Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Vegas 2019: Pt. 7/The Delta Nightmare

Good morning everyone.  I didn't intend to wake up this early and type this blog post, but 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' just started fifteen minutes ago, so I have ample background noise to get me through sharing this horrific story.  When I left you yesterday, I had spent several hours betting horses at Paris with my friends (they were working, I was betting), and now it was 8:00 p.m. and time to head to the airport for my flight home.  My flight wasn't leaving until 10:30 p.m., but I'm the person who always gives himself ample time in case the TSA lines are long, etc, etc...  Traveling is stressful enough, and there's no need to add to it.  My friend and former coworker Mike picked me up at Paris for my ride to the airport.  Again, if you've been following this little vacation miniseries, I was so blessed to have friends giving me rides everywhere.  Mike and I caught up and made it to the airport without a hitch.  And then........

Now my BELIEF was that taking the 10:30 p.m. red-eye flight nonstop from Las Vegas to Atlanta, followed by a more than three-hour layover before my connection to Gulfport, THAT would be the punishment for saving some money, the inconvenient flight times.  OH BOY, was I wrong...  I guess that if you're one of those "look on the brightside" people, I had seats on both airplanes and I got home safely.  However.......

So they announced that our flight was going to be full, yada yada yada.  I didn't have a specific seat assignment (shown in my app), but I was assured that I had a seat.  When it was time to board, I received my assignment, and walked to the back of the plane..., the VERY BACK of the plane.  Funny thing when you're seated in the last row on this flight:  your seat doesn't recline.  Your seat is basically backed up against a wall, at 90 degrees, right angle style.  This was awesome, since I would only be in the air for hours, from Las Vegas to Atlanta...  My plan was to sleep on the airplane.  You know, I hadn't been sleeping the greatest, I had a three-hour plus layover in Atlanta.  Good time to catch some zzzzzz's.  I closed my eyes for a little while, and then, BAMM, BAMM, BAMM!!!!  GOODNESS GRACIOUS, WHAT THE ????  I was seated on aisle, and I turned to see the flight attendant wielding an ice pick, BANGING on a block of ice.  Apparently Delta is squeezing every cent out of this flight, and ice cubes just aren't in the budget, so they have blocks of ice, and this poor young lady has to slay them, meaning that yours truly wasn't getting any sleep.  The flight was on a modern plane (minus the ice and the non-adjustable seat), so I had a touch-screen in front of me with games that I sleepily played for most of the flight.  Then we landed in Atlanta...

Now the one thing that I had on my hands was time.  No stress leaving the plane, I've got more than three hours to spare.  Everyone exits, I look around, get the directions to my next gate, get on the tramway, and off I go.  No problem.  I look at the food options (it's like 6:00-something in the morning), and at the very end of the row, with no one in line yet, is an Italian place.  Pizza by the slice - TOUCHDOWN!!  I get my slice of pizza, grab a table near the window, and look out over the MONSTER that is the Atlanta airport.  The next hour and a half was pretty peaceful, just me playing in my phone.  I had my charger with me, so no issues here, just surfing the net.  Then......

I found out that my flight to Gulfport was going to be delayed.  I've only been awake for the most part of the eighteen hours, so whatever.  A little while later, we had a gate change, to another gate in the same terminal, less than a hundred yards away.  Alright, our flight was delayed, so they're rearranging things, so whatever.  About fifteen minutes later, they announce another gate change.  and THIS change is to a gate in a different terminal.  I wasn't happy...  This change involved walking several hundred yards to the tramway, riding to the terminal (duh), and then walking another several hundred yards to the new gate.  LOVELY......  I'll give you ONE GUESS what happened within five minutes of my arrival at the new gate.  Tick tock, tick tock....  They SENT US BACK to the original gate............  I was LIVID.  After making the announcement, the gentleman and lady at the counter were smiling and cracking jokes with each other, having some sort of wonderful conversation, and I was giving them a DEATH STARE across the seating area as I started hiking BACK to the tramway.  The lady at the counter caught my eye, my evil eyes, and I didn't break my focus.  I was composing nasty e-mails to Delta in my head (the Atlanta airport is Delta's hub), getting ready to DESTROY THEM on social media once I returned home, as I once again trekked back across the airport, and to the new gate.  Just because this sundae needed a cherry on top, about fifteen minutes after returning to our original gate, they switched our gate again, to another one about a hundred yards away.  And despite the extra pounds I'm carrying, I've been a lifelong athlete, but they've got elderly people, and children, hiking around the airport.  It's a good look.  Way to go Delta...

Long story short (too late for that), the flight from Atlanta to Gulfport was fine.  I got some rest, picked up my rental car with no problem (this turned out to be easier than having someone pick me up at the airport early that morning, plus I had some errands to do (grocery shopping, etc...)).  When I returned my rental to the airport the next morning, my friend Don picked me up.  All of that rage and anger, and my plans to light Delta up.  Don talked me down from the ledge really quick.  As we traveled back to Biloxi from Gulfport (a fifteen-minute drive), I bombarded my friend with the details of this travel nightmare.  Don actually lived in Atlanta for several years, and with the nonchalance of a person who is checking their mailbox, or flipping a light switch, Don informed me that the Atlanta airport has always been like that.  That took the hot air out of my balloon instantly, and figuring that contacting the good folks at Delta would be fruitless, I just decided that I would wait until I did my little trip write-up to vent...  :D

An interesting (to me) side note to this trip...  After completing a pretty normal work week following this vacation, on one of my days off, I slept for SIXTEEN hours straight.  I've done my share of sleeping, but even I was impressed by that.  : )  I hope that all of you have a great week, and I'll see you soon.      

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