Dear Delta, I'm Sorry

Dear Delta,

I'm sorry.
I was trying to save money. Splitting the flight and taking American to DC was $600 instead of $1000. You know I"m a bargain shopper.
I'm sorry.
It won't happen again.

When I got to the airport at 11:30 or so, to check in for my 12:20 flight, the ticket agent asked if I was on the 3:10 flight. Um, no. Why would I be checking in 3.5 hours early for a quick trip through Chicago to DC?

Oh, the 12:20 is canceled. Let me see what I can do.
But our next flight out isn't until 3:10.

So I called Mike and Aly back to get me and we went to lunch. I still had hours to kill, so I worked from the airport for a while. Finally, it was time to board.

And just as we all sat down, the pilot announced there was a 90 minute delay into Chicago, so he was going to let us get off the plane. I guess that legislation with the high fines for airlines is working, at least.

Straight to the gate agent I went. Am I going to make my connection in Chicago? "Well it says here you will. But really? No. Let's avoid Chicago and put you on the 4:15 to Dallas." Okay. Then she said it .... "In about 10 minutes I"ll know if Delta has room on their afternoon flight."

I should have waited. I should have taken the chance.
I'm sorry.

Back to work for an hour and finally, on to the Dallas flight. Working from the air, I thought it seemed to be taking a long time. Here comes the announcement from the pilot. "You might have noticed we've been circling Longview TX waiting for Dallas to give us clearance. They assure us we are first in line to land once the weather clears." That should have been a clue. Why would we be first? Because we were almost out of gas! Yep. Next announcement from the pilot: "Well, we're not yet cleared and we've reached almost the end of our fuel, so we're gonna put down here in east TX and get some gas."

We were on the ground for at least 90 minutes. For about 45 of those minutes, I was trying to see if my connection was delayed. You see, AA.com apparently doesn't have a mobile site. And AA.com is too big to work on my Blackberry. So I had to call. And they don't have live people. But you can't push buttons either. They want you to SAY your selection. Like Kramer on the Moviefone line. Except on a cell phone. With a plane full of angry people yelling into their own cells phones. After 47 "I'm sorry, I didn't understand you"s, I finally got confirmation my connection was cancelled. I've been rebooked on the 9:20 flight, arriving in DC at 1:10am
I'm REALLY sorry.

So now we make it to Dallas (with a free snack -- cheese, crackers and Craisins), but I've missed that connection. I rebook on the 6:15 am to DC. (We'll have a "What was I thinking?" moment later on that.) I made an online reservation for the Airport Sheraton, waited 15 minuts for a shuttle, and stood in line behind 12 other people who had travel horror stories and wanted to share. No thanks. I was finally in bed at 11pm. A murphy bed. You know, the kind that folds out of the wall and sits a foot off the ground. Whisky Tango Foxtrot? At a hotel??!

I woke up at 5:45. Called American. Waited 14 minutes on hold. Changed my flight to 9:15. Ate a free breakfast. At least I stuck with the Starwood brands, where gold status means something. Once I got to the airport and reviewed my boarding pass, I was incredulous. Boarding Group 6. In a middle seat.
Dear Delta, I'm so very sorry. You would have had me in first class.

So after they called Group 5, which should have been called "everyone but Tonya, a family of four (hello, travelers with small children? PREBOARD!) and grandma & grandpa (hello, persons needing a little extra time? PREBOARD!)", I vaulted around the family, elbowed grandpa outta the way and hit the jetway. Good thing too. Grandpa had to check his bag. Mine just fit. 10 rows behind my seat, but it was on. It just meant I had to wait for ten additional rows to clear before I could retrieve my bag and get the heck off the *&^$ American plan.

I'm so VERY sorry.

And I promise to spend the government's money much more lavishly. Ignoring cheaper flights. Always booking Delta.

I'm sorry. Will you take me back?