There’s really good news and really bad news, folks. On the plus side, my upgrade cleared for my JFK-LAX flight as I was about to leave the RCC at IAD. That means no coach for me, at least on the outbound. I’m still waitlisted for the PS redeye to JFK tonight, but I’m hoping I clear, although it’s not looking all that great.
Now, on to the really bad news. I ran into a couple of FlyerTalkers in the Red Carpet Club at IAD, so I didn’t get to the gate for my IAD to JFK flight (United Express) until boarding time, at which point there was almost no one in the gate area. The flight looked full beforehand, but I didn’t expect it to be oversold. I asked the gate agent if they were oversold, and she responded “yes.” Great, I thought, bump me! No luck, as she already had two volunteers. I begged. I pleaded. I cried (well, not really). No go. Usually it’s the other people crying from being IDB’ed!
This is the last time I’ll ever make this mistake. If a flight looks anywhere near full, I will be at the gate 15 minutes prior to departure, NO MATTER WHAT. I don’t care if I run into Glenn Tilton or Captain Flanagan, I WILL be at the gate before boarding starts.
It’s a sad, sad day for me. Here’s to hoping my full looking flights for the rest of the day materialize into some bump opportunities. And please, learn from my mistake.
PS: I’m writing this from my IAD-JFK flight. As if the lack of a bump wasn’t bad enough, our flight attendant insists on calling this “jet service” in nearly every announcement he makes. Maybe he was a flight attendant on props for years and is excited about this crappy regional jet, or maybe he’s dreaming about the good old days of travel when a jet was something special, but c’mon now.
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