What’s your best “I can’t believe that I made that flight” story?
Jun 22, 2019, 10:43 am
#91
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Silver, Avis Preferred Plus, SPG Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 114
Woke at 8:50 in central Paris. Flight was at 10:35 from CDG. I made it. For anyone who knows Paris traffic and public transport, that's all I need to say. 😉
Jun 22, 2019, 1:51 pm
#92
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: Delta, United, IcelandAir
Posts: 3
Number of years ago, I used to fly regularly from NYC to Erie PA, which meant a connection through Cleveland (Continental/United), Detroit (Delta) or Philadelphia (American). Philadelphia is the tenth circle of hell as far as I'm concerned and I would take longer layovers in either of the other two in order to avoid PHL....but not possible this trip. Ah well.
My American Airlines last-flight-of-the-day from ERI is delayed on the ground for almost two hours by thunderstorms, which meant my connection time in PHL would be, well, zero or so minutes. Flight finally goes and lands at PHL just after 8pm, minutes before my connection to LGA. After an interminable taxi to the gate and lots of meandering passengers in the aisle, I grab my bag, dart off the plane and hoof it to the sad, empty gate in Terminal F, where the desk agent is finalizing her paperwork in front of a closed door.
"I missed the 8.10, didn't I?" sez I, handing over my boarding pass.
"Yes, it just left. Let me see what we have later [lots of clicking on the computer]. No 8.10, but I can put you on the 7.50 to JFK."
"...........um..........great........."
Obama had been in town that day and the airport was coming off an extended ground stop to handle his motorcade and return flight to DC. Due to the vagaries of scheduling, my 8.10 flight had left on time as soon as the ground stop was lifted, but the 7.50's adjusted departure time had been pushed back and the flight hadn't even boarded yet.
Got VERY lucky that time.
My American Airlines last-flight-of-the-day from ERI is delayed on the ground for almost two hours by thunderstorms, which meant my connection time in PHL would be, well, zero or so minutes. Flight finally goes and lands at PHL just after 8pm, minutes before my connection to LGA. After an interminable taxi to the gate and lots of meandering passengers in the aisle, I grab my bag, dart off the plane and hoof it to the sad, empty gate in Terminal F, where the desk agent is finalizing her paperwork in front of a closed door.
"I missed the 8.10, didn't I?" sez I, handing over my boarding pass.
"Yes, it just left. Let me see what we have later [lots of clicking on the computer]. No 8.10, but I can put you on the 7.50 to JFK."
"...........um..........great........."
Obama had been in town that day and the airport was coming off an extended ground stop to handle his motorcade and return flight to DC. Due to the vagaries of scheduling, my 8.10 flight had left on time as soon as the ground stop was lifted, but the 7.50's adjusted departure time had been pushed back and the flight hadn't even boarded yet.
Got VERY lucky that time.
Jun 22, 2019, 2:04 pm
#93
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Denver
Programs: AS, AA, UA, Hilton, Marriott, Caesars DE
Posts: 2,070
Obama had been in town that day and the airport was coming off an extended ground stop to handle his motorcade and return flight to DC. Due to the vagaries of scheduling, my 8.10 flight had left on time as soon as the ground stop was lifted, but the 7.50's adjusted departure time had been pushed back and the flight hadn't even boarded yet.
Got VERY lucky that time.
Jun 26, 2019, 10:55 am
#94
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 2
Dropped off rental car at LGA at 12pm with a 5pm flight out of EWR, a 4 hour cushion would be enough, right?
Except that the bridge was clogged (4 lanes collapsed into one), which made for a 3-1/2 hour trek into Manhattan, plus having to transfer to the Newark bus (another 20 minute wait), plus a 40 minute trip from Manhattan to EWR...
Long story short, we arrive at a long security line at 4ish (somehow Mrs. ing.chatboy got a fast screening), and somehow, after making a run for it, make it to the gate in time for a 4:40pm departure...in Newark of all places!
tl;dr: a 1-1/2 hour trip across NYC took >4 hours, and we still made the flight!
Except that the bridge was clogged (4 lanes collapsed into one), which made for a 3-1/2 hour trek into Manhattan, plus having to transfer to the Newark bus (another 20 minute wait), plus a 40 minute trip from Manhattan to EWR...
Long story short, we arrive at a long security line at 4ish (somehow Mrs. ing.chatboy got a fast screening), and somehow, after making a run for it, make it to the gate in time for a 4:40pm departure...in Newark of all places!
tl;dr: a 1-1/2 hour trip across NYC took >4 hours, and we still made the flight!
