Sometimes it just feels good to be HOME!

[Kristie]

honestly.... I wasn't sure we were gonna make it back and if we didn't make it back last night, it probably would have taken me 4 days to get back considering what the gate agents were tell us about the loads going to just about anywhere this week (on DAL). We even tried checking USairways to see if we could get home on them and it didn't look promising at all...

we didn't make the last 2 phx flights out of ATL last night... we were number 18/19 out of like 33 nonrevs listed which is really amazing considering when we looked at the loads before leaving our paris hotel, they were GREAT *i mean REALLY great*... we get back into ATL and all hell has broken loose and we're still wondering how/why that happened!!

Anyways, we made a couple plans of action which if we didn't make the last 2 phx flights, we would try tucson..if TUS didn't work, we'd try LAX.. if LAX didn't work, we'd try LAS and if LAS didn't work, we'd just stay the night...we just wanted to get to somewhere we could rent a car....so, once we heard the last phx flight had been closed, I literally RAN to the A terminal (from the B terminal) to get listed on the TUS flight (Doug was able to reserve the jumpseat just in case) because the TUS flight was leaving in less than an hour... so doug used the black phones to get us listed on the flight while i ran over to look at our listing, where we stood at and wait for our names...on that flight, we were 1&2 (considering on an S2 priority too). so, while waiting to hear if our names cleared, we booked rental car (lucky for us, there was one available - that doesn't hardly EVER happen)... we got into TUS about 11pm, grabbed the car, checked on our bags to verify that they were already in phx and hit the road...2AM, we made it home...I had to pick up the bags this morning and it looks like everything came thru just fine but OMG, what a hassle!!!!

there's nothing like the hassle of trying to get on flight after flight to blow the entire reason you went on a weekend holiday...i keep asking myself if i'd do it again....but with the travel hassle and it being christmas, i'd have to say that no, i don't think i'd do it again (at christmas)....

the only way i'd do that again is if it's not a holiday...like if we did paris instead of germany 2 weeks ago, that would have been fine but this holiday travel stuff blows....

speaking of holiday traveling... i could not BELIEVE the amount of 4 person and up families traveling non-rev.....the whole time i'm sitting there thinking are they fin NUTZ??? we saw 4 person families, 6 person families....some were splitting up, letting the kids travel with the parents following behind (if they made it on that flight) and i was just astonished at the amount of people on S4 priorities (buddy passes)...all i can say if that if your traveling on a buddy pass during the holiday season, you get what you paid for!! i have no sympathy for those who use buddy passes or let people use buddy passes when it's really not good timing nor is it economical time/money wise!!

one guy couldn't believe he was so far down the line on the standby list...i asked him how he was traveling, he said he was on a buddy pass and i looked him squarely in the eye and said "are you kidding?"... apparently, the guy who gave him the pass didn't tell him what to expect. that's not cool in my book!! i told him good luck cuz he might just be sitting here for the next 4 days.. he didn't like that much.

if there's any one thing i've learned thru non-rev traveling it's that creating a backup plan or more than one if needed and controlling "the dark side" is very important and if you start complaining, whining, getting upset cuz your not getting on the flights etc, then your not cut out for standby travel and you'd be better off staying home.

so anyways, we're home hoping everyone on strandby is taking the day with a chill pill... doug had 2 hours of sleep before going to work today, i've had 4 before going to pick up luggage and going to work...I think I lost 10 pounds with all the running from flight to flight and I think this weekend, we're gonna stay home! haha


oh.. strange thing that happened when we got into ATL... I dropped off the standby listing... I don't know how it happened because doug and I were both listed on the SAME listing.. but the entire time we were waiting for flights, doug's name would show up, but my name wouldn't... for some reason, my activation status disappeared and they couldn't get it ramped up again using my S2 priority that had already started in Paris...so i thought that was really weird...interesting that things like that can happen, esp when you on the same reservation listing!!