ATC
Aug 17, 02, 2:20 pm
3,500 flights operate within the system each day.
So what are the chances of any one of us crossing paths with a US Airways forum celebrity? Nil, you say? Well, gather ‘round. I have a little story to tell. It is a tale that must be told.
It was a beautiful day last Saturday, a fine day to be flying BOS-LGA-PHL-SEA. It was a day of innocence, a day when some of us (cough, cough) did not yet know that the Board of Directors had met, and we now had mumble-mumble thousands of dollars tied up in worthless US Airways shares. It was a day when we could fantasize about $25/share stock in two years. What next? A home in West Palm Beach, New York, and Seattle? It was a day for dreams, a world without limits.
Check-in at the Boston Shuttle gate was effortless. Hailing from a long line of idiot savants, I counted the agent’s keystrokes during the check-in process. His click/yield ratio (number of keystrokes necessary for something, anything, productive to happen to your reservation) was somewhat high. I attributed this to the fact that he looked like he had spent a few too many hours in Brendan Behan’s (http://www.celticweb.com/behan/) the previous evening. Hey, no problem! I specifically checked on the status of the LGA-PHL leg—on-time.
So far, so good.
The complimentary magazine racks near the gate seemed oddly decimated. Maybe they only restock during the weekdays? Dunno. The boarding process was smooth. After settling in, I made one last cell phone call to the automated line to check on the status of the LGA-PHL leg. Rhut-ro. It was delayed 40 minutes due to a mechanical. That would make the connection really, really tight. Art from ISP had warned us about the reliability of the PHL Dash-8’s, and I had foolishly ignored his warnings.
I called back to Gold Preferred Reservations. “Welcome to US Airways, my name is BWI2MCO97, how can I help you?” This caught me off-guard. “You’re not the BWI who works in the Orlando office, are you?” Now it was her time to pause. “Well, yes! Where do I know you from?” We soon established that we recognized each other from the FlyerTalk board. We chatted a little bit about her quest for a VW Camper, mused about the whereabouts of geo1004. I told her that my mother was saying novenas each week for geo, and ultimately the Pope would order him to start posting again (or however the novena thing works). She assures me that goodness will ultimately prevail. Anyhow, with a lurch the A319 starts pushing back, and I am still yapping on the cell phone. I catch a dirty look from another passenger out of the corner of my eye.
We get down to business, and I try to convince BWI that maybe, just maybe we can make the connection in PHL. BWI firmly and professionally disabused me of this notion. “That won’t work. You’re arriving in Concourse F and departing from Concourse B. Let me see what I can do.” I was in the hands of a professional. Her click/yield ratio was astonishingly low, possibly world record material. Meanwhile, the Flight Attendant is glaring at me and motioning for me to turn off my cell phone, NOW. I tell BWI “Gotta go!” and abruptly hang up.
Oh no, what have I done now? That was rude. Will BWI cancel my reservation? Will she report my account to the US Airways Frequent Flyer police?
We arrive at LGA. My apprehension increases when the Flight Attendant announces “Will Mr. ATC please report to the gate agent at the end of the jetway?” Uh oh. No problem, though. The agent advises that the luggage has been re-routed on the new flights via Charlotte. Soon thereafter, my cell phone rings. “Mr. ATC? This is BWI from US Airways Reservations. I have re-routed you and your luggage via Charlotte. Due to the involuntary re-route, your upgrade will be complimentary.” Life is good! I had someone watching over me.
After trading a few more details, I thanked BWI. I almost got choked up as the realization sunk in that I was speaking to a bona fide US Airways Flyertalk forum celebrity. We made vague plans to drive our VW Campers off into the sunset together some day, and bid each other good-bye.
The rest of the flight was magnificent.
THE END
So what are the chances of any one of us crossing paths with a US Airways forum celebrity? Nil, you say? Well, gather ‘round. I have a little story to tell. It is a tale that must be told.
It was a beautiful day last Saturday, a fine day to be flying BOS-LGA-PHL-SEA. It was a day of innocence, a day when some of us (cough, cough) did not yet know that the Board of Directors had met, and we now had mumble-mumble thousands of dollars tied up in worthless US Airways shares. It was a day when we could fantasize about $25/share stock in two years. What next? A home in West Palm Beach, New York, and Seattle? It was a day for dreams, a world without limits.
Check-in at the Boston Shuttle gate was effortless. Hailing from a long line of idiot savants, I counted the agent’s keystrokes during the check-in process. His click/yield ratio (number of keystrokes necessary for something, anything, productive to happen to your reservation) was somewhat high. I attributed this to the fact that he looked like he had spent a few too many hours in Brendan Behan’s (http://www.celticweb.com/behan/) the previous evening. Hey, no problem! I specifically checked on the status of the LGA-PHL leg—on-time.
So far, so good.
The complimentary magazine racks near the gate seemed oddly decimated. Maybe they only restock during the weekdays? Dunno. The boarding process was smooth. After settling in, I made one last cell phone call to the automated line to check on the status of the LGA-PHL leg. Rhut-ro. It was delayed 40 minutes due to a mechanical. That would make the connection really, really tight. Art from ISP had warned us about the reliability of the PHL Dash-8’s, and I had foolishly ignored his warnings.
I called back to Gold Preferred Reservations. “Welcome to US Airways, my name is BWI2MCO97, how can I help you?” This caught me off-guard. “You’re not the BWI who works in the Orlando office, are you?” Now it was her time to pause. “Well, yes! Where do I know you from?” We soon established that we recognized each other from the FlyerTalk board. We chatted a little bit about her quest for a VW Camper, mused about the whereabouts of geo1004. I told her that my mother was saying novenas each week for geo, and ultimately the Pope would order him to start posting again (or however the novena thing works). She assures me that goodness will ultimately prevail. Anyhow, with a lurch the A319 starts pushing back, and I am still yapping on the cell phone. I catch a dirty look from another passenger out of the corner of my eye.
We get down to business, and I try to convince BWI that maybe, just maybe we can make the connection in PHL. BWI firmly and professionally disabused me of this notion. “That won’t work. You’re arriving in Concourse F and departing from Concourse B. Let me see what I can do.” I was in the hands of a professional. Her click/yield ratio was astonishingly low, possibly world record material. Meanwhile, the Flight Attendant is glaring at me and motioning for me to turn off my cell phone, NOW. I tell BWI “Gotta go!” and abruptly hang up.
Oh no, what have I done now? That was rude. Will BWI cancel my reservation? Will she report my account to the US Airways Frequent Flyer police?
We arrive at LGA. My apprehension increases when the Flight Attendant announces “Will Mr. ATC please report to the gate agent at the end of the jetway?” Uh oh. No problem, though. The agent advises that the luggage has been re-routed on the new flights via Charlotte. Soon thereafter, my cell phone rings. “Mr. ATC? This is BWI from US Airways Reservations. I have re-routed you and your luggage via Charlotte. Due to the involuntary re-route, your upgrade will be complimentary.” Life is good! I had someone watching over me.
After trading a few more details, I thanked BWI. I almost got choked up as the realization sunk in that I was speaking to a bona fide US Airways Flyertalk forum celebrity. We made vague plans to drive our VW Campers off into the sunset together some day, and bid each other good-bye.
The rest of the flight was magnificent.
THE END