ZOMG WN!
Friday night I was headed to SAN. As with most non-landing-time-constrained flights lately I take advantage of the A-List free standby and book the latest, cheapest ticket for the day then monitor the app for potential seat availability for an earlier standby seat. I'd kept checking for the 7-ish pm flight, the plan being to GO/NO-GO around 5:35 to include time to get an Uber to SJC from work if it seemed open. It was Friday night so I'd expected the 101S to be a CF, but I'd still get there in time to get to a counter agent (had a big bag) and attempt to get cleared at the counter.
All goes to plan, if a little later arriving at SJC than I'd liked, but the bag is checked and she was able to clear me, C-99 or something but I can board at A-"61" and get my rear aisle seat, NBD. It's now 6:25 so I head upstairs, and since I have CLEAR and Pre I really never sweat security anymore. I do have a backpack full of every kind of high-tech shiz, but nothing too uncommon for Silicon Valley (laptop, tablet, portable router, batteries, chargers, cables, fire stick, ...) and I usually don't get a second look, but it is packed fairly dense and sometimes TSA wants to pull it, at which point I'll get the stupid swabbing theater and maybe a re-run after they take something out ... either way, at most 5 mins, most of which is usually just waiting for someone to get to the bag.
I guess 'cause it's close to Xmas they're really putting on the dinner theater being more attentive, so I'm there another 3 mins or so as they go thru my pack with extra love. NBD, they're probably starting to board by now but I still have to wait for all the As anyway.
I leave the checkpoint, and go to the Tote Board to see which gate we're out of. Thing is, I've still got it in my head that I'm on my original flight in Terminal B. I look up to the board and find my new SAN flight ...
GATE 13
(Now, if this were a B-grade movie they'd do one of those shots where all the sound goes away except the ringing in my ears, then they'd shoot a closeup of my face holding a look of open-mouthed exasperation, then pivot to a long zooming-out shot of Terminal B allll the way down to the Terminal A entrance point accompanied by a shreaking violin.) Ffffffffffff ....
I run 3 miles most mornings, but not in loafers with ~25lbs of backpack strapped to me nor in a terminal which this day was even more full of the ... how do I put this? ... "less-situationally-aware people" (frequent SJC flyers probably know what I mean) than normal as human obstacles. Oh, and my backpack (which BTW wasn't repacked properly, as I'd intended to do it at the gate, or while aboard) is now starting to come unzipped as I hurry down the terminal and I almost lost a couple of things out of it. But I'm flying down a terminal that really seems longer today than normal, calling out "COMING THRU!" as required/necessary/(twice, sometimes; see: "stuationally-unaware", above) and get there just as- wait for it- "XT/A-List" is boarding.
... pant, pant, pant. While I'm all up for more gates in my home airport, Gary, you're really gonna have to at least get one check-in desk in Terminal A, especially as it appears your plans are for more gates in A.
I'd love to know how many people don't make it?