their correct flight…and can they get a wheel chair? The morning ATL rush is all business and over-stuffed carry-ons. Las Vegas is a total crapshoot – and I don’t just mean in a pun-ny way.

Loathing Las Vegas comes naturally to some

Loathing Las Vegas comes naturally to some

I loathe flying to Vegas. If you’re going for fun, you’re surrounded by morons. If you’re going for business, you’re surrounded by morons who are going to have a better time than you. It’s pretty much a no-win situation with too much luggage (the majority of this flight is bound to be people who don’t travel much and think that the two carry-on rule is a suggestion and not a requirement).

If I sound cranky though, I’m really not. At least not this time because I was aces all the way.

Flying out on a Thursday morning can be interesting. Sometimes it’s quick and easy because business travelers either came home Wednesday night or haven’t started flying for the day yet and sometimes it’s filled with backpackers going on long weekends who don’t take their shoes off in an efficient manner. Luckily, not only did I get the former situation, I also got to breeze through PreCheck.

At the gate, I watched my fellow companions-to-be with some level of anxiety (“O-M-G, Shelly! I can’t wait to hit the slots!”) until I was called to the podium. Assuming I was upgraded, I gleefully bounded up to the desk only to find that I’d been quasi-upgraded to bulkhead in order to allow a couple to sit together. Meh. Fine. At least this was a plane where bulkhead came with storage under the seat in front of it–I hate when I have to put everything up.

Then, right as boarding commenced, I was summoned back to the podium.

Agent: “I just wanted to check where we moved you because if this guy doesn’t make his connection, you’re my first upgrade.”

Me: “Well, I’m five-and-a-half months pregnant, so that’d be great!”

Agent: “Oh! Well then. I’ll see what I can do.”

Smoke ’em if you got ’em, eh?

I boarded normally and wasn’t sitting there more than five minutes when the agent came on to hand me my first class boarding pass. Awesome. Seeing as we were flying over lunch, I was thrilled I wouldn’t have to worry if my snack supply would last the entire flight and had better proximity to the bathroom.

As it turns out, the seat next to me went to upgrade contestant #2 and he pointed out that sometimes the surprise upgrade is better than the one you know about. Couldn’t agree more, Chad; now leave me alone to enjoy my Sudoku and nap.

Montreal Take Two: Finalement!

23 Tuesday Oct 2012

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Trip type: Personal

Airline: Delta

Route: MSP-YUL

After all the excitement of attempt #1, we were a little anxious about getting ourselves back to the airport the next day. We left very early and the driving went smoothly (we even got a front row spot in the Gold ramp) and E was able to slowly make it through security without turning his neck aggressively.

Soon enough, we found ourselves in the Delta lounge, and in the proximity of a threesome of travel-uppers.  You know, those annoying people that have to one-up everyone around them with their exotic destinations/travel disasters/near-death experiences. It is excruciating–especially when you’re their audience.

“I am SO jet-lagged from that leg we just did from Hong Kong!”

“I know–it’s almost as bad as that flight when we went to Machu Picchu.”

“Where are we going after this trip? I wouldn’t mind going back to South Africa.”

“I’ve been there twice now…what about southern Vietnam? I hear the beaches are terrific.”

Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal in Old Montreal

And this went on and on. And on. I could almost feel how badly they wanted my attention. It was like watching a really horrible community theater production where the actors are begging you to like them.

I have to say though, having the travel-upper troupe as our biggest aggravation was a welcome respite after the previous day’s shenanigans. And, finalement (as I would say if I were a real Québécoise) we were in Montreal!

It was my first visit to Montreal and the city was everything I hoped it would be–great food, lovely people, a familiar dialect (eh). Plus, we had a lovely time seeing E’s family and celebrating a great wedding (gotta appreciate a family with a love of hitting the dance floor).

Updates from previous post:

  1. E is feeling much better, thank you for asking (seriously–I was overwhelmed by the nice comments and offers of help). He will likely need some treatment still, but we are hopeful for a full recovery.

