The Airport: 11 Hours in Standby Hell Or
The Pitfalls of Chasing Love
So one of my best friends, let’s call her Greta, called to tell me she wanted to introduce me to Anthony Mackie, a relatively well-known actor (that’s him below) who was the lead in a movie being filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina. Greta’s boyfriend, now fiancé, worked on the set.
I turned her down at first;
I haven’t had great experiences
dating actors but Greta, was
insistent, convinced that she
had found my soulmate and in
emails and phone calls laid out
the reasons why I should haul
ass and get to Wilmington
immediately. I finally gave in,
wondering if I would regret it for
the rest of my life if I didn’t go.
I had to go almost immediately,
though, that coming weekend,
because Mackie was leaving
town within a few days to work
on another production.
But when I started to check
flights, I couldn’t find one direct
flight from Miami to Wilmington
or even to Myrtle Beach – one
hour away- for less than $700.
I was curious to meet the guy
but I wasn’t desperate and I
really didn’t want to spend over $200 for a ticket, period. But then Ding! The light bulb went on. I would take Delta Airlines.
Number 1: Delta was practically the only airline that flew directly to Wilmington -- from Atlanta -- and 2.Since I’ve been 21-years-old, I’ve had a Delta Buddy Pass (my father worked for Delta for 20 years) which allows me to travel at a deeply discounted price on any Delta flight; but there’s some pain with that pleasure. I always have to travel standby, which is like traveling on a seesaw. It takes a lot of patience with little room for hope. The upside though is number 3. The tickets are cheap. My fare to Wilmington was $69/roundtrip; less than bus fare and certainly faster; although in this case, maybe not.
So I booked myself on a flight first to Atlanta from Miami at 9:45 am on Sunday and then from Atlanta to Wilmington at 12:45pm, arriving in Wilmington at 2:04pm. At least that was the plan. But, here is what actually happened:
Sunday
6:00am
I wake up to shower, finish packing and get dressed for my trip. SuperShuttle is picking me up at 7:00am and they are always on time. By 7:00am I am ready and waiting.
7:10am
SuperShuttle is late. Just as I’m about to call customer service to give someone a piece of my mind, I hear a horn blowing outside my building. Sure enough, the driver is outside waiting for me, while I am inside waiting for him. Whatever. We leave and after picking up about 4 other passengers, we arrive at the Delta terminal at 8:00am.
8:20am
I am checked in, have gone through security and am waiting at the gate, reading my New York Times and drinking a Starbucks Chai Latte, waiting for the flight to be boarded and my name to be called.
By the way, you’re going to hear the word waiting – a lot – in this story.
9:15am
Delta begins boarding the flight.
9:40am
My name still hasn’t been called and the flight is supposed to leave at 9:45. I go to the counter to make sure the agent has my name on the Standby list. He says, “We haven’t gotten to the standbys yet.” Oh, well either this flight isn’t leaving on time or I’m not getting on. I wait.
9:45am
“All Standbys are cleared to board this flight,” I hear on the loudspeaker. That means I don’t have to go back to the counter, I can just give the agent checking tickets my Seat Request card, get a seat number and board. Yippee! I’m in! Getting an actual seat number when I'm a Standby passenger feels like, “They like me, they really, really like me.” It makes me so happy. All my time waiting was not spent in vain.
11:40am
I arrive in Atlanta at Terminal A. My flight to Wilmington leaves from Terminal C at 12:45 so I jump on the intra-terminal train and get over to C. I want to make sure I’m on the Standby list for Wilmington as soon as possible. Terminals A,B,C,D and E at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport are large and chaotic. There seems to be about 37 Gates per terminal, most of them dominated by Delta Airlines but other airlines including US Airways and AirTran also fly out of here.
Many of the planes are small commuter ones usually no more than 15 rows with two seats on either side of the row. They – especially Delta – have a lock on travel to the smallest cities like Flint, Michigan, Beaumont, Texas, Casper, Wyoming, Hayden, Colorado and Huntsville, Alabama, etc., that are not catered to by other airlines. It’s a great convenience for someone like me, or anyone, who wants to travel directly to Wilmington, North Carolina, for instance, without having to fly to Myrtle Beach – a bigger city – and then drive another hour to Wilmington.
12:45pm
“We’re sorry ladies and gentlemen, but this flight is full. We will not be able to accommodate any Standby passengers on Flight 4166 to Wilmington at this time.” I’m disappointed I didn’t get on the flight but there is another flight to Wilmington leaving at 2:35pm which isn’t too bad. I can wait another couple of hours and still get in to Wilmington at a decent time, about 4:00pm. Since I only planned to stay until Tuesday, I would still have about a day and a half to hang out with Greta.
2:45pm
“Ladies and gentlemen, Flight 4754 to Wilmington is now closed. We will not be able to accommodate any Standby passengers on this flight.” I can’t believe this. What the hell is going on?
