102 - Wait-Listed for a Flight
I can't believe I made it into San Francisco, at long last! This morning, I went to the airport to catch my 10 a.m. flight. I got there early to go through security. The folks at the TSA can really slow things down sometimes. Since I had an electronic ticket, I didn't have to wait at the ticket counter to check in, but instead used a kiosk. I then went straight to the gate. But, when I got there, I couldn't believe my eyes. The flight was delayed--for two hours!
I decided to look at the flight monitors to see if there was an earlier flight to San Francisco. I thought maybe I could either switch to that flight or get wait-listed. I saw that there was another flight leaving in 40 minutes and so I bolted for the gate. When I got there, I got into the back of the long line. When I got to the front of the line, I asked the gate agent if I could get on that flight instead and she said I would be wait-listed. She said that I needed to stay in the gate area and wait for my name to be called if they have a seat available. So, I waited, and waited, and waited.
The gate agent began calling out names over the PA system and guess what? The last name called was mine. What a relief! The last seat left on the plane was a middle seat and I usually prefer an aisle or window, but I was just happy to get on board. I didn't want my vacation to get delayed because of a late flight.
When the plane landed, I went out to the curb to catch a taxi to my hotel. I only had carry-on bags so I didn't need to wait in baggage claim. I was out of the airport and off on my vacation.