How Convenient


When an earlier flight is not necessarily a good thing

Getting back to Bush Airport in Houston was quite easy. I gave myself a lot of time, which was good since there was a ton of traffic on the 610. En route to the airport, I saw that Haliburton is located directly across from Bush Airport. Sigh.

When I went to check in at the counter, the flight I was booked on wasn't clickable and offered me a later flight. It said "See Agent." She offered me an earlier flight. Wouldn't cost any more, so I said sure. After going through Xrays, I was greeted by a big statue of the first President Bush and a panoramic display of the lives of him and his wife. Double sigh. No real offense meant here, but shouldn't things be named for people after they have died? It just seems vainglorious. I don't care if you're a Democrat or Republican. Wait until you are dead. I remember that the former principal of my high school was annoyed that they had not yet named the auditorium after him as promised. My mental reply: "Wait 'til you're dead."

Well, I get to the gate and they tell me that I am on standby. I became politely urgent and said, "Well, shouldn't someone have told me that I was on standby when they changed my flight?" I got a boarding pass, but then it beeped horribly when boarding time came. So they gave me a better seat (EXIT ROW!) and when I got there... someone else was sitting in there. And, his boarding pass had my name on it. He was very amenable and was in fact moved.

He was, in fact, a pilot of Continental Airlines. The flight was chock full, but a lot of people were Continental employees.

So it all worked out, but I had some tense moments.

Posted: Tue - November 22, 2005 at 11:56 PM        

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