Thank you for the coffee

Published 3 years, 4 months ago in travel

I got up this morning at 5:15 (at least 15 minutes later than I should have gotten up) and started getting ready to get on a plane. My flight was scheduled for 6:30 a.m. and I needed to leave the house by 5:30. I was running slow this morning…

I didn’t leave the house until 5:45. I got to the airport and parked at 6:03. I got inside to the ticket counter and told the clerk that I needed to get on my 6:30 flight. She didn’t look happy.

She said “I don’t think I can get you on the flight” and then picked up her little walkie-talkie to ask the guy at the gate if I could still board. He didn’t answer her… not good.

So, I asked her to just give me a ticket for the plane, and I’d run all the way there. She said she’d try.

Ticket in hand, I rushed to the security check-point. Bad news: There were at least 30 people in front of me. It was 6:21. I decided to get to the front of the line quickly, so I started asking each person in line if I could cut, so I could catch my 6:30 flight. Thankfully, each person let me cut, so that I was at the front of the line within a minute.

I started unpacking my laptop and the entire flight crew for another United plane started cutting in front of me. I let two of them by, then I told the third one (there were 6 total) that I needed to catch a plane, and that I’d appreciate it if they didn’t cut in front of me. She aquiesced, and I got to go through security pretty quickly.

I then ran to the last gate in the terminal (United has crappy gates in Austin). Huffing and puffing, I was berated by the gate attendant, and I took the beating quite humbly. The gate attendant told me that I was only getting on the plane because the 1st Officer decided to get a cup of coffee. I smiled and asked him if I could by the 1st Officer his coffee. He told me to take it up with him… which was funny, because the 1st Officer was just walking up. I took out $2 and gave it to the 1st Officer. He got a kick out of that, and we boarded the plane.

I took my seat after cramming my bag into the overhead bin, and we got underway. I have never been so thankful to get on a plane as I was this morning.