My friend Bonnie picked me up at 6:30 am Saturday to drive me to the airport for my 8:30 flight to Chicago. Once in the terminal, I printed my boarding pass and made my way to the gate (which was about as far away from the entrance as possible). Once at the gate, I was struck with concern because no one was there – not one customer or agent. This prompted me to look at the monitor to see if my gate had been changed. To my surprise, my flight was not listed. Then looking down the hallway, I noticed a man wearing a suit with a Delta insignia on it so I approached him and told him my situation. "Ma'am, your ticket is for 8:30 PM." What?? How could this be?! I told him I had to get to Chicago. What could I do? He got on a computer and checked for another flight. He found one and told me there were two standby spots remaining. I had to head to another gate (not near by), for the 9 AM flight and hope to get on it.
I arrived at the new gate and spoke to the agent at the desk. She told me my name was on the "list." So, I waited, and waited. The gate area became more crowded and noisy. Shortly before the boarding commenced, the agent announced the flight was overbooked and she was asking for 16 volunteers to take a later flight. She first offered $400 per person. Then the price rose to $500. There were several people who approached the desk. I was thinking I'll never get on this flight! Now she was offering $800 per person. I was watching my name on the monitor to see if she was going to put a seat number behind it. After all the passengers had boarded, I heard my name announced and approached the desk. She gave me a new boarding pass. I was the last one on the plane and my seat was in business class. Whew! I learned a big lesson: read carefully before hitting "Purchase."
No comments:
Post a Comment