Where's my shuttle bus?
Yesterday morning, June 8th, we all went our separtate ways. Kevin flew to San Francisco for work, Kate and Andy flew to Montreal and I was heading off to Chicago to catch up with Rob. As timing would have it we were all going on flights at around the same time, except I was leaving from Newark and Kate, Andy and Kevin were leaving from JFK. Therefore those three shared a ride to JFK while I ordered a shuttle bus.
We left Kevins at 7.20am. They jumped into there waiting car and I waited on the footpath fr the shuttle bus which was to arrive sometime between 7.30am to 7.45am. At 8.00am there was no sign of any shuttle so I called the company. I was told five more minutes. At 8.40am I again called the company and was told that I am the last perosn on the pick up list and would be picked up in five minutes. I told the operator that I was advised this exact same thing when I called 40 minutes ago and do they guarentee that I would be picked up within the five minutes. She said yes.
It is now 9.10am and I am still standing on the sidewalk. I only had one smoke left from the previous night and I kept thinking if i light it up the shuttle will come, just as akways happens with taxis at home. But I held back thinking that I might need it at another point during the day. I called the shuttle company and thankfully my call was answered by a lady who didnt just rattle off the standard lines that they are taught. She put me on hold to call the driver and after about a minute she came back to me and advised that the shuttle had been involved in an accident and that her manager had advised that I should jump in a taxi. Not Happy Jan!!! She then continued on to apologise and saying she didn't know why I hadn't been contacted and to fax through my taxi receipt for a full refund.
My flight was due to depart at 10.30am. I finally got a cab at 9.30am and crept slowing through the NYC morning traffic. I was slightly nervous that I was going to miss my flight. I was told that they would refund my taxi costs, but if I didn't make my flight were they going to cover it as well. Airlines in America tend ot over book their flights and if you are not checked in within half an hour before your flight, your seat is given away. I arrived at Newark airport at 10.05am.
The newest thing in the States is self check in, even if you have luggage to check. So I'm standing at this kiosk thingy entering in my reservation code and just to make things worse it wouldn't allow me to as I was checking in after the half hour cut off. Do you think there was anyone to assist.....NOPE. Finally I got the attention of one of the few, namely two, Continental Airline staff to assist me. She did it all manually to only declare to me, Sir your luggage is over weight. I was over by three kilo's. She wanted to charge me $25 American dollars for it. Fuck me dead, 90% of the Americans walking around the place had more than 3 kilos excess in their right arse cheek alone, and yet she wanted to charge me for my luggage. Why dont they make things fair by having an overall weight allowance that included people, check in luggage and carry on. I'll tell you now that between me, my luggage and my carry on I still came well below the mass weight of some of these people. Its outrages! Anyway she couldn't get my credit card to swipe through so she gave up and stated that she wouldn't charge me. She made it out as though she was doing me a favour.
I still had that final smoke left in my bag and by this stage I really wanted it, but now I only had ten minutes to get through security and to my gate. If anyone has been through secuirty in the States then you know that ten miuntes is not enough. So I grabbed my carry on bags and head off, and thankfully there was no much of a que to get through security. I was through in no time and arrived at the gate just as the final people were boarding. As I gave my boarding pass to the flight stewart for verification I was greated with 'Mr Jux we have been calling for you'. What???? I had only just checked in and gotten through security and was at the gate within ten minutes. Its not as though I just stopped off at the bar for a cold bevvie to calm myself after a morning that has gone haywire. Whats a vacation without some excitement I suppose.
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