  2. There was a lot of whining, but she’s embracing the harness.

    Realizing what a disaster the accident could have been if Bella was with us, we purchased a car harness for her while waiting in the Abbott emergency room (no joke–from E’s phone). She doesn’t really love it but is a good sport.

  3. The car was deemed a total loss. Honestly, I think this is for the best. It’s sad that we just bought it in June and now it’s gone, but I’d rather drive something that didn’t need 25+ new parts. And, you know, started. Next car purchase under negotiation.

Pre-Checked

19 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by in Fun with Security, It's not always so bad

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Trip type: Business

Airline: Delta

Route: ATL-MSP

It’s the little things that make all the difference, especially when you’re running around airports all the time. Given the usual propensity for flying snafus, my standards for these ‘little things’ is awfully low…a TSA agent who enjoys living, a flight that departs on time, not having anything dropped/spilled on me (got some Fresca to the eye on last night’s flight home courtesy of some aggressive can-opening on the part of the flight attendant).

And if it’s the little things that make all the difference, it’s the big things that make my day…unexpected upgrades, someone offering to put my bag up, and the new TSA PreCheck program.

If you haven’t heard about the PreCheck Program, I’ll explain it to you like I explained it to my friend Christine:

Yep, it’s like flying in 1999 again. Usually, I’m a fan of progress (did I truly live before my iPhone? Debatable.) but the security hassle around flying nowadays can be exhausting. [This is no comment on its necessity, just an acknowledgement of how laborious everything is at present.]

Anyway, back to the PreCheck program. Rolled out selectively beginning in October of last year, the program allowed some frequent fliers of Delta and American to fork over additional personal information in exchange for a quicker pass through security where you don’t have to take off your shoes or belt or remove your laptop or baggies. Since then, more airports have been added, including MSP, which was how I signed up in January.

Someone will have to correct me if I’m wrong on this, but I believe for a while you could only use PreCheck out of your home base airport. I’ve been to ATL many times since signing up but never got to use it out of Hartsfield-Jackson until yesterday when I was pointed to the coveted PreCheck lane after scanning my boarding pass at the pre-checkpoint checkpoint (one could never be enough). I walked right up to the podium, scanned my boarding pass and went into a blissfully open line where there was a dedicated agent awaiting me:

“Ma’am, I’m going to help you out today.”

-“Sounds great; thanks”

“What can I say? I love my job!”

-“Wow, maybe I should work for TSA.”

Quietly, conspiratorially: “No, you really don’t want to do that.”

-“Noted.”

I threw my bags on the conveyor and walked right through the detector (not even a full-body scanner)–shoes and all. I was literally done with security and headed for a Departures monitor in a minute. Glorious. The only two downsides I can foresee are that I’ll be tempted to arrive to the airport even later and that I might have to rename this blog if I no longer have to obsess over my baggie. A small price to pay.

The rest of the flight was uneventful aside from a pretty epic Battle of Elbow with my seat mate (and the previously noted Fresca mishap). It actually got to the point where I didn’t even want it and my left elbow was going numb from trying to keep it on the armrest but, on principle, I had to keep fighting for it. Hard to say who won so I’ll chalk it up as a win since this is my blog and all.

Back of the Bus

09 Friday Mar 2012

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Trip type: Business

Airline: Delta

Route: ATL-MSP

Do you remember riding the bus to school in grade school where the back of the bus was always the place to be because it was where all the rowdy fun was? This appears to still be the case, even on a flying bus.

Due to a trip reschedule and in an attempt to avoid over $500 in change fees, I was scheduled to fly home on the last flight to MSP for the night at 9:55pm. Aside from the fact that I like to be in bed and asleep by 9:55pm, there’s nothing like knowing it’s your last chance of the night to get home to amp up the anxiety.

Luckily, one of the few perks of flying with status on Delta is a complimentary same-day confirmation onto a different flight. The only catch is that you can’t do it until the three-hour window of your desired flight time. So, since I wanted to get on the 7:40pm flight, I had to wait until 4:40 to call. After dialing in at 4:38 (from the highway in Atlanta traffic no less–do not recommend unless you have your SkyMiles number memorized), I was confirmed on the 7:40 by 4:42. Whee!

