Travel Drama in Rochester

I think I'm developing a true ambivalence towards US Airways... with strong feelings in both extremes.

The initial dislike came from the facts that they charge for drinks on the plane ($2 for an orange juice or soda!) and don't really have the most cushioned of seats. That's really nothing, since their flight was more or less on time the last time I flew them. But then I flew them yesterday...

I checked my flight status at 2:30pm, like our schedule allows, and the flight was delayed by 10 minutes-- really inconsequential, and easily made up time. Then as we waited for the shuttle an hour later (our flight was scheduled for 5:30pm), I checked once again on my phone. Suddenly the word "Canceled" became a part of my travel experience vocabulary. Evidently mechanical problems had grounded our plane. I found the phone number for US Airways and called the airline to see what the options were. A 4pm flight was going out and a 7pm flight... I got her to guarantee us on the 7pm flight since I thought there'd be no way in hell we'd make it for the 4pm.

We pulled up at the ticket counter at about 3:58 and started to check ourselves in when the ticket agent asked us if we were on the canceled flight. We said yes, and she called into the gate agent to see if we could make the 4pm flight. Luckily for us, Rochester airport is tiny and the 4pm flight hadn't even started boarding yet! The wonderful woman tagged all four of our big bags to check, and my presenter was such a trouper as we rushed through security and ran for the gate. We made the flight with time to spare and ended up getting into the hotel a full hour before we'd have made it if we'd taken our canceled flight.

So, damn you US Air for canceling my flight, charging me for even a soda, and packing us in like sardines. But thank you US Air (or at least your ticket agents at Rochester and that one oh-so-luckily late flight) for helping us catch a flight we thought we'd never make.