The Player:
dgilman. Delta PM and TSA PreCheck.

The Flight:
DL 995 LAX-JFK departing at 12:20pm on 8/22.

The Backstory:
Having checked in 24 hours ahead of time, since T-6 I've been watching the upgrade list. As an L fare I'm #4 for 5 seats. Looks good but not a lock.

The Prologue (11:15am):
Having just missed a rental car bus, I wait for the next one. I figure I'll print out my boarding pass at a kiosk since I have to take a call right before I go through security. The next rental car bus shows up, and I get on and take my call. Call ends, so I check the upgrade list and I'm golden - upgrade!. I try to bring up my boarding pass but it says I have to use a kiosk. I figure it has something to do with my upgrade, but it lists my seat as 6B so I figure I'm good.

The Scene:
Rental car bus pulls up to T5 at 11:33. I hop out, and I'm at the far end of the terminal, right before the escalators to security. General terminal atmosphere is a bit crazed, but I spy three kiosks and go for it. It ends up only one is working, and there is one guy on it and two others waiting. I figure, annoying, but not a big deal. This is why I have PreCheck. I finally get to the kiosk and it won't reprint my boarding pass. Tells me I have to see an agent.

It's now 11:40. I go to the Priority area, which also seems smushed in with the Shuttle check-in. The woman manning the line point me to the Sky check-in, which has at least 10 people groups of people, mostly families with lots of luggage. It looks like a sh*tshow.

I go back to the line manning woman, and she is incredibly unhelpful. Tells me it is too late to check in because it has to be at least 45 minutes. I tell her I AM checked in (and PM, and Biz) but can't get my boarding pass to print. She tells me she can't help me and to grab an agent behind the desk.

I really don't want to do this. It basically means making the decision to cut the line on my own, as opposed to her assessing the situation and deciding to let me cut it. However, she literally throws up her hands and I'm on my own.

So I go around to the front of the area and see that there are several agents not directly helping customers and that soon one of them will finish assisting another agent and I can grab her. As I stand there, a helpful woman in line reminds me that "there is a line, and other people are in a rush too". I thank her for help and continue to wait.

The agent frees up and walks by. I quickly plead my case - PM, Business Class, kiosk won't print my boarding pass. She jumps back behind the desk, makes a call, logs in, and prints me my boarding pass. 3 minutes top.

I make it through security and I'm on the flight now.

So, Flyertalk: A**hole DYKWIA or just a guy trying to make his flight and doing what he has to do?

David