How to avoid the 2-hr delay
Oct 31, 2001 | 10:43 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: MCI ** UA Silver, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 1,297
How to avoid the 2-hr delay
I'm checking in 1.5 hrs ahead of my departure at MCI and a guy in a suit with a briefcase comes up and asks to get in front of me -- his flight is departing in 10 minutes.
I let him go ahead, and then as I'm standing in the 20-minute security line, I notice he's done the same thing there. This guy gets to the airport 10-15 minutes before his flight, and manages to catch it. Then I notice that the security folks pulled ALL the other passengers out of line for the next flight, making my flight wait until they're cleared.
Has anyone else seen this behavior, of going to the head of the line to avoid missing a flight? The ticket agent commented to me under her breath that when they say 2 hours, they DON'T mean 10 minutes.
I let him go ahead, and then as I'm standing in the 20-minute security line, I notice he's done the same thing there. This guy gets to the airport 10-15 minutes before his flight, and manages to catch it. Then I notice that the security folks pulled ALL the other passengers out of line for the next flight, making my flight wait until they're cleared.
Has anyone else seen this behavior, of going to the head of the line to avoid missing a flight? The ticket agent commented to me under her breath that when they say 2 hours, they DON'T mean 10 minutes.
Oct 31, 2001 | 11:48 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: IAH
Programs: UA 1K/*G
Posts: 2,397
At smaller airports (like TYS), the ticket counter reps seem to encourage this. Since that airport only has a limited number of flights and a couple ticket counter reps, they call out to the huge line (there's no elite line at the Continental Express counter, grrrr) "If you're on the Cleveland flight that leaves in 10 minutes, please come to the front of the line. Cleveland only"
Several times, I've gotten to the airport early so that I can have breakfast there before catching my absurdly long flight to Houston on an "ExpressJet," only to be delayed repeatedly by lamers that get there only a few minutes before their flight.
[This message has been edited by dbaker (edited 10-31-2001).]
Several times, I've gotten to the airport early so that I can have breakfast there before catching my absurdly long flight to Houston on an "ExpressJet," only to be delayed repeatedly by lamers that get there only a few minutes before their flight.
[This message has been edited by dbaker (edited 10-31-2001).]
Oct 31, 2001 | 12:10 pm
#3
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: East Bay, CA UA1K
Posts: 813
You know, I have faithfully gotten to the airport at the requested times, 2 hrs domestic and 3 for international. Often when I get there the security lines are from hell. As a smoker, I can't imagine waiting in line to clear security for an hour then waiting at the gate for another hour or so with no chance of a cigarette till I've reached my destination, so I spend the time outside till about 30 minutes before my scheduled departure.
Without fail, when I go back in, there has been no security line to speak of, maybe 5-10 minutes. I don't know if I'm just lucky, or if the timing just works so that at the end of the 'bank' of flights, everyone else has cleared already.
Without fail, when I go back in, there has been no security line to speak of, maybe 5-10 minutes. I don't know if I'm just lucky, or if the timing just works so that at the end of the 'bank' of flights, everyone else has cleared already.