Well I'm an Idiot, I dawdled and Missed my Flight
Sep 1, 2017, 1:08 pm
#1
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Well I'm an Idiot, I dawdled and Missed my Flight
Please allow me to confess my sins and be absolved
My first time in 15 years of frequent travel doing this. My girlfriend and I were flying on the 2:49 PM RDU-EWR flight. We got to the airport at 2:05 PM and after getting through security at 2:10 we decided we had time to hit the Admirals Club for a drink. We walked down to the gate at 2:30 and I had to make a stop to pick something up. We arrived at 2:36 PM and the door was already shut. The BPs we had said the gate closed at 2:34 PM so this is obviously 100% on me. The worst part was watching the jetway being pulled back at 2:39 PM and the plane leave six minutes early at 2:43 PM.
Of all the times I've sat on a plane waiting to go, all the times there have been delays, all the times etc. etc. this was the one time in my life a plane was pushed back quickly. As I said in the subject line...I'm an idiot. Thanks for listening.
My first time in 15 years of frequent travel doing this. My girlfriend and I were flying on the 2:49 PM RDU-EWR flight. We got to the airport at 2:05 PM and after getting through security at 2:10 we decided we had time to hit the Admirals Club for a drink. We walked down to the gate at 2:30 and I had to make a stop to pick something up. We arrived at 2:36 PM and the door was already shut. The BPs we had said the gate closed at 2:34 PM so this is obviously 100% on me. The worst part was watching the jetway being pulled back at 2:39 PM and the plane leave six minutes early at 2:43 PM.
Of all the times I've sat on a plane waiting to go, all the times there have been delays, all the times etc. etc. this was the one time in my life a plane was pushed back quickly. As I said in the subject line...I'm an idiot. Thanks for listening.
Sep 1, 2017, 1:20 pm
#3
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Thankfully I was able to get rebooked on the 4 PM flight so it won't cost me too much time. Though in terms of self respect and dignity...I'm running a deficit.
Sep 1, 2017, 1:31 pm
#4
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A friend of mine was connecting in LAX after a flight from Europe. He arrived at gate plenty of time after clearing immigration, custom, and security. Too much time as he dozed off while waiting for his flight at the gate. When he woke up the plane has already left. He was re-booked on another flight arriving home few hours later than originally scheduled.
Sep 1, 2017, 1:39 pm
#5
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Only time I've ever done it was a similar story. About 15 years ago, flying US PIT-CLT-SFO (it was cheaper than flying nonstop and my wife was coming along).
Our itinerary had a roughly one hour layover. But for some forgotten reason, our PIT-CLT flight took off like 25 minutes late. Also circled a little and so we landed almost 30 minutes late.
I don't know if its still there, but there was a Krispy Kreme donuts in the food court in the middle of the airport, and we had pre-planned to go there knowing we had an hour to kill. We also knew our connecting gates were across from each other. Without thinking about the now much tighter connection, we walked up the concourse to get some donuts, sat to eat them, and then leisurely walked back to the gate and found.. the closed door.
We also got lucky and got rebooked through SAN - which was leaving in 2 minutes from when we got there - and luckily it too was only a gate away as the desk agent yelled "just put them on I am making it all official".
Downside is we lost our F seats. Oh well.
Our itinerary had a roughly one hour layover. But for some forgotten reason, our PIT-CLT flight took off like 25 minutes late. Also circled a little and so we landed almost 30 minutes late.
I don't know if its still there, but there was a Krispy Kreme donuts in the food court in the middle of the airport, and we had pre-planned to go there knowing we had an hour to kill. We also knew our connecting gates were across from each other. Without thinking about the now much tighter connection, we walked up the concourse to get some donuts, sat to eat them, and then leisurely walked back to the gate and found.. the closed door.
We also got lucky and got rebooked through SAN - which was leaving in 2 minutes from when we got there - and luckily it too was only a gate away as the desk agent yelled "just put them on I am making it all official".
Downside is we lost our F seats. Oh well.
Sep 1, 2017, 1:45 pm
#6
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Only time I've ever done it was a similar story. About 15 years ago, flying US PIT-CLT-SFO (it was cheaper than flying nonstop and my wife was coming along).
Our itinerary had a roughly one hour layover. But for some forgotten reason, our PIT-CLT flight took off like 25 minutes late. Also circled a little and so we landed almost 30 minutes late.
