I think I'm finished with flying an airline for a while.

When I went to New Jersey last Thursday, it was ....ing hell and here's my story:

Thursday morning, about 630 AM, I arrive at the airport only to have the lady tell me that my flight to Dallas (which was my connection hub) was delayed and that if I took the plane to Dallas that I'd miss my connecting flight to Philadelphia (which was to land in Philly at about 1230.) She said that if I missed my connection then the next plane I could get on would make it to Philly at about 5, but I could connect in Chicago (O'Hare) and make it to Philly at 4.

After her pressing me for about five minutes to get on the Chicago flight, I broke down and said fine. That flight was to take off at 8 from Austin and get into Chicago about 11. From Chicago I was to take a flight to Philadelphia which would take off at 130 land in Philly at 4. That's a stressfull and long flight compared to if I had just taken my chances with the Dallas flight.

So, I board the plane and fly to Chicago and get there at 1130 only to go up to the screen and have it tell me that my connecting flight to Philadelphia was CANCELLED. I was never as pissed before as I was then.

I went to a random gate counter (that belonged to American Airlines [the original carrier I was flying on]) and the guy at the gate counter told me that I could catch another plane and get to Philly a bit after I was supposed to on my connecting flight (aka, I was supposed to get to Philly at about 430 pm on the new flight.} Except that he'd have to switch my carriers and I'd have to get reticketed and go through security again. I said fine and did it.

Let me tell you, walking through O'Hare was a ....ing nightmare. I spent half an hour looking for a way to get reticketed and after jacking with the staff, I finally found my way to the US Airways ticket counter. I got reticketed and my bags rechecked and then I went through security. They clipped my ticket and frisked me (first time that's ever happened to me.) I sat in their little glass box for about 30 minutes while the security guys tried to get someone to frisk me - finally the guy who told me to go to the glass box in the first place frisked me and I was on my way to the gate.

I got to the gate and waited until 135 (when my new flight was to leave.) We boarded the plane and sat on the ....ing tarmac for three hours. Sitting three hours on the ....ing tarmac in a hot plane with no air conditioner (they had to save fuel.) After sitting on the tarmac, they said we needed to refuel and then we'd be on our way. So, we went back to the gate and the pilot came over the speaker and said "This flight has now been cancelled." UGH!

Everyone deboarded the now cancelled flight (I'm now on US Airways, btw) and went back to the ticketing counter to get rebooked for another flight. We had to get our luggage (and thankfully, and suprisingly, that wasn't hard - I went to the baggage claim and my bag was the first one out) and go back to the ticket counter. After an hour and a half of standing in line, a lady came over the speaker and said, basically, that we were wasting our time and that we needed to just call US Airways and get rebooked for another flight for tonite or tommorow. So I did, and the next available flight to Philly was the next day at 4 PM. ....!

I rebooked for that flight and asked the airlines for a hotel voucher (because I didn't have 120+ dollars to spend on a hotel room) - they said that since it was weather related (both of my connecting flights were cancelled because of storms in the Chicago and Philly areas but my flight that was supposed to be from Austin to Dallas was delayed (and switched) because of some mix up with the flight attendants) that I could only get a discount on a hotel with the voucher. So I said fine, give me the voucher.

==Please bear in mind that this entire time I did not yell, curse, scream or shoot anyone ... though, I felt like wanting to take out the entire ....ing airport==

I call up the hotel and I get a good room for $45 that nite (it would've cost me 120 dollars without the voucher) somewhere 30 miles away from the airport but it had free breakfast and a free shuttle from the hotel to the airport.

This entire time I've been on the phone with my mom, my dad, my girlfriend and my girlfriend's mom trying to figure the situation out. On the phone with my mom, on the way to the hotel, she told me to tell her what part of Chicago I was going to be staying in and if it was downtown, I could probably go around and see Chicago. I ended up staying on the east side of a town called Addison and it had two titty bars, a run down resteraunt and a big billboard across the street from my hotel that said "SEX TOY SHOP!" (which I found funny because there were kids with us...) So I told her, and I said that I didn't want to go out anywhere anyway. My girlfriend ordered me a pizza over teh web and all was well that nite.

I told the hotel that I wanted to be picked up in the shuttle at 10 so I could get to the airport early enough to get through ticketing, get a bite to eat and work out any .... ups that may happen along the way. That was all done and I got to the airport at about 11.

[left out detail]

Here's an important detail that I left out. When I deboarded the flight that was cancelled (the one I sat on for about 3 hours), I had left my ticket that said that I was on that plane on the plane (I left it in the little seat pocket in front.) To have gotten reticketed for that flight the day before, the guy at the American Airlines gate counter (the one who switched my carrier) gave me a flight coupon - that is what I used to get reticketed on the US Airways flight.

Well, US Airways took the flight coupon and gave me back the boarding pass when I boarded the 145 flight - I left the boarding pass on the plane and asked the guy at the counter if I could go back on the plane and get it and he said no. Instead he printed me out a time card that had my name on it and said that the time card would be good enough to get it figured out.

[/left out detail]

When I went to get my boarding pass for the 4 PM flight for Friday, the lady told me that I needed the flight coupon. I showed her the paper and told her what the guy had told me. She said that wasn't good enough, and even if I had the boarding pass from yesterday that wouldn't have been good enough, either. I was like "...! Just print my boarding pass so I can go!" - she told me I needed to go back over to American Airlines ticketing and get them to fill out a Lost Ticket Application. And that then she could print my boarding pass, but that she'd check my luggage in. So she checked my bag in and I felt so happy that I chose to be at the airport that early to get this .... straightened out (I had a feeling something would go wrong.)

I went to the American Airlines ticket counter and the lady up there said that they had no clue what an Lost Ticket Application or an LTA were. So she gave me a card with AA's number on it and told me to call it. I called up my girlfriend and my dad and they both called AA and US Airways to yell at them. So, within a span of about 2 hours, I got sent back and forth between AA and US Airways, them telling me that it was one or the other's faults and that they needed to deal with it and then they were saying the same damn things to my girlfriend, my dad and my girlfriend's mom.

I was told by AA to get a supervisor from US Airways, but when I asked for one from US Airways, they said they couldn't get one to come see me and the lady walked away to go help some other first class jackass.

So, in one last ditch effort, I went back to AA and saw another ticketing lady, told her my story and after about 20 minutes she agreed to reprint a flight coupon for me and then I went back over to US Airways and they FINALLY gave me a ....ing boarding pass. So, I got through security (got frisked again) and got to my gate at about 2 and waited for my flight to come in. I got on the flight and finally made it to Philadelphia.

The flight back wasn't as bad. Just a small delay and a quick run from one end to the terminal to the other.

But even after all that, it was well worth the hassle. I spent the week with my gf, I met her family and we went to see a Broadway show in New York City (The Producers - which was ....ing hilarious.) But we didn't really do anything during the days - it was way too ....ing hot. But at nites, we went out to dinner and chilled and I loved it. I miss her a lot already.

After all that, though, she'll be moving down here in a month. So, after 3 years we'll finally be together constantly and won't have to deal with the airlines unless it's to see her family (which we'll be doing around Christmas.)

I told her I'm finished with flying for a long time. When we go up to see her family at Christmas time, I'm going to just take a Greyhound Bus.

ETA: Also, to add insult to injury - I came to find out that the other Dallas flight that I could've taken had I missed my connection in Dallas got to Philly. It even got to Philly earlier than it was supposed to.