Madness at RDU - Trip Report

Well, I've weathered the hurricane, which swept through Wilson, North
Carolina last Thursday, bringing much rain and wind, but little in the
way of actual fireworks.

I was scheduled to leave Raleigh-Durham Internation Airport (RDU) at
7:50 on HP Flt 765. I was aware that many had been stranded at RDU
since their flights on Thursday, and even Friday had been troubled,
but I thought that the problems would have been sorted by Saturday
morning.

I left Wilson at 3:30 a.m. and drove to Raleigh, which was completely
uneventful, except for fighting to stay awake. Got my rental car
gassed up and turned in, took the Hertz shuttle to the airport.
Arrived at the HP desk at about 5:15.

HP didn't open until 5:30, which actually meant 5:45. I noted that
they only have three scheduled departing flights per day out of RDU -
two to PHX, one to Las Vegas. If I had missed my 7:50 flight, I'd be
stuck until 4:40 p.m. Not a good thing, since I have to fly BACK to
RDU from ABQ at 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning.

The checkin process, once the HP employees showed up, went very
quickly. I note that HP has one self-service kiosk at RDU, and I was
encouraged to use it. It didn't work for me. It also did not work
for the gentleman behind me, who was a young man in the military who
did not possess any credit cards to shove into the gaping maw of the
beast.

I checked one bag, and had to ask the lady at the counter for my
baggage claim, as she neglected to staple it to my ticket jacket. I
am surprised I was awake enough to even notice.

I was asked if I was able to be 'flexible' in my travel plans, as the
HP lady said that they were still clearing out stragglers from the
hurricane. I replied that I was NOT flexible, but thanks for asking.
Yeah, that's what I want, to get home at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday when I
have to fly out again at 9:00 a.m. Ah, no.

Fortunately, I was upgraded for free once again to FC on the Airbus
319 for the 4.5 hour flight to PHX. I also got an upgrade to FC for
the 737 from PHX to ABQ, but the important one was the long haul. I
was tired, but happy.

The security line was a bit long, maybe 20 minutes. I took my shoes
and belt off ahead of time as usual, pulled out my laptop computer,
and donned my prophylactic socks that I wear OVER my normal socks,
since I hate filthy airport floors.

Still, once I got to the TSA folks, they were efficient and processed
me quickly. I got redressed and was delighted to find a bar inside
the security zone that allowed smoking. Cigarettes and coffee with
raw bloody eyes, watching the mist clear over the field and runways of
the aiport. Bliss.

When HP started boarding the aircraft, I was able to board early with
the Group 1 folks, so I didn't notice that there was trouble brewing
in the back of the plane. It seems some folks were on the plane
WITHOUT BOARDING PASSES and they were just sitting in any old seat,
which caused consternation among those who had boarding passes for
those particular seats. Much mayhem and running about ensued,
complete with raised voices and implied threats of lawsuits and such
things.

Eventually, things started to settle down, and a bunch of people
exited the plane. A late arrival in FC told the rest of us that the
HP lady doing the boarding had been 'overwhelmed' by a 'bum's rush' at
the jetway. Apparently, some of the folks who had been waiting three
days to get out of RDU were sick and tired of being on standby, and
they just all rushed the jetway at once and boarded the plane. There
were about 15 of them in all. Of course, the plane was overbooked
anyway, so there were no places where they could sit and avoid
detection, so they eventually all were found and booted off the plane.
One hid in the bathroom in the back of the plane until the front door
was closed and then came out, but they just opened the door again and
tossed him out.

I felt sorry for those left behind. Since the hurricane was the
reason for the cancelled flights, it was 'weather related' and
therefore, apparently HP had not been putting these people up in
hotels, feeding them, or anything else for them, and again, some of
them had been in the airport since Thursday. Yikes. I'd have been
tempted to do something drastic as well.

