...I'm home! It was hell trying to get back, but I managed to do it.
I got to Edinburgh airport (#1) no problem and my flight to London Luton (#2) was fine. Getting the train to Gatwick (#3) proved to be a bit difficult because it only ran every 45 minuted that early in the morning. So by the time I got to Gatwick I had missed getting on the flight to Cincinnati, so I was immediately put onto the standby list for Atlanta, which left in an hour. I didn't even get through security, so they told all of us to be back at 12:15 to see if we'd make it on the next flight. Keep in mind that at this point I'd been up for 25 hours, because I never went to bed. I shuffled my butt around for an hour and headed back up to check in to see how my luck would play out. Then they called my name!! I was able to check my back, get my "seat request" card (which is such a tease, at this point I just really wanted a boarding pass) and go through security to the gate. I stood at the gate for 45 minutes, and I didn't get on! They then told us all to be back at 2:45 to try our luck at the next (and final) flight of the day.
So I made my self comforable and got to chatting with a few of my fellow non-revs. As it turns out, most of them had been trying to get back to the states for about a week! Not only had they tried going through London, but also through Berlin and Barcelona! They also mentioned that today was the first day that they actually saw a good number of non-revs actually making it onto flights. I reassured them that I felt good about the next flight, mostly because it was only oversold by 5 people, and that my fresh blood would prove to be good luck. Around 3pm out judgment came in the form of a Delta employee holding a stack of boarding passes and walking towards the group of non-revs that were sequestered into the corner. Praying that she'd call my name we waited...first person...damn...second person...shit...thrid person....I don't even think she butchered my last name...it was awesome! Not being able to wait to see who else got on...another employee pushed me towards the last customs check point and the gate. I sat down in seat 29F and felt so lucky to be there. I then saw both of my other non-rev friends make it one...one lady even got into business class...which I'm sure she fully appreciated after sleeping on the terminal floor for the last week. After being delayed for a bit...we were finally off! Two movies, one bad airline dinner, and 9 hours later...we landed in the good ol' US of A!
At the Atlanta airport (#4) it was chaos! After getting through customs...it was about 8:45pm...and I didn't have a clue what time the next flight to SFO left. I quickly looked at the boards...and there it was SFO 8:50 *NOW BOARDING* Realizing the flight was at gate A27 and that I was in the E terminal I quickly hoped on the train was off like a mad woman. Once the train stopped at the A terminal I sprinted all the way down only to find that the plane was gone and the gate was deserted! Back to the boards...I realized there was a flight to Oakland at 9:43...off to that gate I waited in line only to be told by the lady that since I was scheduled to fly into SFO, she couldn't change my ticket and that I'd have to go all the way back down the terminal to the reservation kiosk! AHH!! I ran down there and was told to get on the phone...which I did...I quickly told the guy my situation, and he was just about to put me on the list when he said the computer wouldn't let him, it cuts off 30 minutes before the flight leaves...I only had 25.
One deep breath later...I started to look at all my options. Oakland and SFO for the next day were oversold...Sacramento - oversold...Reno - oversold...San Diego - same story. Desperate to get back to the right time zone, David (the reservation guy) suggested Las Vegas. Initial thought...why Vegas...how is that going to help? He reassured me that I didn't want to be in Atlanta, as everything was booked solid. My best bet was to fly to Vegas tonight, catch an early flight to Salt Lake City, and they try my luck there. So at 11pm (exactly 24 since my journey began in Edinburgh - and with only an hour of sleep since then) I was off to Sin City. As soon as I sat down in my First Class seat I was out! I don't even remember taking off from Atlanta, and I only woke up when the pilot notified us of our descent into Las Vegas. At the airport (#5) I shuffled my butt to the baggage claim to see if they had redirected my bag. After standing there for a good amount of time I went to the office to see what was up. It was now after 1am and when the lady looked up my bag she said it was at SFO. She then looked at me like she was sick of dealing with people and asked "What are you doing here?" My response "I'm flying standby." And with that one word, her expression not only changed to one of understanding, but also one of obvious sympathy for the hell I had been through that day.
Now I had to weight my options...find a hotel, or sleep in the airport. I almost slept in the airport because I knew I had to be back at 6am for my 8am flight, but after realizing I hadn't gotten any decent sleep in 48 hours and that I was in my nice First Class clothes that I had to keep seemingly nice for my next days' travel, I got into a taxi and went to the Comfort Inn. After getting some food and a shower I sleep for about three hours at which point I woke up to a gorgeous sunrise. I threw on my clothes, grabbed my backpack and got a taxi to the airport. I checked in, went through security, where they made me put my scone through the x-ray and they wanded my coffee, and went to the gate. I got to sit in First Class again for the short flight to Salt Lake City (airport #6, I believe)...and when I landed I felt like I had made no progress because I actually lost a time zone! I realized I was too late to try to make in onto the more open SFO flight, so I tried my luck at the Oakland flight. Even though I was number 10 on the wait list, by the time they closed the door, I was the next person to be called! SO CLOSE!
Back to the reservation kiosk...I got on the phone at weighed my options for the rest of the day. SFO - oversold by 1; Oakland - oversold by 5; Sacramento - oversold by 3. Getting sick of the whole routine, I tried Reno as a last resort. The next flight was oversold - big surprise, BUT the one after...27 seats open! Thinking I didn't hear right...I asked her to repeat herself. No - I heard right. So I got on the waitlist (number 8) and preceded to shuffle around the airport for three more hours. I met up with a couple who were in my same predicament trying to fly into Sacramento. I mentioned Reno as a possibility, and they jumped on the banwagon. Sara and Justin were hanging out with Justin's father, a pilot for Delta, who was very helpful at getting our flights situated and finding a good place to eat lunch. At 3pm, we finally got our boarding passes and boarded the plane for the short 1 hour 30 minute ride to Reno (#7).
After we landed I said my goodbyes to Sara and Justin and wished them a safe drive over to the Sacramento area, and I preceded outside to a freak thunderstorm and my mom. We drove home, stopping to get food for a very hungry and out of sorts Katie along the way, and two hours after getting home, I was out...and I slept for 12 hours. My mom woke me up early this morning and we hopped on the rode for the drive to SFO (the 8th and final) airport to pick up my bag. Flying as a non-rev, they wouldn't deliver it to my door. I made it home at 1pm this afternoon, and after crunching the numbers that is 65 hours since I began in Edinburgh.
The flying was daunting, but I took it all in stride, because of my awesome travels I had before then. The whole experience was great, and I can't wait to do it all over again. Back to the real world of laundry and work tomorrow.
