Remember the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles? Starring John Candy and Steve Martin, it was a comedy about their trials and tribulations during a trip home for the Thanksgiving Holidays. It was quite popular in the mid-1980’s. It turns out Julia and I had the opportunity to re-enact the movie on our last trip home from Vermont. Well, that might be an exaggeration but our day of travel certainly reminded me of the movie.
The day before we were scheduled to fly home, I was checking in for our flights from Vermont to California. A screen popped up explaining the flight was over-booked (a very common occurrence with many airlines) and asking whether we would like to volunteer to be bumped. United Airlines asked how much money we would bid to accept in return for taking a later flight. The choices were $800, $1,000, or $1,200. Hmmm….. the bargain hunter in me thought – this could mean an ‘almost’ free trip back to Vermont to see my adorable grand daughter. We were supposed to leave on a Friday – would it really make any difference to us if we left on Saturday???
I talked to Julia, my son and my daughter-in-law and we all decided it would be good to volunteer. The pop-up screen explained that the lowest bids would be accepted first. Not taking any chances, I selected the $800 bid. Thinking this would be split between Julia and me, that would basically cover another flight out to the East coast. Rules were, we still had to show up at the airport and check in for our flight. They would then determine whether the flight was indeed overbooked (in case people with tickets for the flight failed to show up). If it was indeed overbooked, they would start calling from the list of people who had volunteered to be bumped. Well we had quite the early flight scheduled but my wonderful son had us to the airport by 5:30 am.
OK, The airport has grown a bit since this vintage postcard was made
We had to check our bags – they were too big to be considered carry-ons. We got to the United area and we were shocked to see the line. Have you ever flown out of the airport in Burlington, Vermont? It is so tiny. Normally there are one or two people in front of us. When we got there early that morning there were people everywhere. Lots of skis and snowboards being checked in at United. Vermont has excellent skiing and clearly vacations were ending and travelers were returning home. We waited in line and checked our bags. The security area in this airport is very small with one line walking through a small room. After going through security we checked with the attendant at the gate and asked if we would be bumped. She said it was too early to tell. We were asked to wait until the plane had completely boarded so she could figure it out.
All the while, my patient son waited in the hallway outside the gate. In this airport that means he was on the other side of a window watching us. He and Julia played ‘rock, paper, scissors’ and we all texted back and forth as we waited. Finally there were about one or two people left in line to board. The gate attendant told us ‘it looks like you are flying out this morning’. So we waved to Andrew, he walked off and we waited to board. Seriously, within two minutes, she looks up with a little panic and says, ‘we are over by two.’ (Why she didn’t know that two minutes earlier, I have no idea.). I texted Andrew and said “waitttttt!!!!!” He came right back and was laughing – we were all laughing at this point. It was early, we hadn’t had coffee yet and this was a long process!
They try to retrieve our bags but the plane takes off with Julia’s bag and mine is waiting somewhere in an office. The gate attendants were so nice and thanked us for volunteering. I told her it was worth it for $800. She looks up and tells me, well I have been approved to give you $1,000′. I was surprised and said, ‘yikes, $500 each? That’s great.’ She looks sort of perplexed and said, ‘no, $1,000 for each of you.’ Julia and I look at each other with a big smile.
The attendant starts looking for a flight to book us on. She seems to be having trouble and keeps muttering under her breath. It appeared that there wasn’t a route available for both of us to fly home together. She could find a single seat here or there but not two seats. Remember now, this is a very small airport and doesn’t have a lot of traffic in and out. She looks for about 40 minutes – trying all combinations of Delta, United and American but doesn’t find anything. By now Andrew and I are desperate for coffee and Julia is practically falling asleep in a chair. The attendant, clearly frustrated and not knowing what to do with these two people who need to get to California, calls her supervisor for help. The supervisor comes up and starts looking. She is rather incredulous as she realizes there really isn’t anything for the next two days. Julia was supposed to go back to school that Monday so we weren’t willing to stay longer than a day or so. Finally, after about an hour of this, I asked if it made sense to get us to another airport to leave from. I asked if there wasn’t some bus or train we could take? The women both looked up in total disbelief and said, ‘you would do that’?? Well, if it means we can go home, yes – of course we would. The supervisor looks at me and says ‘we will bump you up to $1,500 each if you will do this’. I looked and Julia and we just grinned.
