Complaining

Did that title surprise you?  If you know me, it didn't.  But I have a specific reason for complaining.  And for loving it.  And part of that is because I get to anticipate the response to my complaint (which I should receive in 10 - 14 business days).

I finally got around to typing a message to United Airlines on my "airline experience" when I flew home from visiting my son in California.  Let me tell you about it:

To get to and from Reno, you have to go to San Francisco.  Which seems like a waste of gas and time, if you ask me.  When I flew out, I landed at SFO and then boarded a puddle-jumper to RNO.  The reverse was true for the flight home.  But the puddle-jumper that was to take me from Reno to San Francisco was over an hour delayed, seriously compromising the possibility that I would make my connecting flight to take me from SFO to EWR.  When I asked the attendants at the podium at RNO, I was told not to worry, that I would have plenty of time to make my connecting flight.

Oh, how wrong they were!  For one thing, my carry-on was too large to fit in the overhead bin, so it had to be stowed underneath the plane.  That meant that I had to wait for it to be brought back up after the plane landed.  Once it appeared, I grabbed it and ran up the ramp.  I checked the board for my departing gate to see that the word BOARDING was flashing in red.  I'd arrived at Gate 76.  My departing flight was at Gate 62.  That can't be that far, right?

Wrong.  I started running.  Let me tell you:  I cannot RUN.  At 64 years of age, I left running behind long ago.  Regardless, I tried to run, carry-on behind me.  Halfway there and my mouth was dry and my heart was pounding.  But I kept running.  At Gate 60, I heard my name announced.  I was being paged!  I got to the gate and was allowed to board with perhaps a minute to spare.

By the time I got to my seat (and evicted the person that was sitting in it), I felt nauseous, headachy, dehydrated, and scared.  But the plane was ready to take off, so I could not summon an attendant to bring me a cup of water.  I sucked it up, tried to be still, and took some deep breaths.

Eventually, my heart and I calmed down.  But I haven't been able to shake the experience.  What if I'd had a heart attack?  That thought has continued to haunt me.

So today, I composed a letter to United Airlines, because they tell me they want to do whatever they can to make my flight experience a good one.  What I would like is to never have an experience like that again.  (By the way, a regular passenger on the RNO to SFO flight told me that the plane is always delayed.) 

But I'm sure you all know what I am hoping for!  A free flight?  A coupon to use on my next booking?  An upgrade?  Yes!  I am hoping for something!  And I am greedily in love with the possibilities! 

I'll let you know.