Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Don't Mess With The Flying Rules: Lesson Learned

Even as I pressed the button to charge my credit card, I knew that the night flight would probably end up being my biggest mistake since that unfortunate socks and sandals incident during my sophomore year of college.

With my parents in Pittsburgh and my sisters in Ohio, I find myself inside one of the NYC airports every six weeks or so. And after eight years of flying out of the busiest airports in the country, I have created a set of rules to ensure me a pleasant travel experience.

The rules cover all manner of subjects such as what bathroom to use (the ones just beyond security are always the cleanest), what coffee to drink (definitely none from the coffee stand in the LaGuardia USAirways Terminal), what snacks to eat (Cheez-Its are always an acceptable choice), and where to sit at the gates to ensure optimal access to power outlets.

But the most important rule of all is this: Always, always fly in the morning. Anything before eight is ideal, but absolutely nothing later than nine.

Early morning flights mean no traffic on the way to the airport. They mean I get where I'm going in time to enjoy the entire day. And most importantly, they mean getting out of the airport before flight delays and cancellations stack up and make getting out almost impossible. And when one flies out of LaGuardia, arguably the worst airport in the country for on-time flights, the importance of this rule increases ten-fold.

So it was with great hesitation that I booked us on an 8:00 flight from LaGuardia to Cleveland this past Thursday night. Since I had to work all day Thursday, but had to be in Cleveland first thing Friday, I didn't have much of a choice, but I knew it was a bad idea.

And that knowledge was confirmed when I got the "Orbitz Flight Status Notification" at 2:00 on Thursday afternoon telling me that the flight had already been delayed half an hour. By the time I left work to head to the airport, the delay was holding steady at 45 minutes. Even though it was rush hour we barely hit any traffic, and I thought it was a good omen. After all, a 45 minute delay out of LaGuardia for an evening flight is basically an on-time departure.

We parked the car and made it through security without incident, and as we walked through the terminal I wondered what I ever thought was so bad about night flights in the first place.

But by the time we got to the gate the flight time had changed, and I remembered.

A four hour delay, one failed attempt at stand-by on an earlier flight, one movie, three trips to Au Bon Pain for snacks, four phone calls and nineteen text messages with my mom about picking us up at the airport, and one tantrum when I thought the flight was cancelled later, we finally landed in Cleveland after 1:00 in the morning.

The airport was empty and quiet, but for the rolling wheels of our carry-on bags. And in the silence, I made a vow.

Don't mess with the rules.

Lesson learned.

39 comments:

  1. ha! don't mess with the rules, especially in new york!

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    1. No way. NYC is definitely a traveling entity unto itself.

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  2. I couldn't agree more. I hate flying at night because of possible delays and cancellations. And you are right the cleanest restrooms are closer to the gates, so stick with your rules.

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  3. The rules are there for a reason...
    I like flying in the morning too, it's definitely the best time to head out. But, I'll be taking a red eye from LAX to Portland, ME in a week... Our thought process was that hopefully the little prince will sleep through it. Fingers crossed that we didn't make a gigantic mistake.

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    1. Oh man, good luck on your flight! I don't have kids yet, but I can imagine flying with them is a whole different kind of experience.

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  4. Hahaha I don't really fly very often but I will absolutely keep this advice in mind!

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  5. Never screw with the rules...if it aint broke...

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  6. I was once stuck in the Newark airport for three days after missing my connecting flight to the Czech Republic, because of delays. Airports: Me No Likey.

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  7. I don't fly often enough to have rules, but yours seem very logical, and I'm definitely going to keep them in mind the next time I plan a trip.

    Karen

    Also, the socks and sandals thing made me laugh.

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    1. yeah, the socks and sandals thing was pretty unfortunate...

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  8. I know la guardia well thanks to many layovers. Omg. Every singke time.

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    1. Yep, LaGuardia is basically a disaster zone. The whole place should just be leveled and they should start from scratch.

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  9. This right here is such a clever reminder of why I never really consider flying to see my parents downstate...only a four hour drive for us...yes ONLY, you know that's a time saver! ;)

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    1. Sometimes we drive, but since I am usually limited in the number of days I can be away from my office, we try and maximize our time by flying.

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  10. I haven't flown in ten years....I envy fliers. My brother and sister fly weekly. My brother in law is a pilot. It seems like such a fascinating experience. All grown up and professional-like. I envy you and your rules!

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    1. It used to be great, but has gotten steadily worse in the past few years.

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  11. I flew into Newark early last month--left Chicago at 10PM, arrived in Newark at 1AM. it was kinda nice. the return flight--leaving Newark at 830AM sucked ass so I think I get what you're saying.

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  12. Great rules!! That's such a rough flight...I'm glad you made it eventually. I like to try to get morning flights too when I can. The trouble is if you're traveling very far around the world and want to land in the morning sometimes you have to leave at night. This Friday I leave for India at 6 p.m. so I can get there at 8 a.m. two days later--I can almost guarantee that will be delayed. I'll make sure to stock up on snacks =)

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    1. As long as you have lots of snacks and entertainment, you will be just fine!

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  13. Dats harsh....Look at what I am missing out on.. lol Flying is so cool in the books and movies

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    1. Yeah, books and movies make it seem pretty romantic, but it's really not.

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  14. Oh, flying. Oh, delays. Oh, airports. All that sucks. Of course, I also really am nostalgic for all of it, even the delays, now that I have kids and rarely fly. I miss the flying. :)

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  15. Oh god. This gave me flashbacks. I may have PTSD from an unfortunate delay situation in the Philly airport last year. I feel like I might have had to start paying rent! I only needed to go to New York. Hindsight being the bitch that she is, was taunting me with the knowledge that a train would have only taken 4-5 hours. Instead, I'd get to sit in this airport for that long. Ugh. Did I mention that the flight out was at 5:00? Your rules rock.

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    1. Haha thanks. You also could have totally rented a car and done the Philly-NYC drive. It's so fast!

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  16. Ugh. The only thing worse than sitting in an airport for a delayed flight is sitting ON the plane during a delay. I was once stuck on a plane for four hours when the power went down at LAX. Ugh. I was ready to murder something.

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    1. Yes, that is definitely worse. I probably would kill someone at that point. What a mess.

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  17. Oy! I always run into weather delays when I fly. Even if it is beautiful outside. I have no idea how that happens...

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    1. You can usually avoid it if you fly out in the morning, hence my rule #1, but I have no idea why that happens.

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  18. Oh man, do I know the rules. So, so sorry it turned out to be such a disaster! Power outlets are the golden rule - I will elbow someone for one. Maybe not. :)

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    1. And using any of the NY airports is just awful. Outlets are definitely key. I was flying with David, and he is a demon when it comes to outlets. He can find them in 2 second in a massive room filled with annoyed travelers.

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  19. Airport time is definitely different! I think it's best to be half-asleep through the whole experience, so early mornings are definitely best!

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  20. I spent a hellishly long night in the phoenix airport once. It's possible I was slightly hungover and completely exhausted.

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  21. I haven't flown childless since 2007 and I have my first solo flight coming up next month. And I booked it for midday. Now I'm all nervous!!

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