So Here We All Are Again

When was the last time you flew?  How did it go?  While standing around an airport terminal to make sure our friend got off OK (she didn't), I saw and heard some special things.  First my friend was informed that her flight was overbooked (not unusual) and that, since she had not checked in on line, she was first in line to be taken off the plane if no one volunteered.  Volunteers were solicited with the promise of a $600 voucher for future travel.  No one volunteered.

In spite of the fact that no one had volunteered, my friend was waved onto the plane.  She waved goodbye, but, being the skeptical (or is it cynical?) type, I said, let's wait until the door closes.  Sure enough, five minutes later, the gate agent strolled back up the steps and escorted our friend back through the gate into the waiting area.  We watched from a distance as she and the gate agent looked at options while her plane taxied away...  After fifteen minutes, my friend walked back into the ticketing area and asked if she could stay a day longer.  She explained she would not be able to get another flight until the following evening, and that she needed to go to the check-in desk to retrieve her bag.  

By this time, new passengers were lining up to check in for other flights.  We waited in line for ten minutes more, and I tired of waiting.  I stood next to the ticket agent for a minute or two and asked him, while he was between customers if he wouldn't mind retrieving my friend's bag, in light of the fact she had been kicked off her flight.  He stepped back, found her bag, and handed it to me.  As I waved to my friend, she said the gate agent had told her to get her voucher  out here, so she had to stay in line.  When she finally reached the front of the line, the counter person, who appeared to be in charge, informed her she would have to wait until the passengers on their next flight were checked in.  She stepped out of line and joined me, as we silently simmered near the counter.  An old friend entered the terminal, and we had a pleasant conversation about life in a small airport--he had just recently been hired to handle bags for this very carrier, the sole provider at our little place.

After an added wait of roughly twenty minutes, the original ticket agent waved us up, apologized profusely, and proceeded to write my friend a check for $1300.00--not a travel voucher, a c-h-e-c-k.    Can you guess where our first stop was?  My bank cashed the check, after a little pleading and a look at the balance in my accounts.  They informed me if the check bounced, I'd see that money subtracted from my balance, along with a $35 bank charge.  We have abandoned all plans to make a formal complaint, money will do that to you.  So, here we all are again.  Extraordinary, don't you think?

Lessons learned--consider not checking in on line?  Don't volunteer if you are the voted most likely to get kicked off,  Don't agree to drive to another airport, and realize that cash might just be available instead of a "travel voucher."  

Is this a great country or what?