Frustrated and disappointed I go to the airline counter to see if I can get a reason why I’m not getting on these flights. First I ask the agent to roll my name over to the next Wilmington flight at 4:25pm. He says, “Yes, of course.” Then, “What was your name again?” Huh, Andrea Thompson….. I hear him whisper to the other agent, “Her name isn’t on the Standby list, they forgot to roll her over.” WHAT!! Well, that’s a good reason why I didn’t get on the flight.
Having done these Standby gigs for years now, I know that airlines – if you haven’t been able to get on one flight – will automatically roll your name over to the Standby list for the next flight going to your destination. I usually double-check to make sure my name is on, but this time I didn’t and they didn’t. “Can you please make sure my name is on the list for the 4:25 flight please,” I plead. “Well, since your name wasn’t rolled over you’re going to have to call Delta Airlines and re-book yourself as a Buddy Pass passenger for the 4:25pm flight,” he tells me. No, No, No. It’s like starting all over again.
I call Greta and tell her what’s going on. I tell her my options: 4:25, 6:17 and 9:25 flights still remain to Wilmington. Three more experiences of dashed hopes, frustrated waiting and me asking myself if I really am this desperate for a date, a chance at love, the opportunity to possibly meet my supposed soulmate. Well am I? Hmmm….I guess so. I’m still at the airport trying to get on a flight to a small city in South Carolina.
4:45pm
Of course I don’t get on the 4:25 flight and it’s time to take a break. I have a glass of wine and dinner at one of the airport’s better restaurants.
6:17pm
I don’t get on the flight.
7:30pm
I call Greta again.. The 9:25 flight is the last for the night and if I don’t get on I’ll have to return to Miami. I don’t want to spend any money to stay in a hotel in Atlanta and I certainly don’t plan on spending the night at the airport. I tell her the odds are I probably won’t get on but I’ll try.
9:15pm
I go up to the counter to find out my odds of getting on the last flight to Wilmington. After looking up my name, the agent tells me there is one available seat and I am number three on the Standby list. Then after seeing my name on the list for earlier flights, she says with compassion and sympathy, “You’ve been here all day, haven’t you honey?” I squeak out a “Yes.” I can barely answer her I’m so tired and I decide to give up. Number 3 on a list for one seat, not good.
I ask when is the next flight to Miami or Fort Lauderdale. I’ll take either one. I just want to get the hell out of that airport at this point. There is a 9:40 flight to Miami in another terminal – of course – and I’ll have to hustle if I want to make it. The agent assures me that my name has been put on the Standby list for that flight but I need to hurry.
10:15pm
The flight to Miami has been delayed. But I’m on the Standby list. I checked. I’m on. And I double-checked. I’m on. I check one more time. I’m on.
10:40pm
Delta begins to board the Miami flight. On a screen in the Gate area my name appears on a Standby list (I’ve been publicly outed) and it indicates that I have been cleared to get on the flight. I am in Zone 9. I have a Zone!
11:00pm
I am sitting in my coach seat, seatbelt buckled, ready to go home. Suddenly the pilot’s voice comes on the intercom. He recites a list of names, mine included, and asks us to come to the boarding door of the plane. Oh God, no. Please, no. Was I being told to get off the flight to accommodate a last minute group of paying passengers? I start calculating in my head what time the flight to Fort Lauderdale would leave and if I was being thrown off this flight, if I could make that one.
When I get to the front to the plane, the flight attendant tells me, “You’re being upgraded to First Class. They didn’t have time to do it at the Gate. Just take any empty seat.” Oh didn’t I tell you? On rarer and rarer occasions, this is one of the few perks of having a Buddy Pass. You can get a First Class seat if one is available. This time it was. I go back to coach and gather my things. My nosy but sympathetic neighbor asks, “Do you have to get off?” I smile and say, “No, just moving up front.” She looks puzzled. Sorry, sister, but I don’t have time to explain. I go up front and claim my seat.
11:05pm
The flight attendant makes an announcement, “Due to our delay, we will not have any in-flight service in coach or first class. We apologize for the inconvenience.” Well, I’m not surprised. That’s the kind of day I’ve been having. No first class free food or wine but I have a big seat to sleep in. I thank God for small mercies.
12:30pm
I arrive back in Miami and breathe a sigh of relief. My ordeal is over. I jump in a cab and head home.
1:00am
I get home and can’t get into my bed fast enough. I vow never again will I travel Standby, cheap ticket or no cheap ticket. The false hopes and wasted time just aren’t worth it anymore. I’m getting too old and too wise for this. Next time I’ll pay full price for my airline humiliations.
Monday
Greta emails to tell me how sorry she feels that I had to spend almost twelve hours in the airport waiting for a flight. Then she adds that Mackie had been acting kind of distant since they told him they wanted him to meet me. “I guess you were right about actors,” she writes. Yes I think. Yes, I was.
