Tuesday 3 May 2011

Homeward Bound (or why I prefer carry-on only)

My UA flight was scheduled to leave New York at 6:05pm, although I was told at check-in around 3:30pm that (a) the flight was delayed until 8pm, and (b) that I would still make my connecting flight. Around 5:10pm, I went over to the UA gate desk to confirm the flight delay, and point out that the two hour delay exceeded my layover in LAX. David, the exceptionally helpful chap at that gate, immediately arranged for me to be transferred to the QF flight, scheduled to leave shortly after UA25 was supposed to leave.

The tricky part was getting my bag off the UA cargo load and onto the QF load. After getting a detailed description from me (I couldn't get the internet back up to show him a picture from my blog), he then contacted the baggage people to have my bag put onto carousel 5 (where the luggage for the flight that had just come off the plane I would soon be boarding). I knew I had to have my bag rechecked by 6.03pm, when the flight closed for luggage.

Let's just say that was one of the most fraught half hours I've had for some time. If my bag didn't come through in time, I wouldn't be able to board the QF108 flight to LAX, and I'd miss my connecting flight home. The idea of being another day away from JD and the boys had me reduced to quiet tears. The luggage for the passengers seemed to take forever (a number of the passengers were getting rather stroppy), but still my bag wasn't appearing. At ten to six, I went to the United Airlines desk through the "No Re-entry" doors, and was assured that David had been in constant communication with the baggage people for the past ten minutes, and that my bag had just been delivered to the carousel.

It turns out there is a door to get back into the baggage area, and I was very relieved to see my bag on the carousel. I dashed back out, asked that the UA staff pass on my thanks to David, and went out and back up again, to the Qantas desk. They had a baggage tag waiting for me, and escorted me to the front of the now very long line to go through security. (So I became one of those line pusher-ins that I bitched about last time I was in LAX.)

In the end the flight was slightly delayed, and I had time to get a final frappucino, to hydrate, caffeinate, and calm down. The flight was uneventful, as one always hopes it will be, and I am now waiting at the gate lounge for my flight to Melbourne, and boarding has just started.

Local time: 10:45pm Mon, body clock time: 1:45am Tue, time at home: 3:45pm Tue.

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