Celebrity Monsoon Travels

So today I’m writing from Greenville, South Carolina.  I’m down here with one of my mechanics to inspect the new electric buses we’re buying.  It was not easy getting here, yesterday was about as frustrating a travel day as I have ever had.  Some of it was due to the weather but most of it was due to the rampant incompetence of US Airways.

My day started with the limo company sending a very confused van driver whose over familiarity with the center line of the road was semi-terrifying.  He reached a gas station half way to the airport and said I was being transferred to another van.  Fifteen minutes later I was in another van with a much more experienced and less terrifying driver.

Waiting by the Roadside

I was taking the shuttle flight from Boston to Washington, DC’s Reagan Airport which should have been a little over an hour and half.  We were joined on the flight by newly elected US Senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren.  While I don’t agree with a lot of her politics I was impressed when she waited in line with everybody else and then sat in coach seat with the rest of us peons.  She’s new to the Senate though and hasn’t acquired all of the imperialness that I’m sure will soon attend.  Still, I was impressed.

Senator Warren Hanging Out With Us

Remember that hour and half I was talking about?  We got down to the DC area in good time and then ended up in a holding pattern for a longer time than the flight down.  We drilled holes in the sky for nearly two hours waiting for clearance to land at Reagan which was “socked in with rain” according to our pilot.

We finally got into the airport bathed in late day sunshine.  This was kind of nostalgic as I saw the building where I used to work in nearby Crystal City and the beloved running trail right next to the airport while we were landing.  The nostalgia was short lived as we rushed out of the plane to make our connecting flight which US Airways had cancelled before we landed. 

I later learned they cancelled the flight because the flight from Greenville was held up by rain and wouldn’t be in DC in time.  I checked the arrivals and the plane had arrived only fifteen minutes late.  I’m convinced US Airways had two half full trips to Greenville and decided to use the weather as an excuse to cancel the first and put everybody on the second, later flight; saving themselves the cost of two flights.

Of course we didn’t know this as we joined the 75 minute line to find out how we were getting to Greenville.  It became apparent that everybody heading to Greenville was quickly issued a boarding pass to the later flight.  Like I said, I’m convinced.  I will never willingly book a flight with US Airways again.

The Customer "Service" line for US Airways - It Ends up by the Pink Sign

So back to a four hour wait in the terminal for the later flight.  Reagan is set up so you have to pass out of security to leave your terminal so we were trapped for that time with thousands of other fellow travelers equally impressed with US Airways.  Luckily there was a 5 Guys burger joint which boosted morale just when needed.  I destroyed two of their signature cheeseburgers while looking out the window to the Crystal City offices I knew so well in my last assignment in the military.

Five Guys tro the Rescue

I called ahead to the rental car company and hotel to let them know we would be late arriving.   When the time finally arrived, after staring at status boards all evening, the flight was delayed a further twenty minutes for no discernable reason.  Finally we loaded a bus to our plane and sat in our seats expecting a departure at last.  My mechanic compadre and I were joined by another celebrity, Ben Stein, of Ferris Bueller and presidential advisor fame sat down right next my mechanic.  He was very gregarious and soon made everyone in the back of the plane feel like long lost friends; just a real genuine, nice guy.

Our View for a Couple Hours

We waited, and waited and finally Ben went up to the front to find out what was happening.  Apparently US Airways cannot take off in the rain, even though there was no thunder or lightning.  The rain stopped after an hour and then we were informed we were waiting for US Airways to send out the rest of the passengers in another bus.  Forty-five minutes later the bus arrived along with the ticket agent who promptly walked down the aisle and asked everybody their name.  When the other passengers finally boarded they said the ticket agent couldn’t figure out where the passengers already loaded on the plan were.  He wouldn’t dispatch the bus out until he figured it out and then only when the frustrated passengers told him we were already on the plane.

Ben Stein During the Long Wait - Just A Great Guy

Thirty more minutes of taxiing around Reagan Airport ensued while I made another desperate call to the rental car agency begging them to stay open past their 11pm closing time.  We finally arrived in Greenville around 11:30 and blessedly the Hertz Company actually cares about customers and stayed open for us.  A little after midnight I walked into my hotel room and turned on the TV to find a Red Sox game going into very extra innings.  I missed all the frustrating part that preceding it but saw a stirring win, so the day was not a total loss.  I will never willingly book a flight on US Airways again, wait, I already said that, but it bears repeating.  When did it become impossible to take off in a rain storm, anyways?