Trip to Omaha

Since my trip to Minneapolis was cancelled, I rebooked to go from Tampa to Atlanta and Atlanta to Omaha on Delta. I am Platinum on Delta, so I am pretty used to that experience. Before I say much more, I have been really lucky with Delta travel, and I have had very minimal delays over the last year.

The Tampa flight was supposed to leave at 1:30 from Tampa, but it was delayed by the time I arrived. It was only a 20 minute delay which would have given me 35 minutes in Atlanta. I have done that before without problem, so I didn't even worry. When we were about to land, the air traffic control had us circling. That went on for about 45 minutes. If you can do any math at all, you have realized that my other flight time has passed. I am assuming that it will also be delayed since it is a weather event. WRONG! When I got off the plane, the status screen still said 4:05. I looked at my watch and it isaid 4:18. Hmmm.... So, this Delta representative took me to the "Missed flight, scan here" machine. It says I should got to A26, and that I should RUN as I only have 3 minutes. So, I am thankful that I have become a runner, and I take off RUNNING down the A concourse. My backpack is HEAVY, and my purse is bouncing against me with every step. Of course, I am in my "airport flats" which are not very comfy to run it. Thankfully, I am not wearing heels. :)

I am a little out of breath (ok, a lot) when I get to the gate, and I see it says Minneapolis. The lady at the gate asks if I am going to Minneapolis. I tell her that I am not sure what is going on but that my last flight was delayed and that the rebook machine sent me to this gate. I hand her the printout that has my name and flight info AND the flight info for the plane at her gate. She is VERY rude and tells me that she has to help people who are booked for that flight first and that I should step aside. Then, she prints out the boarding pass for my old flight that has ALREADY LEFT and tells me to go the C10 or whatever C gate it was. I look at her like she is crazy and ask if the plane is still there because I thought I missed it. She then tells me that "she is not customer service." Wow. She is definitely not GOOD at customer service for sure. FINALLY, this other lady, Nancy, is kind and looks for me. She says that I was rebooked through Minneapolis and then from Minneapolis to Omaha. She is nice enough to print out the info for me so I know what I am doing. Whew. Thankfully she was there beacuse I was about to go postal on the other lady - Jules was her name.

I land in Minneapolis and look for a Sky Club nearby. I don't see one, so I sit down and start working on email. I don't have too long, but then they announce a slight delay of 20 minutes. No biggie. I get on the plane, and they close the door. THEN, they tell us that some t named part is broken (something that gets radar in bad weather). So, we wait for another hour and FINALLY leave. I land in Omaha only to find out that my luggage is lost. The fun of a rotten travel day. Krishan is there waiting for me, and he is kind enough to drive me through Arby's. I inhale a roast beef sandwich. Then, we go to Walmart, and I get workout shorts, pants, shirt, tennis shoes, a hairbursh, etc. I was SO happy to get into my new comfy digs to go to sleep.

I did stay in a Hilton property. Grrr... I stayed in a Doubletree as it was either that or a Hampton - both Hilton. I have to say that the Doubletree was very nice. It apparently used to be an Embassy Suites. I wish Hilton would do the right thing as I do like their hotels. :) Until then, I guess I will just avoid them as much as possible.