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You Gotta Be Kidding Me

I’m always very attentive and prompt when it comes to airports and air travel. I double check my flight numbers, the gates, the departure and arrival times, everything. I’ve never missed any of my 20 or 30 flight times over the years. Although, I have had a couple of close calls due to airlines changing things at the last minute. And that brings me to this screw up that sounds like it’s my fault, but I’m not taking any of the blame for this — this is strictly Continental Airlines being stupid.

I had a flight scheduled for 6:45 p.m. at gate C107. This was the flight to take me home to see Cowgrit and the Calves. I had checked the time and gate at least twice since arriving in terminal C (the last time around 6:00), and I was at the gate by 5:30 — over an hour early. I was sitting there reading a book waiting for boarding to start.

Eventually, the gate attendant announced boarding was starting. She talked so fast, and the overhead speaker system was so bad that I couldn’t clearly understand what she said. I got in line, but when I made it to the attendant, I discovered this wasn’t my flight. What?! Well, OK, I sat back down.

When the attendant closed the gate, I started thinking. There was no way they could get another plane up to this gate in time for the scheduled departure. So I went over to the monitors showing the departure list. My flight had been changed to gate C113. But there had been no announcement, no warning. Son of a . . . .

I went to gate C113. Soon the gate attendant announced that my flight was going to start boarding. She said for those needing assistance or extra time to board first. She said something more, but she talked so fast with a Spanish accent that I couldn’t understand everything. There were a lot of people sitting around the gate entrance, but none of them were going to the gate.

After a couple of minutes of no one boarding, the gate attendant announced for rows 10 to 24 to begin boarding. I was in row 2 (two; I double checked my ticket). Well, maybe they were loading the plane from the back to the front. I had heard of that kind loading before.

I stood about 20 feet from the gate watching the first load of passengers go through the doors. As the last 3 people in the line finished, I expected to hear the attendant announce boarding for rows 1 through 9. There were several more people in the seats for the gate, and I assumed they were waiting, like me, for our rows to be called.

As soon as the last of the people for rows 10-24 went through the gate, the attendant went through, too. She was gone. There were a couple other workers at the counter beside the gate, and I thought either they’d step up or the other woman would return.

I waited about 60 seconds (no longer) and stepped up to the counter. “Can I board now?” I asked.

I was informed that boarding was finished. The plane was closed. WHAT!???!

Long story shortened: The Continental employees back at the check-in admitted that it was wrong and against procedures to close the plane 15 minutes early. The next flight to my home was 8:20 a.m. today. The airline set me up at a hotel, but my luggage (with clothes and toiletries) went out with the original flight.

I was so pissed at the time all this was happening, but I was also very tired — I had been awake for 18 hours, on an airplane or in an airport for about 14 of those hours, and I just wanted to get home. I managed to keep my cool, partially because that’s just my nature in situations like that, and partly because I was too damn exhausted to build up the energy to make scene right then.

But I will be letting Continental know my displeasure soon. They call it “missing your flight,” but this was definitely not my fault — this was being denied boarding my flight, because they closed the airplane 15 minutes early. Total bullshit.

Now I’m about to head back to the airport, in the same clothes I had been wearing for around 20 hours yesterday. At least I got a shower, but without my toiletries, I still feel dirty and look like a bum.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com

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