I don't know if its still there, but there was a Krispy Kreme donuts in the food court in the middle of the airport, and we had pre-planned to go there knowing we had an hour to kill. We also knew our connecting gates were across from each other. Without thinking about the now much tighter connection, we walked up the concourse to get some donuts, sat to eat them, and then leisurely walked back to the gate and found.. the closed door.
We also got lucky and got rebooked through SAN - which was leaving in 2 minutes from when we got there - and luckily it too was only a gate away as the desk agent yelled "just put them on I am making it all official".
Downside is we lost our F seats. Oh well.
Our itinerary had a roughly one hour layover. But for some forgotten reason, our PIT-CLT flight took off like 25 minutes late. Also circled a little and so we landed almost 30 minutes late.
I don't know if its still there, but there was a Krispy Kreme donuts in the food court in the middle of the airport, and we had pre-planned to go there knowing we had an hour to kill. We also knew our connecting gates were across from each other. Without thinking about the now much tighter connection, we walked up the concourse to get some donuts, sat to eat them, and then leisurely walked back to the gate and found.. the closed door.
We also got lucky and got rebooked through SAN - which was leaving in 2 minutes from when we got there - and luckily it too was only a gate away as the desk agent yelled "just put them on I am making it all official".
Downside is we lost our F seats. Oh well.
Hope it was worth it.
Sep 1, 2017, 2:07 pm
#7
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Sep 1, 2017, 2:08 pm
#8
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Sep 1, 2017, 2:32 pm
#12
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Love this thread! Brought a smile to my face (well actually I laughed out loud at a couple). Two instances for me:
1. My first flight with my new employer (and only been with them for a week) in 1989, I rock up for my SYD-MEL flight at 8am for an 8.20am flight, to be informed it was not a train!
They put me on the 9am flight. This was in the day when there was Ansett in Australia and all my previous flights had been vacation flights that I arrived 3 hours early at the airport because my dad wants to ensure that leeway. I was 26 (in 1989) at the time this occurred and never made the mistake on my weekly SYD-MEL-SYD flights for the next seven years. Although would valet park and run in with 30 minutes to spare as this was the allowed time from Valet parking (at the time) and Valet parking would tell them I was on my way. :-)
2. Coming from from Atlantis (Bahamas) in 2008 with my ten year old son we had to overnight in MIA so mosey on from the hotel to the airport to find the flight had already left. Apparently I had misread the time of the departure by one hour, and of course I would rather spend time at the hotel than sitting around an airport (the one time my dad's advice to arrive three hours before a flight would have been great!). Someone scored two seats in F for the missed flight. Fortunately we were able to get on a flight a few hours later but there was nothing in F available. My son just looked at me and said, "But Mum you fly all the time how did you get it so wrong?" Indeed!
1. My first flight with my new employer (and only been with them for a week) in 1989, I rock up for my SYD-MEL flight at 8am for an 8.20am flight, to be informed it was not a train!
They put me on the 9am flight. This was in the day when there was Ansett in Australia and all my previous flights had been vacation flights that I arrived 3 hours early at the airport because my dad wants to ensure that leeway. I was 26 (in 1989) at the time this occurred and never made the mistake on my weekly SYD-MEL-SYD flights for the next seven years. Although would valet park and run in with 30 minutes to spare as this was the allowed time from Valet parking (at the time) and Valet parking would tell them I was on my way. :-)
2. Coming from from Atlantis (Bahamas) in 2008 with my ten year old son we had to overnight in MIA so mosey on from the hotel to the airport to find the flight had already left. Apparently I had misread the time of the departure by one hour, and of course I would rather spend time at the hotel than sitting around an airport (the one time my dad's advice to arrive three hours before a flight would have been great!). Someone scored two seats in F for the missed flight. Fortunately we were able to get on a flight a few hours later but there was nothing in F available. My son just looked at me and said, "But Mum you fly all the time how did you get it so wrong?" Indeed!
Sep 1, 2017, 2:52 pm
#15
Join Date: Oct 2008
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hahaha oh man. I've come close a few times because I wasn't paying enough attention to the boarding time vs. departure time tags on the boarding pass.
I often take the early flight out, my great fear is always falling asleep at the gate prior to boarding and missing flight.
hasn't happened. yet.
I often take the early flight out, my great fear is always falling asleep at the gate prior to boarding and missing flight.
hasn't happened. yet.