kellycambp
Dec 13, 00, 10:58 pm
I'm pretty new here, but thought I would post a trip report...
Husband and I went from DCA-MSY to visit family (his ENTIRE family lives in MSY - how lucky!). We flew on US the morning after a terrible storm had swept through Washington. The airport had shut down the night before, and was, of course, a mad house.
I asked the gate attendant if they would be needing any volunteers. She said yes, but we couldn't get out until the next day. I said "forget it." We were lucky to check in when we did. Soon after, the computer at the gate broke down. A supervisor was called in, but she just shook her head and said what what I think sums up travel on airlines today: "If da computa iz broke, then you iz outta luck." They had to move the check in process to another gate, which took more time.
We finally boarded about an hour later. Guess what? They made the announcement that they needed 2 volunteers. First class seats on a flight that evening, lunch and dinner vouchers, and a RT voucher to anywhere in the continental US. Unfortunatly, someone closer to the front of the plane jumped up and took one of the seats. This left me to scramble. My poor husband sat stunned as I yelled good-bye, and grabbed my purse and laptop. At least I had my priorities in place - I had money and my computer!
I was thinking about how I was going to catch up with him in MSY when they made another announcement - they needed more volunteers. Someone who didn't make it on the plane said their grandmother was dying....I soon saw my husband with the 2 large carry-ons that I had stuck him with in tow.
We went to the special services counter to collect our prizes. There was a tour group of teenagers ahead of us who were awarded with lunch vouchers for $3 a piece. I was awarded with a $6.70 lunch voucher. My husband was awarded with a $6.40 lunch voucher. I guess I must be cuter!
We went to my aunt's house (she lives near the airport) and took a long nap. Then, we returned to the airport to pool the lunch and dinner vouchers for a meal at Legal Seafood.
Finally, it was time to check in at the gate for our next flight. I was given a window seat (1A?). My husband inquired about an aisle seat, but they said none were available. When we looked at his boarding pass, however, we discovered that he was also seated in 1A and he also had an additional boarding pass in F in someone else's name. They sorted it out and gave him a seat in something like 3A. Once we got on the plane we discovered that the aisle seat next to me was unoccupied.
Service in F was kind of a bummer. FA never offered drink service before the flight took off, even though we were sitting on the tarmac for over an hour. "Snack" was ok; chicken with some kind of pasta. I asked about vegetarian options, they had nothing, so my husband was more than happy to eat my chicken.
Had a good time in MSY. Thanks to Priceline, we had a Cadillac for about $25 a day and stayed at the Marriott in the French Quarter for $75 a day. Somehow we got put into the Marriott system as "VIP's"(I have NO idea how), so the parking was free and they took a few bucks more off of the room.
Return to DCA was uneventful.
Husband and I went from DCA-MSY to visit family (his ENTIRE family lives in MSY - how lucky!). We flew on US the morning after a terrible storm had swept through Washington. The airport had shut down the night before, and was, of course, a mad house.
I asked the gate attendant if they would be needing any volunteers. She said yes, but we couldn't get out until the next day. I said "forget it." We were lucky to check in when we did. Soon after, the computer at the gate broke down. A supervisor was called in, but she just shook her head and said what what I think sums up travel on airlines today: "If da computa iz broke, then you iz outta luck." They had to move the check in process to another gate, which took more time.
We finally boarded about an hour later. Guess what? They made the announcement that they needed 2 volunteers. First class seats on a flight that evening, lunch and dinner vouchers, and a RT voucher to anywhere in the continental US. Unfortunatly, someone closer to the front of the plane jumped up and took one of the seats. This left me to scramble. My poor husband sat stunned as I yelled good-bye, and grabbed my purse and laptop. At least I had my priorities in place - I had money and my computer!
I was thinking about how I was going to catch up with him in MSY when they made another announcement - they needed more volunteers. Someone who didn't make it on the plane said their grandmother was dying....I soon saw my husband with the 2 large carry-ons that I had stuck him with in tow.
We went to the special services counter to collect our prizes. There was a tour group of teenagers ahead of us who were awarded with lunch vouchers for $3 a piece. I was awarded with a $6.70 lunch voucher. My husband was awarded with a $6.40 lunch voucher. I guess I must be cuter!
We went to my aunt's house (she lives near the airport) and took a long nap. Then, we returned to the airport to pool the lunch and dinner vouchers for a meal at Legal Seafood.
Finally, it was time to check in at the gate for our next flight. I was given a window seat (1A?). My husband inquired about an aisle seat, but they said none were available. When we looked at his boarding pass, however, we discovered that he was also seated in 1A and he also had an additional boarding pass in F in someone else's name. They sorted it out and gave him a seat in something like 3A. Once we got on the plane we discovered that the aisle seat next to me was unoccupied.
Service in F was kind of a bummer. FA never offered drink service before the flight took off, even though we were sitting on the tarmac for over an hour. "Snack" was ok; chicken with some kind of pasta. I asked about vegetarian options, they had nothing, so my husband was more than happy to eat my chicken.
Had a good time in MSY. Thanks to Priceline, we had a Cadillac for about $25 a day and stayed at the Marriott in the French Quarter for $75 a day. Somehow we got put into the Marriott system as "VIP's"(I have NO idea how), so the parking was free and they took a few bucks more off of the room.
Return to DCA was uneventful.