travel rant #1

[faceless_wonder]

i hate the united terminal at o'hare.

this first leg of my journey has been rather inauspicious so far. i got to the addison blue line stop, waited forever for a train...and then the first train that came by was expressing from Logan Square to Jefferson Park, speeding right through all stops in between: including mine. finally another train came, and i was on my way.

then, i got to the airport. my flight is on USAir, so i went to the USAir terminal. logical, right? i go up to the electronic check-in, enter my information, and it can't find me. i try again. it can't find me. i talk to the attendant. he looks me up in the computer. he can't find me. he tells me that the 5:30 to Phoenix is on United and not USAir, and that i should go to the United terminal.

so, i hike over there. it turned out that there are about fifteen million numbers for this one flight to Phoenix, one for every single airline in United's little "star alliance." [note to Travelocity--it would be nice if you noted all of them in your reservation confirmations, or at least noted the main number under which the flight would be posted at the airport!] unlike the short lines in the USAir terminal, i had to go through an absurdly long line to check in for the flight, and then go through another long line for security. luckily, i'm a paranoid freak who never gets to the airport less than two hours before the flight, so i made it to the gate with time to spare, despite these annoyances.

still, i knew this was coming. my flight karma had been so good the last time i flew...when i went to and from HOPE, both of my flights landed early, without a hitch. i knew this trip was going to be a nightmare, and it hasn't disappointed yet although i have not even left Chicago city limits yet.

sigh.

Comments

[hilabeans.livejournal.com]

1. Book tickets on Orbitz.

2. Never, ever fly either United or US Airways. United always ends up delaying at least one of my flights per round trip by an hour or more (even if the round trip is 2 nonstop direct flights). With US Airways, not only do I have the same problem, but they were the ones who left me stranded overnight in Phoenix last Thanksgiving due to delayed flights, and then refused to pay for a hotel for me despite the gate agent in Kingman telling me they would (which was the only reason I tried to make the Phoenix connection that night rather than staying with my folks another night and leaving the next day).

[faceless-wonder.livejournal.com]

i really didn't have any control over which site or airline was used...my aunt did it for me without telling me who she was going to go through. however...having had this experience, i am going to be extra sure to steer clear of travelocity from now on. i don't generally use it anyway...i do most of my online booking through expedia.com or southwest.com, and generally have good experiences.

luckily my trip to new york later this month is not on united. it's out of o'hare, which sucks, but hopefully it won't be so bad since it's a different airline.

[ataralas.livejournal.com]

I don't think anyone likes the United terminal at O'Hare.

Glad you made it though.

[faceless-wonder.livejournal.com]

thanks. :)