My history with air travel has led to an increased loss of hair at a young age. I’ve been late for flights, delayed by flights, and even unintentionally abused by the people on flights. Despite all these unfortunate mishaps with air travel, I have not ceased taking planes to get from city to city. With frequent visits to the airport come frequent bouts of airport annoyances, which ultimately lead to a few stories you wish hadn’t happened. People love complaining about their inconveniences on flights, and I am no exception.
One series of flights in particular had me questioning whether driving across the country might have been a reasonable alternative for a spring break trip. My family and I had arrived at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle at about 9 p.m. for a late-night connecting flight to Dallas that would eventually bring us to Florida. The first of our problems occurred minutes before we were supposed to board. A voice over the intercom explained that due to the severe weather in Dallas our flight would be delayed-—no more than an hour. I had no problem with this. Sure, delays are inconvenient and annoying but I’d been there before so my stress level was quite minimal.
When three and a half hours passed, I began to get a little antsy because being late to the connecting flight in Dallas would mean spending spring break in Dallas. I think it’s safe to say that Dallas wasn’t exactly high on my list for a vacation destination. After another hour past we finally boarded the plane, putting us two hours behind schedule. Upon reaching the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, we quickly grabbed our belongings and rushed to the gate across the terminal. Luckily our connecting flight had been delayed as well due to engine deficiencies. How relieving. I relied on this connecting flight to get us to Florida on time so we could make our cruise, which left in five hours.
After being delayed another two hours on the tarmac, we took off and made it to Fort Lauderdale in record time. However, the airlines were not finished, as they seemed to misplace our bags from the previous flight. We had a half hour to get to the ship before it sailed away. Looking back on it, Florida wouldn’t have been a bad place to get stranded. At the last possible minute the airline found our luggage and we were off to the ship. The lines at the dock were nonexistent because everyone had already made it on the ship. We happened to be the last people to cross the gangway. Making the deadline by one minute. Seconds after we boarded the ship, the door behind us closed and the horn sounded. How’s that for a close call.