It appears that no one got arrested - the HP people seemed to take it
with a shrug and a smile. However, I was a bit surprised that the
plane was not forced to empty out and reboard, or that we were not put
through security again, or something like that. I mean, we had all
kinds of people wandering around on the plane who did not have
boarding passes and who were not airline employees, seems kind of
strange. But then again, I've never had that happen to a flight I was
on before.

Anyway, we left only a bit late, I slept most of the way home, and got
home today at 2:00 p.m. to ABQ. Tomorrow, I do it again. Wheee.

I need Jack Daniels now. G'night, all...

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

Madness at RDU - Trip Report

Group: rec.travel.air Date: Sat, Sep 20, 2003, 8:14pm (EDT-3) From:
(The=A0Bill=A0Mattocks)


long story cut

Anyway, we left only a bit late, I slept most of the way home, and got
home today at 2:00 p.m. to ABQ. Tomorrow, I do it again. Wheee.
I need Jack Daniels now. G'night, all...
Best Regards, Bill Mattocks

Please explain the logic of flying 5 or 6+ hrs each way to be home for
19 hrs. I would think that it's more cost effective and restful for you
to have stayed in a hotel over night then to pay for the west bound
ticket.

Eric

Eric Toline wrote:

Please explain the logic of flying 5 or 6+ hrs each way to be home for
19 hrs. I would think that it's more cost effective and restful for you
to have stayed in a hotel over night then to pay for the west bound
ticket.

Presumably the attractiveness of 'one more night' in a hotel, restful or
not, pales in comparison to the chance to see his family more than once
in a blue moon and, of course, the company is paying for the plane
tickets.

cheers,

Henry

"Henry" schreef in bericht
...

Presumably the attractiveness of 'one more night' in a hotel, restful or
not, pales in comparison to the chance to see his family more than once
in a blue moon and, of course, the company is paying for the plane
tickets.

I don't think "seeing the family" is a big priority for Bill, as even when
he is home for only 19 hours, he spends considerable time in front of the
computer to write a trip report.

Sjoerd

On 20 Sep 2003 20:14:57 -0700 (The Bill Mattocks)
wrote:

[ snipped ]

:It appears that no one got arrested - the HP people seemed to take it
:with a shrug and a smile. However, I was a bit surprised that the
:plane was not forced to empty out and reboard, or that we were not put
:through security again, or something like that. I mean, we had all
:kinds of people wandering around on the plane who did not have
:boarding passes and who were not airline employees, seems kind of
:strange. But then again, I've never had that happen to a flight I was
:on before.

They give stand-bys "stand-by" boarding passes.

WHen I have been in such a situation, typically trying for a "full" earlier
flight, I get two boarding passes - one without a seat for the earlier flight
and one with a seat for the later flight.

[ snipped ]

--
Binyamin Dissen
http://www.dissensoftware.com

(Eric Toline) wrote in message ...
Madness at RDU - Trip Report

Group: rec.travel.air Date: Sat, Sep 20, 2003, 8:14pm (EDT-3) From:
(The Bill Mattocks)


long story cut

Anyway, we left only a bit late, I slept most of the way home, and got
home today at 2:00 p.m. to ABQ. Tomorrow, I do it again. Wheee.
I need Jack Daniels now. G'night, all...
Best Regards, Bill Mattocks

Please explain the logic of flying 5 or 6+ hrs each way to be home for
19 hrs. I would think that it's more cost effective and restful for you
to have stayed in a hotel over night then to pay for the west bound
ticket.

If you have to ask, you aren't a road warrior.

Eric

(Eric Toline) wrote in message ...
Please explain the logic of flying 5 or 6+ hrs each way to be home for
19 hrs. I would think that it's more cost effective and restful for you
to have stayed in a hotel over night then to pay for the west bound
ticket.

