No, not really. my new goal in life is to get a private jet, just so I don't have to go through this again....
So, I'm on my way to atlanta, and i'm flying out of SFO (pain) instead of flying out of OAK (which is just 10 minutes from my house). so it's already more work than it should be..
so anyhow, my fight is at 12:55...so this means I have to take some vacation time from work so that I can be at the airport by 11:30. So I do. And I get there nice and early, and I'm told that the flight is delayed. Okay, that's fine. How long? 30 minutes? An hour?
No. 5 hours.
Me: WTF! the flight is delayed until 6. So I didn't have to take a vacation day? Great. So, since I only live about 30 mins away (in no traffic), I decide to wait at home, since it's only noon at this point.
So I get home, and check online to make sure the flight is in fact leaving at 6. It is, so at 4, I leave my house again to go back to SFO. This time there's traffic, but oh well, it's better than waiting at the airport all day.
So around 5, I get back to the ATA counter but no one is there.
"HELLO!"....
"HELLO!"....
nothing, no response. So i wait...i mean really, it's 5pm on a Friday afternoon, you'd think that the counter would be staffed. It's not, but there is a sign, with a 1-800 number to call. Great. so I call the number, wait on hold for a few minutes and then get told...oh...ya...we don't have any flights scheduled to leave SFO on Friday afternoons, so the counter is closed until 7:15.
Okay, but i have a flight that is going to leave a 6? So what about that? Well, you'll just have to go to the gate?
So I can't check my bag?
Not until 7:15.
But my flight leaves at 6.
Sorry.
Okay, wtf.
So I try to go to the gate. And of course, I can't get through, since i'm tying to go through with my luggage that should be checked. It's big, and horror of horrors, I have shampoos and gels and perfumes and all sorts of other great smelling contraband. With my ferragamo perfume and body shop body butter, i'm totally living on the edge. Man, if i would have had a mocha in my hand, i may have gotten tasered.
But as always, with the TSA, the worst is what they don't catch...so at this point I'm beyond annoyed. I mean, really, it's 5:30 and I'm still @ SFO. So, as security is pointing out all of my 'dangerous' gels, they are overlooking my razor. Seriously. They even picked the razor up to get to the dangerously pink bottle of perfume.
So, at this point, my a$$hole streak comes out. I'm like, really? I can't take my Potion 9 and friends on the plane..but *everything else is okay*.
So they get suspicious and are like, miss, we're going to have to inspect your bag again. I'm like good. do it slowly this time, don't miss a thing...
So, they come back and the woman doing the inspection looks at her supervisor with a very proud look on her face and says "I found one more thing!"
and i'm like about @#$%in time you found the one thing that could actually be a weapon. But alas....she reached past the razor and pulled out my body butter (it's thick lotion for those that don't know)...and still...the razor stayed where it was...in the "safe" category.
So at this point, they were like we can either throw these items away or you can go back to the counter and check them. I was like, you mean the counter where no one is?!?! If you can get someone to that counter, that will be a miracle!
So, since my bag was big, and therefore wouldn't be allowed as a carry on, and since it wasn't even guaranteed that they'd be able to check it at the gate, I said, just give me my weapons of mass destruction back so that I can go to the counter. That dangerously expensive body butter was $20.
So then I get back to the counter and again, no one is there. So I go over to the Continental counter, since there are people working at that airline, and I ask them, can you please peek in that room back there behind the ATA counter and check to see if someone is back there. please?
but at that point, this guy, that is just wandering around stops and says, I work for ATA. And i'm like where were you at 5? He didn't answer. Because at 5:45 he was f'in around with the people at Continental, so at 5 he was probably over at Delta askin for a better job.
anyhoo...so long story short, he tells me that now there isn't enough time to check my bag and that i'll have to get on the 10:30 flight.
10:30. Seriously. I was supposed to be on the plane at 12:55 and because you guys can't get your @#$% together, I have to take a red eye and miss my appointments in ATL? No, forget it, I want a refund and I'm not going anywhere.
Miss, we charge a cancellation fee.
Not today you don't. I was here ON TIME twice and you guys can't seem to 1) have a plane at the airport (that was the problem the first time..the plane was not even at SFO. and 2) can't seem to have people at your counter. What kind of airline doesn't have planes or staff at the airport? and then you want to charge me a cancellation fee? what for? so that you can pay for the other plane you have on layaway?
So they waived the fee.
So now, my goal in life is to get a private plane. Or get a ride on someone else's.
