Circling Toward Boston

Got up this morning bright and early, finished packing my bags, sent out a last email message and was ready to face the day. HA! Ha, I tell you. Ah, how naive and foolish I was.

I got to the airport the requisite three hours before my flight. (Okay, it's two in the UK, but what can I say, I was used to this in New York and in Boston. And I'm a morning person.) Only to find out that the airline overbooked the flight.

Now my first thought was that they had switched to a smaller plane. Because like Jerry Seinfeld, I couldn't understand the concept of a reservation that led to nothing to show for it. Nope, it's still the same plane. Basically, what airlines do is run sophisticated profiling systems that tell them how much to overbook their flight, so that they can fly out with an optimally full aircraft with a minimum of disgruntled passengers.

I was gruntled.

The profile was wrong. Not enough people got off the damned plane.

My 10:55 departure will be leaving at 16:55. The funny thing is that I told my friends that I'd be flying in at 19:40, because I misread which leg of my journey that I was on. I'll actually be flying in at 18:40. (Hopefully, anyway.)

What do I get to show for it? Nine quid worth of coffee vouchers and either $400 in cash or £550 toward my next flight with this airline. I fly enough that I went for the more money. Especially, as I have a year to use it.

Several more hours to kill. Hello, mp3 player and my book. They go nicely with uncomfortable chairs and more overpriced beverages.

(At the moment, I'm settled into the first class/business class internet cafe/business center recharging my electronic devices. Who says being polite and friendly won't get you anywhere in society.)

See everyone soon.