The joys of flying

[John Jones]

I can't remember if I posted it here or not but I got stranded in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago due to the weather.

My wife flew up to Atlantic City last Tuesday to visit her parents.  They live about 45 minutes south of there.  She got a heckuva deal on Spirit Air.  $67 round trip I think.  Turned out to be not so good of a deal.  Spirit pilots went on strike Saturday.  Spirit is doing absolutely nothing for their customers other than a credit and a $100 bonus credit with them.  No cash.  The only other airline out of Atlantic City is AirTran.  $250 for a one-way ticket to Tampa for today, Tuesday.  That's a missed day of work as she burned all of her vacation she had earned.  She made it to Atlanta tonight after several hours delay because of Atlanta t'storms.  At 10:30 tonight they announced her flight to Tampa was canceled.  She got in line at customer service and also called AirTran 800 number.  After 1.5 hours on hold she got disconnected.  She finally got to the counter at 1AM.  She has a 7AM Wed flight and has to sleep in the airport.  Not that AirTran would not provide a room but there were so many flights canceled in Atlanta tonight there were no more rooms available on that side of Atlanta.  Now I have a short night and have to get up early to drive to Tampa in the morning during rush hour to pick her up. I'm going to bed.   :(

[seabob4]

John,
Lots of coffee, find some good on brighthouse, get to TIA early, and give the wife a big kiss...

[RickK]

That sucks

[John Jones]

She made it home.  Not in a particularly good mood but I can't say I blame her.  She said it was too cold to sleep in the airport so she was up reading all night and when she called her boss this morning they want her to come in to work.   :(

I'm just going to lay low until she goes in to work.  Maybe I'll fix her favorite dinner tonight.  Lemon pepper flounder, mac and cheese, and spinach drowned in butter.

[gran398]

Rats JJ, that's awful. Glad she is home safely.

[Wayne'sWorld]

JJ,

Can't help but reply to your post since I am 10 miles west of AC as the crow flies, not far from the airport.  Usually Spirit is pretty reliable.  45 minutes south of AC puts your wife in Cape May or on the Cape May-Lewes ferry.  

There are a few AS up here.  I see some sitting in boat yards... just sitting.  Poor fellas, they look tired.

Wayne

[John Jones]

Hey Wayne,
The wife's parents live in the Villas.  Maybe 3 miles from the ferry terminal.  Her brother lives in the Cape May Courthouse area.

Yeah, Spirit is no worse than the other airlines.  The pilots just chose to strike at the wrong time for her.

[GoneFission]

Isn't air travel today luxurious?     And they treat you like royality!   :king:

Or not...    

Got my 2 million mile certificate from US Scareways recently - didn't know if it was congratulations or condolences...

[gran398]

So did they give you anything to go with the certificate? Any miles, etc.?

[GoneFission]

No, no special deals or gifts - just a piece of paper.  But my Frequent Flyer card says "Million Mile Flyer" in little letters on the front - how cool is that?   :afro:   So cool that my million mile card and $2.50 will get me a cup of coffee in the Starbucks at the airport!  

[John Jones]

US Air and I do not gee-haw anymore.
Last year they revoked 50,000 + miles for lack of use.  

It's not my fault Delta is usually cheaper or goes more places I need to go.  The company has really tightened up on air travel and I can't justify paying 30% more for a ticket between the same destinations.  Not to mention the fact that CLT galls me just because of the exorbitant prices charged in the airport for food and drink, way higher than ATL.  Even on an expense account with the customer paying it's the principle.

[GoneFission]

I've been flying Delta more over the last few years for the same reasons.  However, when you live in CLT - you often have little choice but US.  At one time, CLT was the MOST expensive airport to fly to and from in the USA.  US had about 95% of the traffic and really stuck it to you if you were originating or arriving at CLT.  The price went way down if you were just flying through CLT.  The prices went down a bit when US and Cactus merged, but CLT is still high for a top 10 airport (currently #9 in traffic in the USA).  

The airport that amazes me price-wise for food is still Toronto.  $10 for a beer is just hard to stomach!  And it's in Canada, where they are supposed to love beer and drink lots of it, eh?

[seabob4]

So is Charlotte more expensive than Sarasota?  I used to live 5 minutes from SRQ, yet drove the hour 15 to Tampa or even the 2 hour to O-Town...

[John Jones]

By far more expensive.  Even the chain fast food at CLT is like 50% more.  I did fly through there a couple of months ago.  All I wanted was a plain coffee.

SRQ Starbucks = $1.89
CLT Starbucks = $3.50

I went down the concourse to a pizza place and got coffee for <$2.  (I'm not a Starbucks freak, they are just convenient and fast if not crowded.)

Sarasota is too convenient.  20 minutes vs. 45 min to Tampa if you are really lucky.  If some idiot crashes on the Sunshine Skyway or Howard Franklin bridges you may never get to Tampa that day.  Park right in front of the terminal in Sarasota's short term is cheaper than Tampa's long term which can be hell to find a spot in the deck, then ride the tram to the terminal.  Only one concourse at SRQ but they have just as many flights per day to Atlanta as Tampa, albeit smaller planes.  Some direct flights from SRQ to Chicago,  a couple of Ohio airports, DC, and NY.  Tampa you have to ride another tram to get to the gates.  Normally just about the same price tickets to anywhere.  Now if I am paying out of pocket I will go to TPA to fly Southwest or even Spirit ;) .

[seabob4]

Now that we live a mile and a half west of the Suncoast Parkway exit on 50, Tampa is a piece of cake, and we don't have to worry about the Skyway or the Howard Franklin.  Love to watch that shennanigans on Fox 13 at 5!  Yeah, we watch local Fox, but not the NATIONAL crap they spew...