Back from Vegas
Just got back yesterday from what has become the annual end of summer trip to Las Vegas with the usual suspects... The trip didn't start out on the greatest note - Clodagh and I showed up to the check-in counter 40 minutes precisely (remember this number, it'll be important in a moment) before the flight was supposed to leave. It wasn't until we were in the shuttle from the parking lot to the airport that I started becoming a bit concerned about making the flight. Go to use the check-in kiosk and it told us to talk to someone... Clock ticks two more minutes before we can get someone - down to 38 minutes before flight leaves. The person tells us that automatic check-in is closed 30 minutes before the flight and starts to call the gate to talk with them, until they see we have luggage to check and then just tells us to go talk to customer service. All the while glancing back and forth at the clock. Apparently in crazy airline math 3:08pm - 2:30pm = 30 minutes not 38 minutes. Once we had waited in the line, the "customer service" rep insisted that we were just too late, that we should have shown up two hours in advance. Every time they were about to say something unhelpful about us needing to pay, or flights being oversold, or the likelihood of getting on the standby flight it seemed to alway involve "well, since you missed your flight" and I had to keep coming back with "no, we were here with 8 minutes to spare by what you've told us. You have prevented us from boarding my flight."
Yes, I do admit that we had cut it way to fine and so were at least partly to blame. But seriously folks, how can you keep telling us that check in closes 30 minutes early when we had those extra minutes a straight face? And then keep telling us we should have shown up TWO HOURS before the flight. Do they not have lives and jobs? Morale of the story is that you should be at the airport an hour before hand. 38-40 minutes is a little too short. :(
The irony is that there was basically zero line to check-in and through security so we would have made our flight with time to stop and buy water and magazine. Instead we got to hang out in the airport for four hours until we finally got on the last flight they offered for that day.
The actual being in Vegas was fun - I really should stop playing craps (where throughout all of my vegas trips I'm at a net loss) and stick with poker (where I'm at a net gain).