Being on Other Side of Cockpit Door Proves Frustrating

On the third day of attempting to leave Durango (KDRO), Colorado, after our ski trip, it appeared we would be successful in making the 6 a.m. MDT departure to Dallas-Forth Worth (KDFW). Although not exactly the comforts of an international B-777 flight, we were nonetheless grateful that our American Airlines AAdvantage status got us upgraded to a first-class seat on the CRJ-700.

Nothing could go wrong.

We pushed back from the gate in anticipation of a quick spray of Type I deicing fluid to melt a thin layer of frost on the wings and tail. But the rattling sound of propylene glycol smearing across the cabin windows never came. My airline pilot’s intuition smelled a mechanical problem. The captain’s PA confirmed it. We were to be towed back to the gate and deplaned.

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As I would later discover upon a discussion with the copilot once our delayed flight arrived at KDFW, the right engine N1 rpm display was erratic, which didn’t allow for a proper start sequence. The local contract mechanic, who for some reason wasn’t required to be at the airport for the first flight of the day…ahem…went through a troubleshooting process, arriving an hour after our deplaning. Recycling electrical power revealed no error messages. The engine started normally.

Fortunately, our connection to Orlando was delayed as well, so our rush to the next gate in KDFW didn’t require a frantic pace. That said, the mechanical delay was par for the course and emblematic of the entire travel experience from start to finish. I got an appalling insight to the workings of my alma mater airline’s IT platform. If this was an experience my passengers had endured over the years, I was truly embarrassed. 

We were traveling as real ticketed customers and not nonrevenue pass travelers. In retirement, because of our lower classification status and the fact airplanes always seemed to be full, the pass option was a risk we had all but given up.

On the journey out to Colorado, our KDFW connection to KDRO had begun to show signs of decay. The only tool available was my iPhone, which I was using as a delirious and futile attempt in controlling the inbound arrival equipment. It wasn’t working, of course. The airplane was floundering in Shreveport, Louisiana, because of a line of weather to the west. It didn’t take long to go from delay to cancellation.

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Anticipating a parade of people with the same problem, and because the last flight to Durango was booked full, I quickly walked to the customer service desk. While in line, I went proactive and booked us the first available flight via the airline app, connecting through Phoenix (KPHX) the next day, hoping that would only be the backup plan. Big mistake. 

I would eventually find that being proactive would defeat us for the entire trip. My logic was really to get us on the standby list to KDRO on the last flight out of KDFW. But the backup flight that I had booked became our nemesis because the reservation system at the gate wouldn’t allow a change with the new connection through KPHX. The agent was kind enough to spend over an hour in an attempt to get us on the standby list. She must have tried every available source, including a personal call on her cell phone, but to no avail.

In exasperation, the agent found two seats pop up to KDRO through KPHX from KDFW that night. It was boarding at a concourse far, far away in five minutes. We ran, aware that the connection time in KPHX was minimal. Our hopes faded quickly. The departure was delayed. We arrived at KPHX as our KDRO flight began to taxi away. Alas, the delay was deemed Mother Nature related, so no hotel reimbursement for us.

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While waiting for the aircraft to deplane, I had made a reservation online, not realizing Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix was surrounded by 125 Holiday Inn Express hotels. I couldn’t find the correct phone number to secure transportation. Eventually, I was successful. We dragged our bags and our weariness into the hotel room.

Despite losing a day of skiing, we did our best to make the best of the situation and found a local museum to visit in KPHX. By late afternoon, we were en route to KDRO. After a one-hour drive, we rolled into the parking lot of our friends’ Pagosa Springs, Colorado, townhouse in time for dinner and an adult beverage.

On our final day of skiing, I received a message that KDFW would be experiencing a high-wind event (over 40 knots) that might affect our 10:15 a.m. departure from KDRO. Great. Once again, using over four decades of insightful airline travel experience, I reasoned that we would have better odds rescheduling to the first flight out at 6 a.m. because the inbound equipment would already be at the gate from the previous night’s arrival.

Being proactive defeated us again. We found ourselves driving to KDRO in an un-forecast blizzard that eventually forced us to turn back. Vertigo was something I hadn’t experienced in an automobile for decades.

After an infuriating attempt of trying to explain why we weren’t at the airport (apparently, blizzard wasn’t in the vocabulary), I was coerced into securing a revision to our itinerary, lest we lose the trip credit because of our no-show status for the 6 a.m. departure-a fact that really wasn’t true. I should have been grateful for the change to a red-eye that would have us arrive in Orlando, Florida, (KMCO) two days later.

Undeterred, with the blizzard dissipating, we got back into the car with the hope of finding empty seats on the 10:15 a.m. departure that was part of our original reservation. Miraculously, the inbound airplane for that flight had arrived on time. But it was not to be. 

Not only were no seats available, the agent at KDRO once again was challenged with getting us on the standby list because we had rebooked through KPHX and not KDFW, where the 10:15 p.m. flight was headed. Eventually, she was successful, but it didn’t matter. We were bumped.

That brought us to a fleabag hotel for a nap and a failed standby list attempt on the 6:45 p.m. departure to KPHX with a connection to KDFW. Back to the fleabag hotel for another failed standby attempt on the following morning’s 6 a.m. departure. Once again, the agent couldn’t rebook us because of the original PHX connection.

Understandably, my wife couldn’t tolerate another day of standby status and more visits to the remote parking lot. To save our marriage, I agreed to confirmed seats on the following morning’s 6 a.m. departure through KDFW to KMCO-and a real hotel. 

There’s more frustration to this diatribe in the form of additional delays and unnecessary agent rudeness, but I’ll spare you the gory details. I am still proud to have been an employee for 34 years, but this particular trip has made me regret that my passengers may have experienced the same.

Next ski trip I may just skip the ticket counter and fly Abend Air via Piper Arrow. It may take longer to arrive, but my IT system won’t thwart our efforts. 

This column first appeared in the July Issue 960 of the Plusdroid.comprint edition.