Jul 3, 2019, 3:26 am
#95
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: UA GS>1K>Nothing; DL DM 2MM; AS 75K>Nothing>MVP
Posts: 9,341
Arrived at the parking lot at NRT 50 minutes before my departure. Got broadsided by a DHL truck as I was parking. Called the airline and told them to wait. Called an ambulance (for the other driver.) Called the police. Called the insurance company. Called the car dealer. Called a tow truck. Waited for the tow truck. Made my flight which departed on time.
Jul 4, 2019, 9:03 pm
#96
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Udon Thani, Thailand
Programs: TK E,*G, A-Club G
Posts: 869
Living in outside Brussels in the days there was no fast train to CDG airport and QR was not flying to BRU.
I had a good biz class deal CDG-DOH-BKK and decided to take the TGV to Paris Nord and the RER to CDG.
The tgv takes 3h to Paris Nord, I planned an other hour for the RER train to CDG and probably more than two hours for check in.
Unfortunately the TGV stopped dead in the middle of nowhere somewhere in the Nord of France.
No announcement was made. after probably over half an hour train started moving slowly....slowly to stop at a nomansland station Haute Picardie.
Eventually the train moved towards Paris at reduced speed, but i was getting seriously worried i would not make it.
I know my way around Gare du Nord, bought a ticket to CDG, found the quay for the next train who arrived within one minute and was a direct train to CDG thus no stops underway....without that direct train i would not have made it, then you still need to find the right bus to the right terminal....
When I reached QR check-in desk I was the only customers but employees told me "no problem, we are aware of the system wide failure of the TGV network. When I reached the gate boarding just started.
Nowadays plenty of airlines flying BRU-BKK, I will avoid flying ex CDG,AMS,DUS, FRA.
Note I did try AMS and FRA, but no more of such risky adventures, thanks.
I had a good biz class deal CDG-DOH-BKK and decided to take the TGV to Paris Nord and the RER to CDG.
The tgv takes 3h to Paris Nord, I planned an other hour for the RER train to CDG and probably more than two hours for check in.
Unfortunately the TGV stopped dead in the middle of nowhere somewhere in the Nord of France.
No announcement was made. after probably over half an hour train started moving slowly....slowly to stop at a nomansland station Haute Picardie.
Eventually the train moved towards Paris at reduced speed, but i was getting seriously worried i would not make it.
I know my way around Gare du Nord, bought a ticket to CDG, found the quay for the next train who arrived within one minute and was a direct train to CDG thus no stops underway....without that direct train i would not have made it, then you still need to find the right bus to the right terminal....
When I reached QR check-in desk I was the only customers but employees told me "no problem, we are aware of the system wide failure of the TGV network. When I reached the gate boarding just started.
Nowadays plenty of airlines flying BRU-BKK, I will avoid flying ex CDG,AMS,DUS, FRA.
Note I did try AMS and FRA, but no more of such risky adventures, thanks.
Last edited by tartempion; Jul 4, 2019 at 9:08 pm
Jul 6, 2019, 12:45 am
#97
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: PDX
Programs: AS DL
Posts: 9,038
One more:
I was flying with a friend from ANC-SEA, arriving very early AM, and continuing that evening to NRT (and later to other destinations in Asia).
I was in charge of obtaining the visas for the other destinations.
As my red-eye flight took off and I admired the city of Anchorage, I just then remembered that my friend's passport was sitting on top of my television.
(This is before GoGo.)
The minute I landed in Seattle, I checked the flight schedules and saw that AS had flights that would arrive before our NRT departure.
I have family in ANC, so I woke up my father to plead idiocy and ask if he could take the passport and Goldstreak it to SEA. He very kindly obliged.
We checked in to our hotel to sleep and then took a taxi to the air cargo office around the time that the passport-containing flight was arriving.
They told us that, unfortunately, it takes them up to 60 minutes to unload cargo and have it ready for pick-up.
We explained our situation to the sympathetic agents and cooled our heels for a while before we had to run to the terminal to check-in.
We asked the agents just to return the passport to ANC. They said they would "figure something out" for us. ^
The friend is a dual citizen and had the ability to get to NRT, so we considered the possibility of just spending the whole trip in Japan.
We were the last to check-in and boarded a UA flight to NRT.
