Have I lost all dignity? I pride myself in always being on-time. It’s the German in me, and it has caused me to never miss a flight. That’s right, even though most of my flights leave early in the morning, I’ve never ever missed a flight, other than misconnecting, of course.
Well, that changed overnight. I had to get up at 3:40AM, the third night in a row I had to get up in the wee hours of the night. Well, I woke up in my bed at the Holiday Inn JFK when it was light outside at 6:59AM. I knew there was an airport shuttle leaving at 7AM, so I literally bolted downstairs and was on the shuttle 60 seconds after waking up.
Fortunately the JFK agents are fantastic. The more I deal with them, the more I’m convinced they’re United’s best, for the most part. The agent gladly rebooked me on the next flight and thanked me for my business. As I was going up the escalator I ran into my favorite JFK based flight attendant, who was right behind me on the escalator. Then I went to the Red Carpet Club, where the uber-friendly agent thanked me for my loyalty and couldn’t have been nicer. I think Dan is right, they’re a different breed.
Still, I’m embarrassed. How could I miss a flight? At the end of the day I’m happy to have slept in, but how can I live with myself?!?
Steh auf und sei aufmerksam.:) Mit freundlichen Grüssen aus Singapur, Chitown.
Steh auf und sei aufmerksam.:) Mit freundlich
@ Gary -- Well, the flight was sold out, that's why. I wanted a bump. I actually thought I could get up later, but when I got to the hotel I realized I hadn't checked in yet. When I called the front desk I realized that the airport shuttly only runs every hour until 5AM, and the 5AM shuttle was cutting it a bit tight for a 6AM departure when I hadn't checked in yet....
@ Gary -- Well, the flight was sold out, that's why. I wanted a bump. I actually thought I could get up later, but when I got to the hotel I realized I hadn't checked in yet. When I called the front desk I realized that the airport shuttly only runs every hour until 5AM, and the 5AM shuttle was cutting it a bit tight for a 6AM departure when I hadn't checked in yet. Oh well, for me it's bumps over sleep (at least in theory).
@ bk3day -- Hah, yes I am becoming a regular! Unfortunately my buddies weren't there, so I got crap treatment from the awful agent. She even refused to enter my Priority Club number, so I might just be out of luck here. Boooo!
Glad it all worked out all right!
So you're becoming a regular at the JFK Holiday Inn, eh?
Were your front desk friends there to meet you this time.your last adventure at the JFK Holiday Inn?
Better yet, did you get a night credit towards the free room promo?
Guess I'll check to make sure my alarm is loud enough as I have a 6AM flight out of JFK in a couple days.
I agree with JFK's baggage handling being horrible. I just read this article (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30442451/) about piano virtuoso Krystian Zimerman who refuses to come back to the US, partly because "security workers at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport destroyed one piano in recent years and ripped the keyboard out of another." Nice...
The real question is, why rebook yourself onto a flight that requires you to get up at 3:40am???
Unless it's TRULY life threatening, a more civilized departure is clearly the order of the day.
Can't comment on the JFK *people* (other than saying I find them pleasant relative to IAD). But I'm much less than pleased with UA's JFK *baggage handling*. I don't know the stats, perhaps I'm just unlucky...
While I don't like missing flights, I DO relish the opportunity to exercise some of the FF know-how I have accumulated over the years (thanks to Lucky and FlyerTalk, among others!) It certainly gives on an adrenalin rush. It certainly seems to be happening more frequently to me (perhaps 2 times in as many years), usually due to alarm clock related issues, although once I forgot a suitcase at home and didn't realize it until I opened the trunk in the airport lot. .
Happened to me a year or two ago, for the first time that I can remember. Woke up about half an hour before the flight was supposed to take off, which was unfortunate given that I live about 1.5 h from the airport... ;)
Crazy stuff happens. :)
It's about time someone listened to me! :>)
Yikes! There must be something in the water, though ... check on this FT thread from a couple of weeks ago:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/942317-first-ever-missed-flight.html