Two Happy Travelers
They decide to send us home out of the Logan airport in Boston. It is a three hour drive to Boston and they book a taxi. I thought this was nuts as the cost was $500 dollars for the round trip to take us out there. The United attendants felt awful for this hassle. She kept offering things to us. ‘Here is a voucher for breakfast while you wait for the cab.’ Then, ‘let me refund your bag check fees’. It was crazy.
An hour later we were off to Boston in a taxi. By this time, we were so tired both of us slept and the ride passed quickly. From Boston, we flew to Chicago. Had a bit of a wait there and finally, late that afternoon, we took off for California. The flights were great and all was relatively smooth but it was a long, 22 hour, day. We arrived in California at 11pm which of course felt like 2 am. We still had to go get the car and drive home which is just over an hour away.
Hmmm…. where should we go next??
What a long day but really, it was worth it. For one thing, neither Julia nor I are what would be described as spontaneous. We tend to follow schedules and get rattled at times if there is a lot of change. But we had a really fun day together. We spent our layovers looking on line (thank goodness for wifi everywhere we went) at places we might travel with our $3,000 jackpot. We took naps on the flight and listened to music. All in all, not a terrible experience. (This is saying a lot from someone who truly dislikes flying.)
After some family discussion, we bought three flights to Maui in July. What a fun way to celebrate Julia’s high school graduation and have a great vacation before she leaves for college! Even with this trip, there is still about $900 on these vouchers left to spend. Well worth a 22 hour travel day home. Hmmm…. I wonder if we can get bumped from our flight home from Hawaii??
Have a great day. I did manage to get some sewing done over the weekend. I will get my thoughts organized and post an update this week! Have a wonderful Monday everyone.
Just want to let you know of a sale over in the shop this week! All Michael Miller fabrics are 25% off through Saturday, January 19th!! Lots of gorgeous pieces to choose from – florals, feathers, stripes and bikes!! Also, there are some cozy flannels on sale too. Come take a look!!
Hi Bernie! I was spellbound . . . were you getting home? Was a bus involved or a train? I sure didn’t see a taxi coming!! How absolutely fabulous, and Maui for free?!! Is there anything better. And the time you two spent together, laughing and being stress-free (and polite to the United staff) is just priceless. {{Hugs}} What a fun post. ~smile~ Roseanne
It was a really funny experience. I think because we had thought about it ahead of time, all the hassle didn’t really bother us. If it had come up unexpectedly, we might have been a bit cross over the whole thing. But overall, no big deal – and Hawaii, here we come!
Well, wow! What an adventure. I’m with you, not liking lots of change ups. You had a great outcome though — and a trip to Hawaii! Yippee! So my question — did your luggage get there before you or after?
Julia’s luggage was waiting for us at the airport when we got there. I was glad since I have heard some miserable stories about luggage mishaps. It was quite the experience – but a good one overall.
I was clued in suspense! What a great story! Now…buy sunscreen on sale now for that trip to Hawaii later!
Haha, you are so funny – Yep, sunscreen will be needed! It was really a positive experience and certainly made for a funny story!
Wow, is right, and I have the same question as Wendy . . . did your luggage arrive in a timely fashion? I’ve heard stories about luggage traveling to places the owners have never been!
We were lucky! When we got home, finally, Julia’s luggage was waiting for us. Mine made it just fine as well. No worries there! Long travel day for sure but we will have a fun trip this summer!
Oh wow, Bernie, what an incredible story! I’m so glad you both made it home (with luggage) and what a fabulous summer trip you will have. Perhaps it will pay for both Maui and a trip back to Vermont?!
I am thinking the same thing! We have already booked the Maui tickets and I believe there will be some for Vermont – maybe not enough for the whole expense but it certainly will lessen the price of the next trip. 🙂
Yay for your family Bernie! Thanks so much for sharing your very long, but exciting day with us! So happy you’re now both safe at home.
Thanks Laurie. It was a day to remember. Booking the tickets to Hawaii yesterday was also memorable as we paid ZERO for the three flights! Hurray!