After boarding the airplane, the UA flight attendant walked down the aisle and handed me an AS Goldstreak envelope.
The passenger on my other side reacted in shock as I opened up the envelope, took out a passport, and handed it to my friend sitting across the aisle.
I sent an MVP Gold appreciation certificate to the SEA cargo office for going way above and beyond for that one.
And I said thank you to UA as well!
I was flying with a friend from ANC-SEA, arriving very early AM, and continuing that evening to NRT (and later to other destinations in Asia).
I was in charge of obtaining the visas for the other destinations.
As my red-eye flight took off and I admired the city of Anchorage, I just then remembered that my friend's passport was sitting on top of my television.
(This is before GoGo.)
The minute I landed in Seattle, I checked the flight schedules and saw that AS had flights that would arrive before our NRT departure.
I have family in ANC, so I woke up my father to plead idiocy and ask if he could take the passport and Goldstreak it to SEA. He very kindly obliged.
We checked in to our hotel to sleep and then took a taxi to the air cargo office around the time that the passport-containing flight was arriving.
They told us that, unfortunately, it takes them up to 60 minutes to unload cargo and have it ready for pick-up.
We explained our situation to the sympathetic agents and cooled our heels for a while before we had to run to the terminal to check-in.
We asked the agents just to return the passport to ANC. They said they would "figure something out" for us. ^
The friend is a dual citizen and had the ability to get to NRT, so we considered the possibility of just spending the whole trip in Japan.
We were the last to check-in and boarded a UA flight to NRT.
After boarding the airplane, the UA flight attendant walked down the aisle and handed me an AS Goldstreak envelope.
The passenger on my other side reacted in shock as I opened up the envelope, took out a passport, and handed it to my friend sitting across the aisle.
I sent an MVP Gold appreciation certificate to the SEA cargo office for going way above and beyond for that one.
And I said thank you to UA as well!
Shocked because the passenger thought you were 007 and the passport in the envelope is a fake. Just another spy's props. Da da da dum..
Jul 7, 2019, 12:19 am
#98
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 233
Flying home from BNA to HNL, had weather problems thr prior two days at originally booked ORD connection so did a same day change to 90 min connection in IAH. Pushed back 45 min late and pilot announced we had to take a roundabout flight path due to weather along route. Landed at IAH 5 min after scheduled pushback time of IAH-HNL flight. United app showed two itins: durect flight and another with LAX connection. Git off plane 15 min after scheduled pushback for direct flight but airport screen showed the flight as still boarding. Decided to chance it and ran from terminal C (north) to E. Boarded at T+25 and couldnt believe, had a whole middle row of the 772 to myself. Four more from my connecting flight trickled in over the next 10 min. Glad I ran instead of eating at Schlotskys.
Jul 9, 2019, 8:01 am
#99
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 75
Delta.
DTW.
Two things I avoid at great cost every year, because Delta
Glad you made it!
OK, my story, I was on a last-minute booking for a funeral in S America. The rest of my family is flying out of DFW where they live, but I'm going to college in AUS. No problem, there are like 15 flights a day AUS-DFW so I just have to make one of them to hit the once-a-day overnight DFW-SCL.
Get to the airport in plenty of time, so I don't bother checking bags at the curb. Check in with AA at the counter no problem, walk to the gate and find the flight is delayed.
Gate agent helpfully rebooks me onto a DL flight leaving in about an hour. Then the bad news: I have to go back to the counter to get my bag and recheck them with Delta.
So I hustle back to the counter and wait for my bag, by which time they're no longer checking bags for my new flight. Lucky for me this is pre-911 so I just lug it back through security and to the gate, where they gate-check it and... that flight is leaving late as well. It's a short hop up to DFW but I'm getting nervous about the connection. Getting on the plane I find that my expensive, last-minute first class ticket has put me in the middle of the back row. My hatred for Delta begins, and I haven't even been to Atlanta yet
Fast forward to the usual half hour of taxiing across the entire DFW metroplex from the runway to our gate and I'm getting more nervous, since DL is on the other side of the airport from the AA international terminal.
Somehow I get off the plane in less than half an hour, either because the people in the 30 rows ahead of me could see I was rushing for a connection, or at least noticed the crazed look in my eyes. Step off the plane, collect my gate-checked suitcase, and start the run to the people-mover. By now, unbeknownst to me, the SCL flight has started boarding and my family is getting worried.
