Well, it was another one of those great travel days yesterday. Since I have several flights to take, to get to my work site, it is always an adventure. Quit frankly, one that I would like to divert to someone else. I am so tired of having these adventures. Let me give a blow by blow…
No major problem getting to airport as I had done some pre-investigation and determined that the car needed gas. I seldom drive the car but almost every time it is my time to take it, the tank is empty or close enough tat I would have to fill before or during the trip I am taking… I prepared for it and we got gas before leaving town.
#RANT
We stopped off to get lunch, and the place (POPEYES in Tulsa on Pine street) was horrible. The tables were covered with left over meals, no one had cleaned up all day, the crew appeared to be short handed, and to top that off, your order and pay but you don’t get your food until you go to the pick up line and turn in your receipt. They won’t even start making the food until you do. It took us over 40 minutes to get a meal there.
Next time I Need to follow the rating of the “where” app on my phone a little closer. It had them as a 1 star and I do not even agree with that. They get no stars in my book.
#RANT
But I had plenty of time at the smaller airport anyway and we got there about 1 1/2 hour before the flight.
Although there was only two people helping check us in and it took me about 10 minutes to get someone down to the first class line to help get my bag checked???? Another one of those do more with less and force people to accept poor service.
The flight from Tulsa was on time and we had no problem getting to Dallas… which I had 3 hours to wait. I contemplated trying to get on an early flight but with checked luggage that is near impossible if you don’t ask 1 hour before and unfortunately both the London and Paris flight were near loading when I got there. NOTE: ask anyway in the future…
I waited and did some phone calls, had some supper, etc. then they started sliding back our flight. Seems the plane we were to get had problems so we would not take it, they changed gates but the time was only delayed 30 minutes. WRONG. When they start this you know it is going to be an hour or more. Well for a 7:45 flight we finally started boarding at 9:15 and left Dallas about 9:58… over 2 hour delay… I am thinking it is a 9 hour flight surely they might try to make up a little time…. WRONG… we actually got to London and had to make a circle and then wait in line to get to our landing gate…
In London I normally have a bit short of a 3 hours wait, to get from terminal 3 to 5 at Heathrow… This time we landed at about 12:50 and the load time for my flight was 1:10… the people in Dallas, when I had asked about the delay and my need to catch the Paris connection said ” it shows that your flight does not leave until 1:40 you should have time to make it” WRONG… in Heathrow if you are not checked through to the waiting area in terminal 5 before your load time ” you are late”. I had rushed past people at the offload, ran the convulated, halls, through and down and over and up and back and down and up and then down, and luckily I caught a bus just leaving for Terminal 5, last one on… then you ride that bus over and around and under and around and up to Terminal 5, – first one off, run up the escalator, down the long hall, around the corner up to the counter for first check before security up stairs… “your late, you will have to go back over to the service desk and see if they can get you on another connection”. I was standing there at 1:10 but that was too late to get up through security and to the gate… after that delay and the wait and time of explaining to the ticket agent that I had a charter to catch at 5 in Paris and had to be there, he just gave me the “deer in the headlights look” and said “we have nothing else but the next flight”, I went to the gate for my original flight and the plane was still there, the agents were closing out but they said, “oh they should have told you that you must have an hour for your checked luggage, even if you get to the gate you have to have an hour between previous arrival and “load time” to get on the plane, unless you have only carry on”… oh well…
I tried to call my office and my travel and my bosses boss, but no one answered or the phone would not work or something???? for about 30 minutes I tried until they called my “re-worked’ connection. I went to that gate, waited about 5 minutes and then we started loading… for some strange reason, this one was not delayed but actually left ahead of schedule a little bit and arrived in Paris (CDG) a little ahead of time… so I had to push , shove, make my way to the passport control area, get through and wait a few minutes to get my checked bag… it came early off the belt for me, and that was about 5:03… check in for the charter is normally closed by 5pm but I took the change, pushing a cart with my stuff, weaving through traffic, running, trying not to hit people through Terminal A to the elevator to go down and across to terminal B … run across the basement, get in the elevator and up… strange that they (elevators) were both rather quick and empty, usually it is a fight to get on one?
Up in terminal B, run the 1/4 mile to the very last check in gate and they were just trying to close out… but fortunately they let me check in and at 5:15 I am getting my boarding pass for a 5:55 flight… last time at 5:15 there was not one to be found in that area and I ended up with a 2 days wait in Paris at the hotel…? This must have been just one of those days they were slow or I was Lucky? But with all that and my jogs in the London and Paris airport I made it in and was I ever pooped and hurting… my knees can not stand jogging anymore. My attitude can not take much more of this “travel stress” and I hate the airplane seating. My back hurts, my butt is sore from setting in seats with no leg room no place wiggle, no way to move at all. I slept about 6 hours, don’t think I even moved? and here I am at work, typing reports and fitting in this daily log to remember how I hate travel.