Eric,

You are absolutely right - it *would* be "more cost effective and
restful" to have stayed over instead of flying home for a few hours.
However, there is some logic to it, twisted though it may be.
Consider this:

1 - I do this for a living. I fly home every Saturday, and fly to my
next assignment every Sunday. If I *always* followed your logic, I
would *never* fly home, I would just go from assignment to assignment.
I suppose that would be 'cost-effective', but I would burn out
quickly. As it is, I've been doing this gig for seven years.

2 - I am married, and from time to time, my wife likes to see my face.
I can't imagine why, but there you go.

3 - Clean clothes.

4 - Actual home-cooked meal.

5 - I don't *pay* for my tickets or hotel room, so although I do try
to be 'cost-effective' for my employer, it is really no big deal if I
stay over or fly home. In any case, as an employee of this particular
corporation, I am *entitled* to fly home every weekend. Part of my
employment contract. They don't pay me overtime or travel pay, so if
I wanna come home, they gotta pay to send me home, too bad so sad if
they don't like it.

6 - Before I was married, I had to make sure my cat didn't starve and
empty my mailbox before the postal service decided I had cacked it and
stopped delivering my mail.

7 - Pay bills. I pay most of them online now, but some things can
only be handled by actual checks in actual mailboxes, and this I must
do at home, as old-fashioned and quaint though it may be. Not my
fault, but it must be done.

This is the life of the road-warrior. I'm far from the only one,
there are millions of us, and we do this day in and day out. Some fly
more than I do, make longer trips, but I'm definitely in the game. I
love it. Takes a certain kind, you know. The crazy kind.

However, having said all that - I *am* staying over this coming
weekend, because your advice is essentially correct - it wears me out
to fly all day to come home, only to turn right around and do it again
mere hours later. Since I am also an avid photographer (not a very
good one, but enthusiastic), I am schlepping a bunch of camera gear
back with me this trip, and next weekend I will drive around the North
Carolina backwoods taking pictures.

I took a few pictures last week with my digital camera and put them
online if you want to see them:

http://www.growlery.com/wilson_north_carolina/

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
www.growlery.com

The Bill Mattocks vented spleen or mostly mumbled...



I need Jack Daniels now. G'night, all...

Best Regards,



My daughter, departing a day early to beat the storm, reported a bit of a
flail on Wednesday out of RDU, as the airlines back and filled, spending
too long in their standard postu "If your ticket's for tomorrow, just
because we have empty seats today doesn't mean you can have one!"

Platinum, she could, but early Wednesday, empty seats were flying out of
RDU, so the airlines could tell people on Thurday or Friday that they
couldn't go.

TMO

"The Bill Mattocks" wrote in message
m...
Well, I've weathered the hurricane, which swept through Wilson, North

Bill, I've often wondered why you always wait until Saturday to fly home. I
would think that there would be times the airline skeds. would allow you to
fly late afternoon or in the evening on Friday.
Bob

"Robert Browne" wrote in message ...
Bill, I've often wondered why you always wait until Saturday to fly home. I
would think that there would be times the airline skeds. would allow you to
fly late afternoon or in the evening on Friday.
Bob

Bob, when I lived in Denver, I was often able to fly home on Friday
nights, and usually did. Now that I live in Albuquerque, it is harder
to catch a late-night flight that connects somewhere else and still
make it home on Friday night. My choices are usually a connection in
Phoenix, Chicago, Dallas, or Houston, and while I might be able to get
that far, I would not be able to get any further, and so would spend
the night in the airport at some connecting city.

For me to actually fly home on Friday and make my connections, I'd be
leaving the customer site at 1, 2, or maybe 3 in the afternoon.
They're paying for a full day's work. Not fair to the customer. So,
I usually fly home on Saturdays now.

However, for the big news (well, just a hint, actually). My wife and
I are looking at buying a house, NOT in ABQ, and if it happens as we
are currently planning, I'll be in driving range of TWO hub cities,
one of which has two airports itself. I should be able to take my
pick and get home quite often on Friday nights again. That would be
nice...

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks