Travel Travel Travel…. It’s Insane out there, people!

We are living in a snow globe and someone has turned the sucker over and shaken it. Airlines are shutting down, merging, re-organizing. Airline fuel has gone through the roof. What does that mean to you and me? Havoc!

Since 1989 I’ve flown between 100,000- 150,000 miles a year. I’ve had great luck. Few late flights. Few baggage problems. I’m careful. I pay attention to the tag they put on my bags. I make sure and tip those helping me. I pack food, buy water for the flight, dress comfortably. I check flightstats and the weather before I leave for the airport so I’m ready for delays and the usual craziness.

I must say this last week was the worst I’ve seen in 19 years as a road warrior. It seemed like a simple trip. I was going to the land of Dorothy. How hard can it be to fly to and from Oz? A connection in Houston both directions. The Continental terminal is pretty nice, never had a problem there. Besides, I can get my cowboy boots polished up real nice while watching some excellent cowboy scenery stroll by. Yummy.

Not this week.

My little Continental flight left me sour on Continental and wondering if I should start doing phone consultations, coaching, and webinars (online seminars.) It was weird. Continental ran hot and cold. Some of their employees were over-the-top wonderful. Some were bus-station-in-Bakersfield awful. No in between.

My flight out of Wichita landed in Houston on time. They gave me 45 minutes to change planes. Problem was, the previous plane was sitting in our gate. We chilled on the tarmac for more than 20 minutes. Visions of sleeping on a cold terminal floor raced through our minds. All 25 antsy commuters connecting through Houston were starting to get frosty from the chillin’. The flight attendant looked like she was 12 and did nothing to help. (Suggestions, sweetheart? Find out our connecting gates. Pick up the phone and call those gates to let them know we’re chilling. Give us advice on the quickest way to those gates? Anything?)

My connecting flight was the last one out to Phoenix that night. Trying to reach the E-9 Gate from the A gates in 20 minutes would require olympian efforts.

Right off the plane I ran into a very rude Continental gate agent, who didn’t look up when I asked the quickest way to get to E-9. She kept typing and said, “Shuttle bus, down the escalator.” The Shuttle bus maven ‘down the escalator’ lectured me because “if you’d been 3 minutes earlier, you would have walked right on the bus.” (If I’d bought AOL in 1993 I’d be living in the Caymans…)

The bus was late. Then, this ‘quickest way’ dropped me off at the C gates! NOT the E gates. Why I was advised to take the shuttle instead of the Terminalink, I’ll never know. I was running through the airport like the old OJ commercials. My heart pounding, throat dry. A wonderful cart driver picked me up and made a $20 tip.

The gate door was shut tight. The agent shook his head, “You’ll have to wait till morning.” I’ll admit I got a little whiney, “In the old days you would have been notified that I was coming and my plane was sitting on the tarmac at the A Gate for 23 minutes.” He opened the door for me and I found a seat.

A small boy peeked over the seat in front of me and grinned, as if to say, “We’ve been waiting for you!” And I was fine again. I kept doing my deep breathing. I have a mantra, “It could have been worse. I could have missed this and I didn’t. I’m fine. I still have my health and a small piece of my sanity left. I’m fine. It’s all good. I’ll blog about this!”

So – how do you avoid this heart-attack situation in your upcoming travels?

• Assume all flights will be screwed up. Planes want to leave on time for two reasons: 1) they could be fined if they leave late, and 2) fuel is too expensive for them to be idling engines.
• Assume your connecting flight will be late. I have a sneaking suspicion they are flying just a tad slower to save on fuel.
• Go to your connecting terminal website and study the terminal map. There are links to find which gates the flights arrive and depart. Call your airline and ask if you can’t find it online.
• Go to FareCast online and find out if other airlines have a flight to your destination after your’s leaves. Print it out and keep with your travel info. You may be able to stand by in an emergency.
• Pack food. Buy water after you’ve cleared TSA. Don’t bank on the plane having enough for you. They are cutting weight everywhere they can to save fuel.
• Pack light and carry on. If you miss a flight, you have your stuff.
• If you need to pack a lot, ship it ahead. Saves your back, your nerves, and space in the overhead compartment.
• Don’t ask a gate agent about getting to the next gate. Apparently they no longer notify other flights when they land late. Go to the airport experts: the cart drivers. Smile sweetly, tip well, and tell them your plight as you are barreling down the corridors.
• If you get to the gate and it’s closing, tell them you were on one of their flights that was late. They may let you in.
• If you miss your flight? STOP. Breathe. Don’t panic. SOLVE THE PROBLEM… Ask the gate agent when the next flight is. Be nice to him/her! They deal with maniacs all day. And they didn’t fly the late plane, book the short connection, or make the rules.
• If the next flight is in the morning, ask if they have a code share with another airline nearby who may have a later flight. (Actually, you can already have this info if you check farecast.com above.)
• If you do have to wait until morning, ask the agent what the airline can do for you. Since it was the airline’s fault for not landing on time, and not giving you enough connecting time in an airport where they should know better, they may spring for a hotel and restaurant coupon.
• Then call your house, arrange for an extra day of dog sitting, take a deep breath and say, “I guess this is what we are doing now.”

It’s not the end of the world, really. Life goes on within you and without you. Eventually everything works out. and you’ll have a story you can write in YOUR blog!

Happy and Safe Travels,

Beth

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Beth Terry, CSP, is a Professional Speaker, Author, Corporate Trainer, and Road Warrior.

© 2008 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc. All US and International Rights Reserved.