The week before we were scheduled to leave reports began to trickle in that a snow storm was headed our way. As our Saturday departure drew closer the storm grew in anticipated magnitude. Our flight was officially cancelled at 3 pm on Friday, about 4 hours before any snow fell. On what was supposed to be a celebratory final night in DC, I spent 2 hours on the phone rescheduling our flight. We were put on a 1:30 pm flight. I asked the customer service rep why our original flight at 8:30 had been cancelled but a 1:30 flight hadn't when the snow was predicted to get worse all day. After being on hold for two hours I was in no mood to get back on the phone if our new flight was cancelled. Sure enough, one hour after being assigned to the 1:30 flight it was cancelled. I got back on the phone and waited on hold for 3 hours. The only bright spot was that all 3 of those hours were spent playing Wii tennis. Eventually we were placed on a Sunday afternoon flight out of Baltimore.
The next day (Saturday) we sat inside and watched the snow pile up. In the afternoon I dug the car out in case we needed it on Sunday and was openly mocked by a neighbor for doing so. She informed me she would have left earlier in the week rather than traveling during a snow storm. Next time I buy a plane ticket 4 months out I'll be sure to check with her on what the weather will be.
Sunday morning I got up and dug the car out a second time. After weighing different options we decided to try to drive to the metro, which we did successfully thanks to plowed roads. The metro ride to Union Station was uneventful but slow. Arriving at Union Station we found that all trains had been cancelled for almost two days, turning the station into a refugee camp. People and luggage were crammed into every corner and there seemed to be no chance that a train would leave in time for us to catch our plane. Kim and I ran back down to the metro hoping to get back to our car in time for us to drive (slowly and cautiously) to Baltimore (an hour drive in normal conditions). We jumped on the first car and... sat there for 15 minutes. The metro was running slowly and the next car wasn't scheduled to leave for another 15 minutes. We grudgingly disembarked and trudged back up to the trains hoping some would leave soon.
By the time trains started leaving a general announcement was made that amounted to "if you have a ticket for any train, you may shove you way, caged animal-like, onto any departing train you choose." Kim and I managed to battle our way past a ticket lady intent on not letting us board and get seats on a train headed to Boston. It stopped at Baltimore airport allowing us to try and catch our plane which had been delayed enough to give us hope.
When we got into the airport we hopped in a long line hoping to check our luggage. The line did not move. It took several scouting expeditions to ascertain why not. Untied Airlines, in their unrivaled wisdom, had all four of their ticketing counters open to help any customer with any problem. The problem (obvious to all of us in the line) was that many people in the line were trying to reschedule cancelled flights. About an hour before our flight was to leave, Kim interrupted one of the agents to explain that unless a specific line was devoted to people wanting to check luggage, we would all miss our flights and then need to be rebooked as well. She told Kim there was nothing she could do. Really? No one there had the authority to redo the line plan? We finally found a lady willing to let us sneak to the front of one the lines and check our bags. I don't know what happened to the suckers in line behind us also waiting to check bags. Thankfully our flight was delayed even more, allowing us to make the flight.
After flying through Charlotte and Denver, we were relieved to find our last flight to Pasco delayed enough to let us catch it. As we sat waiting, assuming our troubles were behind us, a chipper young lady informed everyone that due to weather conditions in Pasco we might be dropped in Redmond and provided "alternate transportation". Redmond? Near Seattle? The chipper lady didn't know. Turned out to be Redmond, Oregon. In my politest voice I asked the desk lady why Redmond had been chosen when other airports were much closer. Walla Walla? Yakima? Spokane? She didn't know but later informed all of us that Spokane was the new alternate airport. So there we were at close to midnight, calling my uncle in Spokane, waking him up, and asking if he could pick us up at the Spokane airport in two hours. Ridiculous. Finally, minutes away from landing in Pasco, the captain came on and informed us that visibility was good enough for him to drop down close to the runway and determine whether or not he could land safely. For someone with a mild fear of flying I thought Kim remained remarkably calm at that announcement. We eventually did land in Pasco and stayed with my uncle, arriving at his house around 1 am Pacific Coast Time, that's 4 am our time, after over 18 hours of total travel time.
The trip home was less eventful but still frustrating. We arrived at Seatac to find that our flight to Dallas was delayed enough that we would miss our connection to DC. We were rebooked on a later flight out of Dallas. After enduring the standard screening we headed to our gate only to be told that our Seatac-Dallas flight was delayed even more, thus causing us to miss our rebooked connection. After another hour on the phone, we were put on a flight to Chicago with an immediate connection through to DC. We arrived in Chicago, hurried to our gate... and obviously found out that our connection was delayed due to mechanical problems. At this point our spirits, as well as any trust in airlines, were so crushed we could do nothing but slink to our seats and accept our fate like Thanksgiving turkeys. When we finally boarded, Kim and I were in the front row of the small airplane and thus perfectly able to hear the crew discuss the problems the plane was experiencing. We were also the first on board to hear the captain tell the stewardesses that we'd have to deboard the plane and wait still longer. So we did. And we waited again. For a long time. We got a call from our ride in DC telling us they'd be unable to pick us up as we were getting in so late. We eventually survived an extremely shaky landing, caught a cab home and climbed into bed at 2 am- more than 5 hours after we were originally supposed to get home.
For those of you still reading, I'll run down the final numbers.
Total time lost: about 39 hours
Total number of flights flown: 5
Total number of flights delayed or cancelled: 9
Price paid for direct flights we never got: $500
Hoping your travel went better than ours, Happy New Year!
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