What a great story! My daughter used to volunteer all the time, but she never hit such a jackpot as that! Well done!
Karen, this was way beyond expectations. It was almost comical as they kept upping our reimbursements. So crazy. Overbooking that flight seemed to cost United quite a bundle of $$.
WOW! What an adventure! Thank goodness you weren’t suffering from a migraine while all this was going on! Glad you made it home safely, Bernie. 🙂
I was thinking the same thing Janice! I got really lucky as far as that went. It was quite a crazy day.
What a fun story, Bernie! I’m sure you enjoyed it because you chose to do it. Otherwise, it would another story of airline travel woes. But wow, the airlines sure bent over backwards to make it worth your while. How neat that you are getting a Hawaiian vacation out of it, and I see a bonus trip to Vermont in your future. (Maybe you can have a repeat performance and extend your travel indefinitely.) By the way, how often are you told that you and Julia are twins?!
Actually, people usually tell me she looks like my husband. So, thank you for that! I am sure if we had now somewhat planned for this to happen, it would have been more of a negative experience. But it was worth it – and you know I don’t like to fly….. I do think we will use the balance of my credit to go back to VT. Yahoo!!
How wild! A taxi from Vermont to Boston! And you ultimately get a trip to Maui out of it! You and Julia must be incredibly patient. I’m glad you finally got home– with or without your luggage.
Well, I don’t know how that messed up my name, but this is Mari!
We made it home – with luggage! We were patient for the most part. It was quite interesting to watch this process and certainly made me wonder if overselling flights makes money or not for the airlines??? At any rate, I got a bit of a thrill when I booked three tickets to Hawaii the other day and it didn’t cost a dime. 🙂 Aloha!
That’s amazing. I would have done the same thing. Maui sounds like fun.
Yes, you would have done it too! I feel like you are usually up for an adventure Anja!!
Absolutely great story!! 🙂 Maui will be delightful after all that!! Thanks for sharing!
For sure – Happy you enjoyed it. Crazy story from a crazy day!
This was a fantastic read. All is well that ends well. Love your smiles.
All that trouble was totally worth it if you got Maui in the bargain.
Yes, totally worth it. And kind of a fun adventure. Had it made us miss something or be terribly late, it would have been a hassle – volunteering ahead of time and just going with the flow was find. Now I will be learning the hula in Maui this summer. ;-). Well, not really – maybe watching someone do the hula?
Oh my gosh! What a great story. I’m so glad they treated you well. I hate to fly also, but I would glad do it if I was going to have your end result!
I had no idea that three RT flights to Hawaii would be covered by less than 3K. :-O It sounds amazing. I’ll look forward to reading all about that trip!
Thanks Linda. For me, flying is a yucky means to an end. It just isn’t my thing. However, having a grandchild across the country the past two years has meant a ton of flying so I am getting used to it. We got a pretty good deal on the tickets (well, a crazy good deal since they were free!) and we still have a bit leftover for more travel!!
Hope all is well with you. 🙂
Ha, (regarding my comment above) I just realized you are flying to Maui from California, and I would have to fly from Houston – that does make a big difference in the cost! Lol!
Wow, what a fun story! And a trip to Maui! Fun! I’m glad you had such great people at the airport who wanted to take care of you!
Emily, they were so frustrated. It was crazy. I sort of felt bad for them…. But it all worked out and we had a crazy adventure – one which will continue this summer when we go to Maui!
Bernie! I love this so much! How wonderful!
Isn’t it a crazy story? I never thought we would end up with $3,000 in vouchers! Wow. :-). I know you went to Hawaii with the kids about a year ago? Which island??
Wow wow wow!!!
So amazing!
Enjoy Hawaii! 😀
That is what Julia and I said all the way home, wow, wow, wow!! Hawaii will be a blast. We went back in 2009 but she was only 8. It will be a lot of fun to go back again!
Jackpot, indeed! Glad you got home plus with another trip in your future.
How I love this post! A free Mom and daughter trip for some inconvenience – what a gift. We have a dog so it usually means we are anxious to get back – so glad it worked out so well for you.
Plus all three of us get to go to Maui!! Three tickets and we still have travel $$ left over! Yahoo! 🙂