I made it home

For awhile I was wondering if I would. I left before 5, stuck in lots of traffic, but after a cab driver off duty decided to pick me up (took like 15 minutes to get a cab on Third Ave), he managed to get us across the bridge and race through Queens. On the way there I got a note that my flight was delayed, delayed a lot. It was landing in DC less than 15 minutes before my flight to Denver.

Trying to remain calm, I walked up to the United desk when I got in the airport, trying to patiently wait in line. At the desk the agent looked around and said I would never make the flight in DC unless it was delayed, which wasn't likely. I could chance or, or I could stay in NY and get a morning flight. Not what I wanted to hear when I have to turn around and go to Austin on Sunday. However it seemed better to just deal with one flight, get a hotel early, and try to relax than going to DC and trying to get a hotel late at night. I walked away, bracing myself for the challenge of finding a close hotel and called Tia.

As I chatted with Tia, I went downstairs, walking to the taxi area and looked up to see the young lady from the United desk jogging after me. She said the 5:30pm to Denver had been delayed, but it hadn't boarded. It was listed at 6:15, and when I was up there, her display showed it as closed. However she had managed to reach the gate and there was a seat on the flight. She gave me a gate pass and told me to hurry.

It's been a few years since I ran through and airport, and fortunately it was relatively quiet at 6:10pm. I jogged to security, cut in front of a guy that was taking too long to unload his stuff, and managed to slip through security quickly. As I was taking off my belt, the other agent walked up with a boarding pass and gave it to me.

I jogged to the gate, seeing people still getting on the plane, and managed to get my belt on before my pants slipped down. On the flight a short moment of panic as my seat was also assigned to another lady, but there was an open spot and she moved. An easy flight to Denver, with me arriving at 8:45 instead of the 11:00 I was expecting.

I have had issues with United, and at times I've felt they haven't taken care of their frequent flyers, but this was a huge help for me with agents going out of their way to get me home. I really appreciate that and owe them a letter of thanks.