The downside to all this, of course, is that you take the seat that’s available. Although the Delta rep was able to get me a window, I was in row 37 of 40 on the narrowest plane in Delta’s fleet.

Once aboard, I realized that although I was in the basement of the airplane, I was in excellent company as it quickly occurred to me that everyone around me was in the same situation as I. There was the pair of already-inebriated women two rows behind me (henceforth known as the Drunken Duo) who had been standing by for the last two MSP-bound flights, the guy next to me who had formerly been scheduled on the 8:30 flight, and the entire row across from us of surly Diamond-level fliers who were just as annoyed as I was that we were in the back (one of whom offered to buy me a drink if I took his middle seat. Fat chance, buck-o).

There’s something strange about flying that builds an instant camaraderie between people (or animosity, depending on the situation) and it wasn’t long before we were all doing that annoying frequent flyer thing (which I’m sure is unbearably annoying to non-frequent flyers) of swapping travel nightmare stories and discussing how to get more miles accrued. By the time the drink cart came through, it was pretty damn jovial in the back of the bus and, after sharing a laugh at the fact that we all had comp drink cards, there was some across-the-aisle cheers-ing.

To boot, we got in early and E and Bells were already waiting for me at baggage.

Sometimes, it really isn’t all that bad after all.

Stress-Free Spring Break Travel: A How-To

18 Saturday Feb 2012

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Trip type: Personal

Airline: Delta

Route: MSP-MIA / MIA-MSP

Beach Bliss - Key West

Spring break as an adult is a glorious thing. You don’t have to take a midterm before you leave, there’s considerably more cash on hand, and you don’t have to reassure your mother you won’t do anything untoward.

Despite all these items in the “pro” column, there’s still the adventure of flying amidst the spring break masses. Even if you’ve never taken a spring break excursion (I’m sorry), if you’ve had to fly between mid-February and mid-April, you’ve probably encountered some of the fun that comes at this time of year.

Which brings us to the how-to of this post. I’m delighted to report that E and I have just returned from a fabulous mid-winter getaway to the Florida Keys that came with no travel hindrance whatsoever. Admittedly, we were not traveling at the peak of spring break insanity, but nonetheless, I have packaged up some Key (!) learnings for you to apply to your own travel planning:

  1. Fly at a time unholy to those with tuition payments. We left for Miami before 7am on a Saturday and were the youngest people on our flight by at least 25 years which means compatriots who follow directions and step aside for fast walkers. Plus, we reached Miami before noon.
  2. Get an upgrade (at least on the way to your destination). Nothing says “Aloha, vacation!” like an 8am screwdriver.
  3. Head home early. I know, I know, this flies in the face of the typical vacation mindset about getting the most out of your time away, but hear me out on this. We flew home on a Friday night and thus were surrounded by tired business travelers instead of the hungover college kids with “I Survived Spring Break 2k12!!!!!” t-shirts that look and smell like hell you might find on a Sunday afternoon flight. (Although, to be fair, they’re sometimes as quiet as the tired business travelers because they’re hardly conscious). Plus, because you followed Tips #1 and 2, you already got to really enjoy that first day of vacation, so getting home early isn’t as big of a let-down.

  4. I know, I can hardly believe she's this cute, either.

    Get a dog. I used to hate coming home from vacation a lot more before I had a dog. Now, I don’t mind as much because as soon as I step into the airport for the return flight, I think about how excited I am to see her. (What’s that? You’d like to see a picture? No, it’s no trouble at all, here’s one>>)

Fool-proof? Probably not. But it worked this one instance and it’s been captured on a blog so it’s now gospel.

Happy spring break-ing!

A brush with greatness

26 Thursday Jan 2012

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Trip type: Business

Airline: Delta

Route: ATL-MSP

As we’ve routinely established on this blog, I have a very serious problem when it comes to getting trapped in conversations. For whatever reason, I cannot resist engaging with people, no matter how little I want to speak to them. And then things like this happen. I’m not sure if it’s the Minnesota Nice that’s buried in my DNA, my parents’ etiquette tutelage or just some ingrained curiosity, but it is a seemingly insurmountable characteristic.