After another long run through another terminal with suitcase in hand, I get to the gate and it's deserted except for one gate agent and my crying sister, begging them to hold the door for one more minute
If she weren't there they definitely would have closed up and left 15 minutes before the departure time since it was half-empty and they had started boarding early.
This December, I'm taking my family on the DFW-SCL flight, and we're going to drive to DFW
Jul 9, 2019, 9:10 am
#100
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 10
Ha, ha! Great stories, thanks everyone. Really enjoyed reading the harrowing adventures..
Amazing, or maybe not, how so many of them involve a glass or two of something.
Reminds me of why we leave eight (yes, 8) hours early from Richmond to catch planes at IAD.
Never know what the always exciting DC area, which starts at Fredericksburg, traffic will bring.
Cheers, happy flying
Amazing, or maybe not, how so many of them involve a glass or two of something.
Reminds me of why we leave eight (yes, 8) hours early from Richmond to catch planes at IAD.
Never know what the always exciting DC area, which starts at Fredericksburg, traffic will bring.
Cheers, happy flying
Jul 9, 2019, 9:31 am
#101
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 11
This story sounds insane, and memory being memory, the details may not be exact. But in 1992, long before Google Maps and Waze and travel apps and cellphones for that matter, a friend and I left in the morning to drive a rental car from Venice to Rome to catch an early evening charter flight back to JFK, and we decided to stop on the way at the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel. Why not? Turns out, once we got inside, that it would take a good hour to get there on their flow plan, so we almost literally jogged through all the various rooms to get to the chapel and spent maybe five minutes there before racing out, grabbing our car, and proceeding to get lost once or twice on the way to Ciampino since we only had a small road map of Rome. We somehow managed to drop off the rental car and race to the gate to find our flight out on the tarmac fully boarded (well, except for us). And, amazingly, they pushed out the stairs again, opened the plane door, and took us up into the flight.
Jul 9, 2019, 9:48 am
#102
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SEA (the REAL Washington); occasionally in the other Washington (DCA area)
Programs: DL PM 1.57MM; AS MVPG 100K
Posts: 21,358
17 to Warrenton, thence 15/29/28 ... a little farther, but other than morning rush hour, often about the same time and imo far less stressful
Jul 9, 2019, 9:51 am
#103
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Bye Delta
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Plat, Nat'l Exec Elite, Avis Presidents Club
Posts: 16,264
Back before Delta started pioneering every loyalty program devaluation known to mankind, I was loyal to them for the better part of a decade. Upgrades were the easiest, especially compared to United. Their flights actually got snarled the least when ORD delays started, since they had a smaller operation. I live half way between ORD and MKE so half the time I flew out of MKE, which was an even easier experience. I actually don't mind DTW - it's a dream of an airport to connect through, they inherited a real gem from NWA in the merger... so easy to navigate, it's not stretched to its limits like ATL is, and the Sky Clubs were quite nice. And things like this misconnect story, Porsche rides, etc. made it hard to leave Diamond behind, especially when I don't spend enough to hit CK/GS.
Jul 9, 2019, 11:44 am
#104
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 10
We usually take the Dumfries exit and go 234 to 28, takes forever it seems.
will check out the Warrenton route, thanks
Jul 9, 2019, 12:28 pm
#105
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somewhere in Florida
Posts: 2,616
Not naming the airline, route, nor airport (no, it's not RSW) to protect the guilty:
So, at 1pm I get a notice from ExpertFlyer that my father's 5pm flight to NY is cancelled. I quickly get online and see there's a 2:15pm flight and it'll be the last workable flight of the night. Bad news: he's at least 1 hr away from the airport. I phone a friend who works the airline at that particular airport and ask for his advice. He asks for the flight # and then laughs and says, "Don't worry about it. I'll make sure the plane's still here." Let's just say that he pulled a mechanical delay. My father gets to the airport and heads straight for the now-delayed plane, no problems. It's nice to have friends in low places.
So, at 1pm I get a notice from ExpertFlyer that my father's 5pm flight to NY is cancelled. I quickly get online and see there's a 2:15pm flight and it'll be the last workable flight of the night. Bad news: he's at least 1 hr away from the airport. I phone a friend who works the airline at that particular airport and ask for his advice. He asks for the flight # and then laughs and says, "Don't worry about it. I'll make sure the plane's still here." Let's just say that he pulled a mechanical delay. My father gets to the airport and heads straight for the now-delayed plane, no problems. It's nice to have friends in low places.