You’d think that with all these years of pretty hardcore business travel under my belt my goofs would be rare. And you’d be right. But they still do happen…and when they do they are usually decent sized, like the one I made this week. Good Lawd!
When I arrived at the small regional airport I attempted to access my boarding pass in my United app, but was confused when I couldn’t get it. I could see the reservation, but I couldn’t get a pass. What the heck!? As I poked around a few times, closed the app and reopened it, it still wasn’t working.
That’s when I realized something kinda important.
I’d booked my return flight for the following day. Not today.
I was 26 hours early.
<SIGH>
Indeed, it was true. I needed to return on Wednesday, but had, in fact, booked my flight for Thursday.
I’ve no one to blame here, but myself. No executive assistant or travel planner. Nope. Just me.
In my defense, it was a nutty week of travel. Perhaps too aggressive. Earlier in the week I’d mixed in a Southwest Airlines mileage run (personal travel) with some of my business travel. Multiple locations, returning to ONT airport, then drive to LAX for my work travel, etc. Kinda complicated, but not horrible.
Or so I thought.
Apparently, I’ve forgotten how to read a calendar.
To make matters worse I had got caught in the Southwest Airlines we-aren’t-striking-strike earlier in the week and found myself scrambling already.
So, I found myself at a crossroads. Do I try to change my flight to the correct day? Are there even seats available? And how much is the going to cost? There is only 1 more flight anyway…and it’s in 45 minutes.
Or, do I keep my original flight, spend another night in this town, and do some exploring. To be honest, I considered the latter pretty hard because I kinda wanted to check out some of the breweries.
But, no, I needed to get home too. So, I asked the gate agent and after she chuckled a bit, she said she could not help me and I needed to call United. Harumph…
So, I called them and after a short 7-minute wait was helped by a wonderful and kind agent who found me a seat on the flight for an extra $317. And yes, I paid the stupid tax.
And I made it home!
What a goof.
How about you? What’s a dumb mistake you’ve made recently? Are you, like me, out of practice with traveling thanks to COVID?
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3 comments
Thank you very much for setting the bar so low! I’ve screwed up some international travel by booking a hotel on the wrong night, but management was able to quickly find me a room.
I look forward to future mistakes, knowing that you’ve set the bar to beat..
I would’ve just walked up to an agent and explained what happened. Airport control can be more helpful then the phone. Shocked you didn’t even try.
It happens. I thought you had failed to print a hard copy of the boarding passes which can be a real problem if the app or phone isn’t working.