That said, every now and then something great comes from these random conversations. Like meeting a celebrity you didn’t even know existed.

My afternoon at the airport had been largely uneventful (well, what qualifies as uneventful for me: being on the receiving end of an annoyed TSA agent, listening to the whining of some self-important businessman who was perturbed nobody would let him cut the line for his flight that was in 12 minutes, watching a guy carefully extricate a wrapped up bottle of Robitussen and pour himself three spoonfuls of it…seriously, where do these people come from??) and I was pleased to board on-time and with only a mild tweak of my back as I attempted to get my bag up.

On board, I settled in and counted the minutes to the drink cart making the rounds. As I observed my fellow passengers, I realized there was an entire band on board and sitting all around me. I didn’t immediately recognize them so I figured it was just some no-big-deal group on its way to a gig.

Although he didn’t have a guitar with him, I quickly deduced that the guy next to me was somehow with the band. When he struck up conversation, I asked about where they were going and if I had heard of them. He said that they were on their way to Winnipeg and that the band was called Third Day, a Christian Rock group.

If you’ve read this blog more than once (or know me personally), you can probably ascertain quite quickly that this is not my genre of music and therefore meant nothing to me. We chatted on about all sorts of things and slowly I began to realize that I was in the presence of a legitimate celebrity when he mentioned they had performed in Minneapolis a few times (at the Target Center no less). I finally asked if they’d won any major awards and he humbly admitted that yes, they’d won four Grammys. Wow; what have I done lately?

Although I felt really bad serving him a huge piece of humble pie by having absolutely no clue who his band was (and wanted to slap myself in the head for starting our conversation by somewhat condescendingly asking if they’d actually been successful enough to do music full-time), he was nothing but classy about it and even promised to check out this blog (Hi, David!), so here’s hoping I’ve found an on-ramp to my 15 minutes of fame.

So here I am, full-circle on my self-admonishment for talking to everyone I encounter at the airport. After all, you never know who you’re going to meet.

 

Thankful

23 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by in Holiday Hell, It's not always so bad

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In honor of Thanksgiving, from the archives. Thanksgiving 2010.

Trip type: Personal

Airline: Delta

Route: MSP-BDL

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m a little neurotic sometimes. Especially as it pertains to flying. I carry the exact same liquids (which I pack in the exact same order in their baggie) on every flight. I methodically engineer my suitcase to balance weight and category of each item. I use the same security line at MSP. Everything goes on the conveyer belt in the same order. You catch my drift.

Knowing this, you can probably guess how well I take to any deviation in my carefully devised craziness, especially when set to fly the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving Day. So when E suggested we bring a pie home with us from Salty Tart to Thanksgiving with his family, well, I was not on board (“It cuts down on a carry-on!”, “It’s supposed to stay refrigerated!”, “What if TSA decides it’s not packaged properly and throws it away?!”). Luckily for him (and [grumble] me), E has learned to take my resistance in stride and move forward with plans he knows are a good idea.

After scouring the Delta website, we ascertained that we could, in fact, bring the pie. Now my primary arguments were down to carry-on quantity and refrigeration. E’s usual mantra in life is that things will just work out and I must say this proves remarkably true for him. Not only did the pie make it through security unmolested, the ladies of the Delta Lounge even let us use their employee refrigerator to keep it cool before we left on our flight.

And it was a huge hit at the Thanksgiving table.

On that note, things related to flying for which I’m thankful:

1. Intrepid E – my favorite flying companion.

2. Great family I’d fly anywhere to be with.

3. The friends I can see without going to the airport and those that require a cross-country flight.

4. A tiny dog that I would never ever try and fly with. Oy gevalt.

5. Delta lounges with Wi-Fi and fully stocked bars.

6. Not having to do it this year. Staying home with E and the fur ball=Bliss.

Wishing you and yours a happy, safe, flight-nightmare-free Thanksgiving!